An introduction to the interpretive analysis of film, emphasizing the role played by such formal features as mise-en-scene, editing, cinematography, and sound in generating meaning. In addition, we will consider aspects of film history, including the role of genre and the contrasting narrative and visual conventions prevailing in Hollywood and in strikingly different national traditions, such as the silent cinema of the Soviet montage and the French New Wave cinema of the 1960s. Critical readings will be assigned, and we will examine films by such directors as Eisenstein, Keaton, Murnau, Renoir, Hawks, Welles, Kurosowa, Hitchcock, Almodovar and Jonze. The format will mix lectures with meetings of smaller discussion sections. Requirements may vary somewhat by section, but will include a few short responses, an eight page essay, two film editing exercises, and a final exam. Active participation in class discussions will be required Prerequisite: a 100-level English course, except 150. Enrollment limit: 70 for lectures; 35 for each discussion section (expected: 35 per section). Preference given to sophomores and current English majors. Two sections. Not open to students who have taken English 204 without permission of the instructor. (Post-1900)