Academic Bulletin Theater - 2011-12 - 103 THE 103

The course will focus on the work of two of the most significant film directors of the 20th century: Akira Kurosawa and Billy Wilder. In films like Seven Samurai (1954), Rashomon (1950), and Throne of Blood (1957), Kurosawa reinterpreted canonical genres like the western, the crime drama, and Shakespearean tragedy. In doing so, he introduced Japanese cinema to the rest of the world. Billy Wilder is known primarily for the campy Some Like It Hot (1959), but in such films as Double Indemnity (1944) and The Apartment (1960), Wilder broke new ground in his use of film noir atmospherics and pointed social satire. In class, we will examine the work of these two directors in terms of narrative structure, cinematography, and style. Further, we will discuss how these filmmakers continue to influence directors today.