Today your assignment is to watch the film Life Lessons (Martin Scorsese, 1989), which is 44 minutes long.  Afterwards, you have the rest of the class to write an analysis.  You can watch the film a second time or scan it for particular scenes or details if you’d like.  Click on the button to the right to go to the film.  I recommend strongly that you activate the subtitles by clicking on the “CC” icon below the screen.

Your completed written analysis must be submitted by the end of class, sent to me by Mio, as a Word document.  That is by 2:00 pm at the latest.

This is intended as a form of “summative evaluation” testing the strength of your learning throughout the course.  By now you have a stronger critical awareness of what goes into films and will no doubt see a lot.  In addition to the form – the various elements like camera, sound, music, lighting, etc – you may also discuss the film’s story and thematic elements.  Feel free to respond to any detail.  There is no minimum or maximum length, but I recommend that you are as thorough as you can be.  Leave time at the end to read your work over carefully and correct it if necessary.  Please double space as though you were writing a regular essay.

You may want to use some outside sources – for example if you read a quick biography of Martin Scorsese – but I caution you strongly not to plagiarize any of your actual analysis from the internet as I am quite familiar with all of what has been written about the film.  (And in any case, some of it is definitely NOT worth using!).