COMM 439 - The Thriller in Cinema

Credit(s): 6
6 hours lecture, 6 hours contact
Prerequisite(s): ENGL 287 Modes of Analysis and an Introductory level Communications course.
This course will review the thriller as a genre within film history. The course will begin with the short Westerns of Edison, Griffith’s “Perils of Pauline, and the Film Noir Gangster films of the 1930’s. Of particular interest will be the significant contributions of Alfred Hitchcock including “Notorious” and “North by Northwest. Students will analyze other films in the genre include Orson Wells’ “The Third Man”, Michael Curtis’ “Casablanca” and Robert Redford’s “Three Days of the Condor”. The course will also include the contemporary “Bourne” series. Students will examine the techniques utilized by directors to enhance drama, excitement and mystery. A Life Arts Project is required. Only open to students in the B.A. Liberal Arts and Sciences program.