MY FILM CLASSES

 After my retirement in January of 2015, I began signing up for non-credit film classes at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), an educational foundation for people over 50. The institute has chapters affiliated with several colleges and universities in the United States, and ours is affiliated with the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where I've lived for nearly fifty years. There is a wide variety of classes available, everything from languages, current events, music and different categories of literature. Since my primary interest is in film, I jumped at the chance to start taking some of the classes being offered. Most classes are based on a certain director, theme or genre. The format of the classes generally consists of the instructor introducing the film of the day with a slide presentation and discussion, followed by the film viewing, and then continuing with a discussion period. Most of my classes have been taught by local film critic and scholar Chuck Koplinski. Chuck writes film reviews for our local newspaper, The News-Gazette and for The Illinois Times. He also appears regularly on local television talking about and recommending films. He is one half of a movie critic team effort called Reel Talk With Chuck and Pam along with another local critic and scholar Pam Powell. http://reeltalkwithchuckandpam.com/  I've also taken classes from local scholars Connie Hosier and Christine Catanzarite. Christine was the director of our OLLI chapter at the time. All of the classes were thoroughly enjoyable and good learning experiences. I would say my interests in film have expanded considerably because of these opportunities.

This page will serve as a record of the classes and the films that were shown. During the Spring semester of 2020, all OLLI classes were shut down early due to the Covid pandemic. The Fall semester class, Sports Films, was held via Zoom. Hopefully, in-person instruction will resume at some point for all classes.

THE FILMS OF JOHN HUSTON

Spring 2015  Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

THE ASPHALT JUNGLE (1950)

Brilliant Film Noir/crime thriller/character study starring Sterling Hayden, Louis Calhern, Jean Hagen, James Whitmore, Sam Jaffe, John McIntyre, and featuring Marilyn Monroe in one of her most important early performances. 

KEY LARGO (1948)

Bogart and Bacall, in their fourth and final film together, are joined by Edward G. Robinson, Claire Trevor and Lionel Barrymore in this excellent Film Noir. 

FAT CITY (1972)

Released in 1972, this film focuses on the world of professional boxing. Starring Stacy Keach and Jeff Bridges. Gritty, realistic, and filled with beautifully realized characters, this is a somewhat downbeat experience, but worth seeing for the talent involved. Susan Tyrrell won an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her energetic performance.

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

This third adaptation of the novel by Dashiell Hammett (All made at Warner Brothers) is by far the best. Bogart shines as the complicated detective Sam Spade who gets drawn into an equally complicated case by a classic femme fatale (Mary Astor). With Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre, Lee Patrick, Gladys George, Jerome Cowan, Barton McLane, Ward Bond and Elisha Cook, Jr. This movie gets better every time I see it. Beautifully photographed in the Film Noir style.

THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)

This was my first viewing of The African Queen. It's very enjoyable seeing these two great stars working together. Bogart won his only Oscar for Best Actor. Also starring Katharine Hepburn and Robert Morley.

THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)

Huston and Bogart team up again in this amazing film which is not only a great adventure story but also a brilliant character study. Bogart and Tim Holt play American drifters Fred C. Dobbs and Bob Curtin who are stuck in Tampico, Mexico and trying to survive and make enough money to go back the the US. They meet an old prospector (Walter Huston) who convinces them to go into the Sierra Madre mountains and search for gold. This is another film I love more and more with each viewing.

THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975)

Another first time watch for me. This film definitely requires a second viewing. Based on a novella by Rudyard Kipling, this is the story of two former British Army sergeants (Sean Connery and Michael Caine), now a couple of unscrupulous adventurers, who find themselves in the remote country of Kafiristan where one of them is proclaimed a god and made king. Moral of the story: Power corrupts. Christopher Plummer appears as Kipling.

THE MISFITS (1961)

Sad story of a directionless divorcee (Marilyn Monroe) getting involved with a group of aging cowboys and getting romantically involved with one of them (Clark Gable). Screenplay by Arthur Miller. This was the final film for both Gable and Monroe and was a financial failure at the time. Also starring Montgomery Clift, Eli Wallach, Kevin McCarthy, and that old scene stealer herself, Thelma Ritter. Fascinating film to watch, if somewhat unsatisfying.  

