GH 301: The Films of Alfred Hitchcock

Mystery! Murder! Suspense! MacGuffins! Alfred Hitchcock is considered one of the greatest film directors in the history of modern cinema, a master of classical Hollywood techniques. Recently, the American Film Institute [AFI] declared his Vertigo [1958] to be the greatest film ever made, ending Citizen Kane's fifty year run at the top of AFI's list of the 100 best films. Studying Hitchcock's technique, we will watch Vertigo, Dial M for Murder, Rear Window, North by Northwest, Psycho, and The Birds, as well as some of his earlier British films, including Blackmail, the first British "talkie." We will emphasize Hitchcock's mastery of the techniques central to both Classical Hollywood Cinema and the building of suspense as well as Hitchcock's method of adapting literary texts to film. [Please note that the Monday sessions meet only from 2:00–3:15 and that Wednesday class sessions will never meet for three hours. Most Hitchcock films are between 85 and 100 minutes.]

Required Texts:

Dictionary of Film Terms by Frank E. Beaver. ISBN 9781433127274

Psycho by Robert Block. ISBN 9780812529327

Strangers on a Train by Patricia Highsmith. ISBN 9780393321982

The 39 Steps by John Buchan. ISBN 9780141441177

Instructor: Dr. Jake Jakaitis

Please contact Dr. Jakaitis if you have questions about this class.