The Internet Movie Database

Rotten Tomatoes

"Rotten Tomatoes" is of particular interest as it provides links to reviews of films.

▪ I have not designated any "required" books for the course. I trust my failure to do so will not lead you to believe that no reading for the course will be required! My reason for not assigning a text for the course is quite simple: I have, to date, found no book that provides an accessible guide for your work in the course.

I have, however, asked the bookstore to acquire a limited number of copies of four books that you may find useful in the course. I've provided links to web resources on these books to give you a better sense of what the books are about. For some of you, these books may be helpful. I have also selected these books with the idea that if they provide no help in your work for the course that they may turn out to be of interest beyond the course as they are basically books about telling (and writing) powerful stories.

The four recommended, supplemental books are:

Robert McKee, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (Regan Books, 1997)

A CNN Interview "Master the Art": An Interview Interview with Robert McKee On McKee's screenwriting workshop [Robert Mckee-Wikipedia]

John Truby, The Anatomy of Story: 22 Steps to Becoming a Master Storyteller (Faber and Faber, 2007)

Truby's Writers Studio Wikipedia

Christopher Vogler, The Writer’s Journey: Mythic Structure for Writers (Michael Weise Productions, 3rd ed., 2007)

In conjunction with Vogler's introduction to the myth of the hero and the hero's journey, see the course website pages on the "archetype of the hero." [Wikipedia]

James Bonnet, Stealing the Fire From the Gods (Michael Wiese Productions, 2nd ed., 2006)

James Bonnet Bio The Importance of the Threat in Great Stories commentary review

A note about the recommended books: Most of you are not going to be willing to acquire all four of the books. If your narrowing your selection, I'd recommend that you select either McKee or Truby, and either Vogler or Bonnet. Indeed, if you decide to acquire only one of the books, I'd probably recommend McKee's Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting as my first choice; Vogler's The Writer's Journey would be my second choice. I learned only recently about John Truby's The Anatomy of Story and will be studying it more closely during the semester.

▪ Additional Supplemental Reading (Library Reserve): Tim Bywater & Thomas Sobchack, Introduction to Film Criticism: Major Critical Approaches to Narrative Film xi-xvii, 1-2, 24-50 (New York: Longman, 1989) [The Bywater & Sobchack is outrageously expensive; consequently, I did not have the law school book store purchase copies as a "recommended" text. A copy of the book is, however, on course reserve in the library.] [Of the various "critical approaches" to interpreting films, the one you will find most helpful in this course is what Bywater & Sobchack describe as the "humanist approach" which they describe in Chapter 2 (pp. 24-50). I discovered the Bywater & Sobchack book some years after I began teaching lawyer films. but there can be little doubt that in terms of the various approaches outlined by Bywater & Sobchack, my approach is clearly aligned with the humanist perspective.]

▪ Screening & Discussing the Films: On Monday evening's we'll screen the week's film. Most of the films run around 2 hrs. I'll include the "runtime" for each week's film. I like to let a film "settle in" before I try to talk about it. Consequently, our discussion about the films will be on Wednesday evenings following the Monday evening screening. I expect the Wednesday evening discussions to last for an hour, maybe an hour & half.

Our first session on Monday may be a bit longer than usual. I want to talk a little about the course, and then watch "Adam's Rib" (which we will then discuss on Wednesday evening, January 14th.)

Our First Film

▪ ▪ "Adam's Rib" (1949) Runtime-- 1 hr. 41 mins. [Instructor's Notes]

▪ Readings about the Film: I will not, generally, assign "readings" about specific films before we screen them. I will leave to you, as to whether my "instructor's notes" are better pursued before or after you watch the film. My sense is that they might work best--if you find that they work at all--as something you peruse after you watch the film. Keep it mind that the "instructor's notes" are exactly that--my notes (and various links to web resources that you might find of interest). The instructor's notes are not intended as a viewer's guide to the film. In our Wednesday evening discussion's we may, of course, have occasion to pursue some of the ideas presented in the "notes."