Fall 2015 CLASSIC HOLLYWOOD FIMS AND THE GOLDEN ERA OF THE STUDIO SYSTEM

Instructor: Christine Catanzarite

September 15: Early Sound and the Production Code

THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)

Directed by William Wellman.

Starring James Cagney, Jean Harlow and Joan Blondell.

September 22: The Depression and the Spectacle

TOP HAT (1935)

Starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers.

September 29: The Golden Year: 1939

THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

Starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley and Bert Lahr.

October 6: Hollywood Goes To War

YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 

Starring James Cagney, Joan Leslie and Walter Huston. Directed by Michael Curtiz.

October 20: Postwar Anxiety

DETOUR (1945)

Starring Tom Neal, Ann Savage and Claudia Drake. Directed by Edgar G. Ulmer.

October 27: New Stories, New Audiences

REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)

Starring James Dean, Natalie Wood and Sal Mineo. Directed by Nicholas Ray.

November 3: The Movies in a World of Television

TWELVE ANGRY MEN (1957)

Starring Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam and Lee J. Cobb. Directed by Sidney Lumet.

November 10: The System Challenged

PILLOW TALK (1959)

Starring Doris Day, Rock Hudson, Tony Randall and Thelma Ritter.

FALL 2015: DISCOVERING MOVIES

Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

SEEKING A FRIEND FOR THE END OF THE WORLD (2012)

Starring Steve Carell, Keira Knightley, Adam Brody, Derek Luke and Martin Sheen. Directed by Lorene Scafaria.

THE VISITOR (2007)

Starring Richard Jenkins, Hiam Abbass, Haz Sleiman and Danai Gurira. Directed by Tom McCarthy.

STRANGER THAN FICTION (2006)

Starring Will Farrell, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Dustin Hoffman, Queen Latifah and Emma Thompson. Directed by Ron Forster.

SORCERER (1977)

Starring Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer and Francisco Rabal. Directed by William Friedkin.

EYES WITHOUT A FACE (1960)

Starring Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli and Edith Scob. Directed by Georges Franju.

MINORITY REPORT (2002)

Starring Tom Cruise, Colin Farrell, Samantha Morton and Max von Sydow. Directed by Steven Spielberg.

THE MORE THE MERRIER (1943)

Starring Jean Arthur, Joel McCrea and Charles Coburn. Directed by George Stevens.

THE THREE BURIALS OF MELQUIADES ESTRADA (2005)

Starring Tommy Lee Jones, Barry Pepper, January Jones, Dwight Yoakum, Julio Cedillo, Melissa Leo and Levon Helm. Directed by Tommy Lee Jones.

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND: A GROWNUP APPRECIATION OF PIXAR'S ANIMATED FILMS

Summer 2016  Instructor: Christine Catanzarite

TOY STORY (1995)

TOY STORY 2 (1999)

TOY STORY 3 (2009)

THE INCREDIBLES (2004)

CARS (2006)

WALL-E (2008)

UP (2009)

INSIDE OUT (2015)

THE FILMS OF ALFRED HICHCOCK  Fall 2016  Instructor: Connie Hosier

BLACKMAIL (1929)

Starring Anny Ondra, John Longden and Cyril Ritchard. This exciting mystery was Hitchcock's first sound film. It was actually begun as a silent.

THE 39 STEPS (1935)

Starring Robert Donat and Madeleine Carroll.

THE LADY VANISHES (1938)

Starring Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Paul Lukas and Dame May Whitty.

REBECCA (1940)

Starring Lawrence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, Judith Anderson and George Sanders.

SHADOW OF A DOUBT (1943)

Starring Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotten.

LIFEBOAT (1944)

Starring Talullah Bankhead, William Bendix, Mary Anderson, John Hodiak, Henry Hull, Heather Angel, Walter Slezak, Canada Lee and Hume Cronyn.

SPELLBOUND (1945)

Starring Ingrid Bergman and Gregory Peck.

NOTORIOUS (1946)

Starring Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman and Claude Rains. This was a first watch for me and was the class favorite. It was the only film in the series that had the entire class breaking out in applause at the end!

THE FILMS OF WARREN BEATTY

Fall 2016  Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)

Starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard, Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. Directed by Arthur Penn.

THE PARALLAX VIEW (1974)

Starring Warren Beatty, Hume Cronyn, William Daniels and Paula Prentiss. Directed by Alan J. Pakula.

