Cassiel’s Song

We’ll conclude our course by looking at Wim Wenders’ Wings of Desire (1987), a film about, among other things, the ever-changing fabric of the city of Berlin, and the struggle of the human spirit to endure despite change. Two songs written by Nick Cave appear on the soundtrack, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds make a cameo appearance in the film. This is worth noting since Cave is often called upon to provide soundtracks to films which depict difficult confrontations with death and / or desolation (see The Proposition or, more recently, the film adaptation of Cormac McCarthy’s brilliant, bleak The Road). This track is “Cassiel’s Song,” and appears in Wenders’ sequel to Wings of Desire, entitled Far Away, So Close (1993).

Manhatta

Have a look at this film from 1921, a kind of hymn to New York. It is the result of a collaboration between the artist Charles Sheeler, and the photographer / cinematographer Paul Strand. A few things to think about:

-       What do you note about the depiction of movement here?

-       Is this an exercise in photography or cinematography? What is the difference?

-       What technical difficulties were presented by the city itself? What was problematic about transferring New York to the screen?

-       Of what do the intertitles consist, and why have they been chosen?

-       If this is, as I have suggested, a “hymn” to the city, how successful is it? What sentiments about the city are conveyed?

-       Does the film emphasise the modernity of the city?

Note: please ignore the more contemporary music that has been added here. It was released as a silent film, and would have been given a live accompaniment in film theatres.

Find of the Week

Some cutting edge film technology here – designed by the Lumiere brothers (Louis and Auguste), and made by Jules Carpentier in 1895. It’s held by the UK’s National Media Museum, in their “Cinematography / Early Film” archive.

Introducing Our Course

If you’ve signed up for this course and you’re looking to find out more, the best place to start is the English literature department’s website. A full seminar schedule and list of suggested further reading is available there. As the website explains, the basic premise of the course is as follows:

This course explores the relationships between the literature and cinema of the city. Starting from the premise that modernist writing and the emergent art of the film are centred in urban modernity, and in new forms of consciousness, time and motion, it examines key themes and central representations and texts of the city. Topics include: the one-day novel and film; urban spectatorship; futuristic cities; dream cities; the city in ruins. We will read and view a number of central texts and films of urban modernity, including fiction by Zola, Woolf, and Joyce. The course will also introduce students to key theorists of the modern city, including Georg Simmel, Walter Benjamin, Henri Lefebvre, Raymond Williams and Michel de Certeau.

Welcome to Modernism and the Cinematic City

You’ve reached the blog for the course “Modernism and the Cinematic City” (ModCinCit), taking place in 2010 within the English literature department of the University of Edinburgh. In the coming weeks, links, photos, films, notes and discussions will be posted here to help course participants prepare for the course. If you’re just visiting, feel free to come back and see how our studies are progressing.

- Dr. Abbie Garrington (Course Organiser)