Course Summary
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PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Course Title: THE NEW HOLLYWOOD: Revolution in American Cinema, 1967 - 1975 Course Code: FLM 146 Instructor: Elliot Lavine Course Summary: This course is designed to provide an overview of the dramatically and often radically reinvigorated American film industry that emerged in the mid-1960s as both an answer to the draconian censorship laws still being applied to films, as well as the rapidly changing political and social landscape occurring at this time. We will watch and discuss some of the more influential films from this exciting period. *Please see course page for full description and additional details. Note About Live Attendance and Recording: These class sessions will be recorded. Live attendance is required to earn Credit. Grade Options and Requirements: • No Grade Requested (NGR) o This is the default option. No work will be required; no credit shall be received; no proof of attendance can be provided. • Credit/No Credit (CR/NC) *Please Note: If you require proof that you completed a Continuing Studies course for any reason (for example, employer reimbursement), you must the Credit/No Credit option. Courses taken for NGR will not appear on official transcripts or grade reports. Tentative Weekly Outline: Please watch the listed films before the class session that week. They can be purchased or rented via YouTube Movies or Amazon, and some might be on services such as Hulu or Netflix. Typically, if you do a Google search for a title, it will display the various streaming options. Here is the tentative list of films we’ll be watching and discussing… Week 1: BONNIE & CLYDE (1967) Arthur Penn’s seminal retelling of the lives of these two desperados was a brash introduction of a new sensibility revolving around sex and violence and the Cinema. From this point on, everything would be different. Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene, Hackman, and Estelle Parsons headline the cast. (ZOOM discussion on June 22) Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions 365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305 [email protected] 650-725-2650 PRELIMINARY COURSE SYLLABUS Week 2: THE GRADUATE (1967) The Mike Nichols sex comedy starring Dustin Hoffman and Katharine Ross (with a brilliant screenplay from Buck Henry) dared to go where other films feared to and the result was an inroad to establishing a new “youth culture.” (ZOOM discussion on June 29) Week 3: POINT BLANK (1967) Director John Boorman virtually reinvented the crime movie with this incendiary tale of revenge and redemption. Lee Marvin and Angie Dickinson star but it’s the director who steals the show in this kaleidoscopically dazzling film. (ZOOM discussion on July 6) Week 4: THE SWIMMER (1968) John Updike’s short story, originally appearing in The New Yorker becomes, in the hands of director Frank Perry, one of the most stunningly original metaphorical commentaries on the fragility of the American male ego ever committed to film. Burt Lancaster, an icon from Cinema’s past, reminds audiences of his perpetual relevancy. (ZOOM discussion of July 13) Week 5: MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) John Schlesinger’s film arrived like a shock wave with its daringly original presentation of human relationships. Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight star in this visceral slap in the face to conventional movie-going norms; it was the first X-rated film to win the Oscar for Best Film. (ZOOM discussion on July 20) Week 6: TO BE ANNOUNCED!! (ZOOM on July 27) Week 7: BADLANDS (1973) Terrence Malick’s debut film, starring Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek, gave new meaning to the complicated and still controversial linkage between sex and violence in this thrillingly poetic fictionalization of real-life 1950s thrill-killers Charles Starkweather and Caril Ann Fugate. (ZOOM discussion on August 3) Week 8: THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) Robert Altman’s revisionist take on Raymond Chandler’s 1953 detective novel provided audiences and critics alike much to ponder and argue about with this beautifully melancholy film. Of all the director’s iconic films from this crazily creative period, this one probably has the most to say about its time. (ZOOM discussion on August 10) Week 9: THE CONVERSATION (1974) Francis Ford Coppola took a break between the two Godfather films and created one of the most frightening personal thrillers of the period, a tragic examination of loneliness and isolation in a morally deteriorating society. Starring Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Frederic Forrest, and Cindy Williams. (ZOOM discussion on August 17) Week 10: TO BE ANNOUNCED! (ZOOM on August 24) Please contact the Stanford Continuing Studies office with any questions 365 Lasuen St., Stanford, CA 94305 [email protected] 650-725-2650 .