HEAVEN CAN WAIT (1978)

Starring Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Dyan Cannon, Charles Grodin, James Mason, Buck Henry, Vincent Gardenia and Jack Warden. Directed by Warren Beatty and Buck Henry.

REDS (1981)

Starring Warren Beatty, Diane Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Paul Sorvino and Maureen Stapleton.

Directed by Warren Beatty.

DICK TRACY (1990)

Starring Warren Beatty, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman and Madonna. Directed by Warren Beatty.

BUGSY (1991)

Starring Warren Beatty, Annette Bening, Harvey Keitel, Ben Kingsley and Elliot Gould. Directed by Barry Levinson.

LOVE AFFAIR (1994)

Starring Warren Beatty, Annette Bening and Katharine Hepburn. Directed by Glenn Gordon Caron.

BULWORTH (1998)

Starring Warren Beatty, Halle Berry, Don Cheadle, Paul Sorvino and Sean Astin. Directed by Warren Beatty.

SPRING 2017  A FILM CRITIC PRESENTS UNSUNG AND FORGOTTEN CINEMATIC TREASURES

Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

OUR HOSPITALITY (1923)

Starring Buster Keaton, Joe Roberts and Natalie Talmadge. Directed by Buster Keaton.

LETTER FROM AN UNKNOWN WOMAN (1948)

Starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan. Directed by Max Ophuls.

WINCHESTER 73 (1950)

Starring James Stewart, Shelley Winters, Dan Duryea and Stephen McNally. Directed by Anthony Mann.

ONCE (2007)

Starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova. Directed by John Carney.

IDA (2013)

Starring Agat Kulesza. Directed by Pawel Pawlikowski.

FISH TANK (2009)

Starring Katie Jarvis and Michael Fassbender. Directed by Andrea Arnold.

PATERSON (2016)

Starring Adam Driver. Directed by Jim Jarmusch.

PRE-CODE HOLLYWOOD FILMS

Fall 2017   Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

BABY FACE (1933)

Starring Barbara Stanwyck, George Brent and Theresa Harris. Directed by Alfred E. Green.

I AM A FUGITIVE FROM A CHAIN GANG (1932)

Starring Paul Muni, Glenda Farrell, Helen Vinson and Preston Foster. Directed by Mervyn LeRoy.

SCARFACE (1932)

Starring Paul Muni, George Raft and Boris Karloff. Directed by Howard Hawks.

TROUBLE IN PARADISE (1932)

Starring Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis and Herbert Marshall. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

RED DUST (1932)

Starring Clark Gable, Jean Harlow, Gene Raymond and Mary Astor. Directed by Victor Fleming.

TARZAN AND HIS MATE (1934)

Starring Johnny Weissmuller and Maureen O'Sullivan. Directed by Cedric Gibbons.

THE BITTER TEA OF GENERAL YEN (1933)

Starring Barbara Stanwyck and Nils Asther. Directed by Frank Capra.

ISLAND OF LOST SOULS (1933)

Starring Charles Laughton, Bela Lugosi, Richard Arlen and Leila Hyams. Directed by Erle C. Kenton.

ORSON WELLES: FROM CITIZEN KANE TO BEYOND

Spring 2018    Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

CITIZEN KANE (1941)

Starring Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore and Agnes Moorehead. Directed by Orson Welles.

THE MAGNIFICENT AMBERSONS (1942)

Starring Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Tim Holt, Ann Baxter and Agnes Moorehead. Directed by Orson Welles.

THE LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948)

Starring Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth. Directed by Orson Welles.

MACBETH (1948)

Starring Orson Welles and Jeanette Nolan. Directed by Orson Welles.

OTHELLO (1952)

Starring Orson Welles, Micheal MacLiammoir, Robert Coote and Suzanne Cloutier.

Directed by Orson Welles.

TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)

Starring Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Joseph Calleia, Akim Tamiroff and Marlene Deitrich. Directed by Orson Welles.

THE TRIAL (1962)

Starring Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schnieder and Orson Welles. Directed by Orson Welles.

F FOR FAKE (1973)

Directed by Orson Welles.

TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY CINEMATIC SLEEPERS

Fall 2018   Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

A SCANNER DARKLY (2006)

Starring Keanu Reeves, Robert Downey, Jr., Winona Ryder, Woody Harrelson, and Rory Cochrane.