▪ About the Course: When I first started teaching the "lawyers and film" course, I read virtually everything, I could find on teaching films. What I learned was something of a surprise: There was quite little in film studies, film theory, and even in the writing about legal films by legal film critics that would provide a guide or template for what I wanted to do with the films. Consequently, after teaching the course for a few years, I decided it was time to tell the world what I was doing in the course, or maybe I should say, what I thought I was doing. You may, at some point, sooner or later, want to read my account of the course.

James R. Elkins, Reading/Teaching Lawyer Films, 28 Vt. L. Rev. 814 (2004)][on-line text][For a condensed version of the essay, see Reading Lawyer Films, 25 (1) Les Cahiers de l’APLIUT (2006)][on-line text][Parts of the Vermont Law Review article are incorporated into the course website]

A few years after the appearance of the Vermont Law Review article, I decided to address more directly what I considered to be the misguided efforts of my legal colleagues as legal film critics. In an article published in the Loyola Los Angeles Law Review, I pick up where I left off in the Vermont article and provide still another account of my own approach to lawyer films.

For a critique of legal film critics, see James R. Elkins, Popular Culture, Legal Films, and Legal Film Critics, 40 Loy. L.A. L. Rev. 745 (2007) [on-line text]

▪ Course Writing: Your grade in the course will be based on a "course writing" or a traditional research paper. You should read, review, and think carefully about this aspect of the course: Course Writing

▪ The Lawyer Film Genre: I have decidedly, in a somewhat tentative fashion, that lawyer films constitute a genre. You might want to review my efforts to describe the genre: Genre

▪ More Course Background (Lawyers and the Study of Popular Culture)

Why Should Lawyers Study Popular Culture?

Articles & Essays on Lawyer & Legal Films
peruse this collection of essays and articles || you may find ideas here for your course writing

▪ Supplemental Reading (Robert McKee): For those of you who are reading the Robert McKee book, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting (ReganBooks, 1997), you might want to read pp. 3-66.

▪ Supplemental Reading: I've asked the bookstore to acquire copies of the recommended books. They should be available in the next several days. We can talk more about whether you should acquire and read these books at our Wednesday evening session.

Monday|Wednesday, February 2|February 4, 2009

▪ "To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) ▪

▪ Instructor's Note ▪

 

Monday, February 9, 2009 || Wednesday, February 11, 2009

"The Verdict" (1982) [Web Resources]

 

"Nuts"
(1987)

 Film Basics:

▪ Wikipedia

 Instructor's Notes

Monday|Wednesday. 23|25. 2009

"And Justice for All" (1979)

▪ Instructor's Notes ▪

Monday|Wednesday, March 2|4.2009

▪▪ "Music Box" (1989)

▪ Instructor's Note

Monday|Wednesday. March 9|11.2009

 

"The Castle"
(1997)

▪ Instructor's Notes

March 16|18 Spring Break :: No Classes

March 23|25 Film of the Week:

"Philadelphia"

▪ Instructor's Note

March 30|April 1, 2009

▪▪ "The Sweet Hereafter" (1997) ▪ Instructor's Notes

 

 

 

 

 

April 13|15, 2009

▪ ▪ "The Last Wave" (1977)

 

 

 

▪ Instructor's Note ▪

 

"The Last Wave" is the last major film to be screened in the course.

 

Monday, April 20: Final Class. In this last class meeting, we'll try to wrap things up. The film for the evening is a short Woody Allen film, "Oedipus Wrecks," presented as a part of a three director trilogy, "New York Stories" (1989). [Wikipedia]

 

Monday, 4 PM, April 27: Your course writings and/or papers are due on Monday, April 27th. All papers are to be delivered to my office (Rm. 110) or presented by email. A paper will not be considered "delivered" until I have received and confirmed delivery by return email. All papers will be due by 4 PM on the due date. (You can also deliver your paper to Karen Feather, my secretary, in Rm. 117.)

Since I have conferred with some members of the class about writings and paper topics, you can use either exam number or your name on your paper.