Music and the Movies
Instructor: John Fetzer, Department of German, College of Letters and Science
Description: The aim of this course is to make students aware of the unique role which the musical score can play in our appreciation and understanding of a film. Film scores selected will be of two types: 1. those written specifically for the movie itself (as, for instance, Howard Shore's music for the "Lord of the Rings" trilogy), and 2. those which make use of already existing "classical" music works and which, in a sense, reinforce the message conveyed through the visual medium (for instance, the use of Mahler's 5th Symphony - specifically the "Adagietto" movement - for Visconti's "Death in Venice”). The seminar has the goal of sharpening the student's aesthetic perception and show him/her that in the artistic medium, facets of a work which might, on the surface, be regarded as "background" material can, in a subtle manner, actually undergird and even enhance the thematic subject conveyed visually or through the spoken word.
Format: Several films will be analyzed with regard to the musical score (and how it relates to the content). In addition, excerpts from other film scores will be played and discussed in class in order to illustrate (on a smaller scale) certain techniques (for instance, the vivacious whistling march from "Bridge on the River Kwai" or the frantic score of "Psycho"). If, during the duration of the course, a new film has been released for which the musical score is unique and particularly germane, a class trip to that movie might be arranged. Students will be required to view and analyze the films outside of class and to listen to pertinent musical scores as indicated by the instructor. Grading: The P/NP grade will be based on the quality of an oral report in class (maximum of 7 minutes in duration) and on one short paper of two pages in length, in which the student will treat some aspect of the musical setting of the specific film viewed in class - or of another film of the student's choosing. The oral report and the paper count 40% toward the passing grade, active class participation accounts for the remaining 20%.
About the Instructor: John Fetzer received his BA from New York University, his MA from Columbia University, and his Ph.D. in German Literature and Culture from the University of California, Berkeley. Prior to coming to UC Davis in 1965 he taught at Columbia University, the University of Georgia, UC Berkeley and Northwestern University. He has been a guest professor at Dartmouth College and the University of Exeter, England. His publications include books on Romantic and modern German writers, and about fifty articles dealing with a wide variety of topics. After retiring in 1993, he has continued his teaching and research, while also devoting himself to musical composition, choral singing, as well as to daily tennis and weekly golf.