Directed by Richard Linklater.

IN BRUGES (2008)

Starring Colin Farrell, Brendan Gleeson and Ralph Fiennes. Directed by Martin McDonagh.

YOUNG ADULT (2011)

Starring Charlize Theron, Patton Oswalt and Patrick Wilson. Directed by Jason Reitman.

WENDY AND LUCY (2008)

Starring Michelle Williams, Walter Dalton and Will Patton. Directed by Kelly Reichardt.

ANOTHER EARTH (2011)

Starring Brit Marling and William Mapother. Directed by Mike Cahill.

CALVARY (2014)

Starring Brendan Gleeson, Chris O'Dowd and Kelly Reilly. Directed by John Michael McDonagh.

NORMAN (2016)

Starring Richard Gere, Lior Ashkenazi, Hank Azaria, Steve Buscemi, Charlotte Gainsboroug and Michael Sheen. Directed by Joseph Cedar.

THE GIFT (2015)

Starring Jason Bateman, Joel Edgerton and Rebecca Hall.

Directed by Joel Edgerton.

1939: HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST YEAR

Fall 2019    Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

NINOTCHKA (1939)

Starring Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas, Ina Claire and Bela Lugosi. Directed by Ernst Lubitsch.

DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (1939)

Starring Marlene Dietrich, James Stewart, Mischa Auer, Brian Donlevy and Una Merkel.

Directed by George Marshall.

BEAU GESTE (1939)

Starring Gary Cooper, Ray Milland, Robert Preston, Brian Donlevy and Susan Hayward. Directed by William Wellman.

GOLDEN BOY (1939)

Starring Barbara Stanwyck, William Holden and Adolph Menjou. Directed by Rouben Mamoulian.

WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)

Starring Lawrence Olivier, Merle Oberon, David Niven, Flora Robson and Geraldine Fitzgerald. Directed by William Wyler.

STAGECOACH (1939)

Starring Claire Trevor, John Wayne, George Bancroft, Andy Devine, John Carradine and Donald Meek. Directed by John Ford.

GUNGA DIN (1939)

Starring Cary Grant, Victor McLaglen, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., Joan Fontaine and Sam Jaffe.

Directed by George Stevens.

1999: HOLLYWOOD'S GREATEST YEAR?

Spring 2020   Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

THE BLAIR WITCH PROJECT (1999)

Starring Heather Donahue, Michael C. Williams and Joshua Leonard. Directed by Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sanchez.

THE THREE KINGS (1999)

Starring George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube. Directed by David O. Russell.

FIGHT CLUB (1999)

Starring Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Helena Bonham Carter and Jared Leto.

Directed by David Fincher.

ELECTION (1999)

Starring Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon. Directed by Alexander Payne.

THE MATRIX (1999)

Starring Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne and Carrie Ann Moss. Directed by The Wachowski Brothers.

THE LIMEY (1999)

Starring Terence Stamp, Lesley Ann Warren and Peter Fonda. Directed by Steven Soderbergh.

THE SIXTH SENSE

Starring Bruce Willis, Haley Joel Osment, Toni Collette and Donnie Wahlberg. Directed by M. Night Shyamalan.

SPORTS FILMS

Fall 2020   Instructor: Chuck Koplinski

THE WAY BACK (2020)

Starring Ben Affleck. Directed by Gavin O'Connor.

BULL DURHAM (1998)

Starring Kevin Costner, Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins. Directed by Ron Shelton.

FRIDAY NIGHT LIGHTS (2004)

Starring Billy Bob Thornton and Derek Luke. Directed by Peter Berg.

RUSH (2013)

Starring Chris Hemsworth, Daniel Bruhl and Olivia Wilde. Directed by Ron Howard.

THE FIGHTER (2010)

Starring Christian Bale, Mark Wahlberg and Amy Adams. Directed by David O. Russell.

INVICTUS (2009)

Starring Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon. Directed by Clint Eastwood.

MYSTERY, ALASKA (1999)

Starring Russell Crowe and Hank Azaria. Directed by Jay Roach.

TIN CUP (1996)

Starring Kevin Costner, Rene Russo, Don Johnson and Cheech Marin. Directed by Ron Shelton.