Travels in film with Graham Greene

Content of Course

The course begins with an introduction to Graham Greene's career by way of extracts from his autobiography, giving some background to his first novels and career as a reviewer of films. We will look at some early novels, which were written with a consciously 'cinematic' style and were picked by Hollywood producers. Greene became involved in adaptations of his own work in collaboration with directors, especially Carol Reed. Much of this is documented and obviously is on the screen. Greene wrote often on the film industry and expressed firm ideas, which can prompt discussion of his own and others' adaptations.

The foreign, and often dangerous, settings of many novels and their films are clearly important to Greene's appeal: Mexico, Vienna, Sierra Leone, Havana, Haiti, Vietnam, Italy. The contexts of the films are crucial to understanding the financial, political, cultural and technical constraints on the filmmakers. Film language, the way meaning is created for the viewer, is also key. We will be aware of: narrative structure; point of view; miseen-scene; colour or black and white; lighting; camera angles and movement, choice of shot; editing; casting, acting; sound, music, etc., all within what may have become the 'Graham Greene genre'.

Teaching method(s)

Students will be offered a variety of reading material for background to each film: Greene's essays, short stories, extracts from prose fiction; relevant articles. A full screening follows a spoken introduction with key information setting the film in its context. After the film there will be discussion and analysis of particular scenes, themes, audience responses and film language. Contemporaneous reviews of the film may be of value in discussion. The pattern is of introduction, screening, discussion. Week 2 would begin by referring back to week 1 to allow for afterthoughts, and so on throughout the ten weeks to allow students to develop their understanding.

Learning outcomes

On completion of this course, the student will be able to:

• Demonstrate an understanding of Graham Greene's relationship with cinema as writer and critic;

• Develop an understanding of the many constraints on film production;

• Appreciate cinematic techniques used in telling narratives and conveying meaning;

• Discuss differential readings of films across cultures and time.

Sources

Core Readings

Recommended:

• Hand, Richard J and Purssell, Andrew. 2015. Adapting Graham Greene. London: Macmillan Education

• Parkinson, David, ed. 1995. The Graham Greene Film Reader. NY: Applause Books Any of the novels or short stories by Graham Greene

Queries

If you have questions regarding the course or enrolment, please contact COL Reception at Paterson's Land by email COL@ed.ac.uk or by phone 0131 650 4400.

Student support

If you have a disability, learning difficulty or health condition which may affect your studies, please let us know by ticking the 'specific support needs' box on your course application form. This will allow us to make appropriate adjustments in advance and in accordance with your rights under the Equality Act 2010. For more information please visit the Student Support section of our website.