The course will critically examine developments in film theory from the 1920s to 1970s. The first part of the course will discuss the question of the ontology of the cinematic image and the debates between realist and formalist approaches. The second part will examine theories of film semiotic and structuralism as well as film genre and authorism. The third part will explore the relationships between ideology and cinema, focusing on Marxist and Neo-Marxist film theories.