Robert E. Yahnke, Prof. Emeritus
College of Education and Human Development
University of Minnesota

When I taught an introductory film course to freshmen/sophomores, I always used extensive summaries of each film (as a basis for note-taking, worksheets, and exercises) and shared those summaries with students. I taught these films in the introductory course as well as a freshman seminar on international cinema. Below is a listing of feature-length film summaries (from American and International films) as well as a listing of notes and exercises for those films (and selected other films). I hope some of these resources will be helpful for you in your film classes. For additional resources on films on aging, see the home page, Resources for Teaching Film.

Feature-length Film Summaries:

• American Dream, (documentary) dir. Barbara Kopple (1991)
• American Movie (documentary) dir. Chris Smith (1999)
  Bowling for Columbine (documentary), dir. Michael Moore (2002)
  Brothers, dir. Susanne Bier (Denmark, 2004)
• Casablanca, dir. Michael Curtiz (1942)
• Central Station, dir. Walter Salles, (Brazil, 1998)
  Cinema Paradiso, dir. Giuseppi Tornatore (Italy, 1988)
• Citizen Kane, dir. Orson Welles (1941)
• Crash, dir. Paul Haggis (1999)
• Dr. Strangelove, dir. Stanley Kubrick (1964)
  Elling, dir. Peter Naess (Norway, 1999)
• The 400 Blows, dir. Francois Truffaut (1959)
  The Graduate, dir. Mike Nichols (1967)
  Heaven, dir. Tom Tykver (Italy, Germany, 2002)
  Hoop Dreams, (documentary) dir.Steve James, Fred Marx, Peter Gilbert (1990)
  Roger and Me, (documentary) dir. Michael Moore (1989)
  Run Lola Run, dir. Tom Tykver (Germany, 1999)
  Secrets & Lies, dir. Mike Leigh (UK, 1995)
  The Seventh Seal, dir. Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1956)
  Shall We Dance? dir. Masayuki Suo (Japan, 1997)
  Smoke, dir. Wayne Wang (1996)
  The Station Agent, dir. Tom McCarthy (2001)
  Taxi Driver, dir. Martin Scorsese (1976)
  The Thin Red Line, Part One, dir. Terrence Malick (1998)
• The Thin Red Line, Part Two, dir. Terrence Malick (1998)
  2001: A Space Odyssey, dir. Stanley Kubrick (UK, 1968)
• The Virgin Spring, dir. Ingmar Bergman (Sweden, 1960)
  Walkabout, dir. Nicolas Roeg (Australia, 1971)
  Welcome to Sarajevo, dir. Michael Winterbottom (UK, 1997)
  Y Tu Mama Tambien (Mexico, 2002)

Notes/Exercises on these films:

• American Dream: Additional notes
  American Dream: Key Scenes
• American Movie: Discussion Questions
  Bowling for Columbine: Discussion Questions
  Brothers: Teaching Notes
• Casablanca: Art of the Shot in the Climactic Scene
• Central Station: Musical Themes
• Central Station: Structure of 2nd Half of Film
• Central Station: Teaching Notes
  Central Station: Thematic Structure
  Cinema Paradiso: Discussion Questions
  Cinema Paradiso: Key Cuts
  Cinema Paradiso: Musical Themes
• Cinema Paradiso: Structure of Film
• Cinema Paradiso: Teaching Notes
  Citizen Kane: Editing in key scene
• Citizen Kane: Review of Film Techniques
• Crash: Discussion Questions
• Crash: Structure of Film
  Crash: Teaching Notes
• Dr. Strangelove: Previewing Notes
• Dr. Strangelove: Teaching Notes
  Elling: Teaching Notes
• The 400 Blows: Discussion Questions
• The 400 Blows: Symbolic Settings, Part 1
• The 400 Blows: Symbolic Settings, Part 2
  The 400 Blows: Teaching Notes
• The Graduate: Notes on Film Techniques
  The Graduate: Review Questions
• The Graduate: Worksheet
• Heaven: Editing in Opening Sequence
• Heaven: Teaching Notes-1
• Heaven: Teaching Notes-2
  Hoop Dreams: Chart comparing characters
  Hoop Dreams: Discussion and Key Scenes
• Roger and Me: Teaching Notes
• Run Lola Run: The Three Runs
• Run Lola Run: Review of Scenes
• Run Lola Run: Teaching Notes
• Secrets & Lies: Analyzing the Screenplay
• Secrets & Lies: Structure of the Screenplay
• Secrets & Lies: Teaching Notes
• Smoke: Exposition
• Smoke: "Key Cuts" Exercise
• Smoke: Dramatic Structure & Plot Threads
  Smoke: Stories vs. Truths
• Smoke: Teaching Notes
• Station Agent: Teaching Notes-1
• Station Agent: Teaching Notes-2
  Taxi Driver: Editing in the Slaughter Scene
  Taxi Driver: Teaching Notes
  Taxi Driver: Writing Exercise on the Screenplay
• Taxi Driver: Variety of Notes & Questions
  The Thin Red Line: Analysis of Musical Themes
• The Thin Red Line: Discussion Groups
  The Thin Red Line: Last Class
• The Thin Red Line: Overview Chart
  The Thin Red Line: Teaching Notes (1)
  The Thin Red Line: Teaching Notes (2)
  The Thin Red Line: Themes in Dialogue
  2001: A Space Odyssey, Editing
  2001: A Space Odyssey, Editing: HAL vs. Dave
  Walkabout: Opening Sequence
• Welcome to Sarajevo: Political Context
• Welcome to Sarajevo: Notes
  Y Tu Mama Tambien: Teaching Notes
  Y Tu Mama Tambien: Structure of Film

Notes/Exercises on other films or on aspects of the art of film

• Art of the Shot: Cinema vs. Theater
• Best Intentions: Analysis of Opening Sequence
• Documentary Film Techniques
• The Exorcist: Opening Sequence
  Harold and Maude: Parallel Editing in the Climactic Scene
  Hombre: Analysis of the stagecoach scene, dir. Martin Ritt (1967)
• Introduction to the Art of the Frame
  Last Orders: Introduction to Psychological Editing
  The Limey: Psychological Editing
• The Natural: Editing in the Closing Scene
  Potemkin: Editing in the Mutiny Scene
• Tender Mercies: Introductory Sequence
  

Conditions for Use:

Robert E. Yahnke is the sole author of all of these written materials. Request permission from the author, and holder of copyright, for any of these resources--and only for educational use only. Please insure that the following lines are added in any handout you use for teaching purposes:

Summary/Exercise/Notes written by Robert E. Yahnke
Copyright by Robert E. Yahnke, 2009, used by permission of author

The views and opinions expressed in this page are strictly those of the page author.
The contents of this page have not been reviewed or approved by the University of Minnesota.