This course is your opportunity to focus on Martin Scorsese's lesser-known films from across fifty years of his filmmaking. Our course will include consideration films such as Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore and his film Kundun. We will consider Scorsese's work as a film-stylist and also as part of the 'New Hollywood' of emerging filmmakers who came to the fore in the early 1970s. The course will also allow for the opportunity to engage with some of the plentiful writing about Scorsese's work. Each session will include a presentation from the tutor that will serve as a starting point for group discussion within each class. We will not watch film excerpts within classes. Film excerpts and reading material will be indicated by the tutor ahead of each class and will be housed on the WEA's online learning platform, Canvas. The course tutor James Clarke has written extensively about cinema and is a longstanding WEA tutor specialising in teaching Film courses.
Course aim
Martin Scorsese is a major American filmmaker and this course explores his work as a filmmaker. We will explore both his fiction films and his documentary work and his place in contemporary American cinema.
Do I need any particular skills or experience?
- This course is for beginners and improvers
By the end of the course I should be able to:
- Identify the concept of the film 'author'.
- Discuss the importance of genre to American cinema.
- Identify aspects of film style.
- Discuss the relationship between characters and themes.
- Identify some of the many ways in which cinema is a part of the wider culture and contributes to culture.
What else do I need to know?
The only expectation is that students will, as much as possible, have the opportunity to access viewing and reading resources head of each session via the Canvas online learning platform.
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