MATTHEW ASPREY GEAR

This original film studies course, presented on Google Meet, will present a comprehesive exploration of films made behind the Iron Curtain during the period following the ‘Khrushchev thaw’.

Following the death of Stalin, a new measure of artistic freedom in the Eastern Bloc stimulated an astonishing burst of cinematic invention and rebellion. Through 18 feature films, we will explore the cinemas of POLAND, the USSR, CZECHOSLOVAKIA, HUNGARY and ROMANIA during the 1950s and 1960s.

The course will cover the work of such legendary directors as Andrei Tarkovsky, Miloš Forman, Andrzej Wajda, Roman Polanski, Karel Zeman, Miklós Jancsó and Kira Muratova and classics including Ashes And Diamonds (1958), I Am Cuba (1964), The Shop On Main Street (1965), Andrei Rublev (1966), and The Firemen’s Ball (1967).

Each class is limited to a maximum of 12 students. The session will start with an original lecture presentation followed by an in-depth group discussion. All participants will have a chance to contribute. The only weekly homework will be to watch the set films in your own time.

Weekly session: Sundays at 12pm PT/3pm ET (North America) [which is 8pm UK time/9pm CET]

Price per student: US$180 [GBP£133]. Contact me at matthewaspreygear@gmail.com for further information.

LECTURE PLAN 2026

POLAND

February 8
Lecture 1. INTRODUCTION / THE POLISH FILM SCHOOL I
We will discuss:
ASHES AND DIAMONDS (Andrzej Wajda, 1958, 103min)

February 15
Lecture 2. THE POLISH FILM SCHOOL II
EROICA (Andrzej Munk, 1958, 87 min)
KNIFE IN THE WATER (Roman Polanski, 1962, 94min)

February 22
Lecture 3. THE POLISH FANTASTIC
THE SARAGOSSA MANUSCRIPT (Wojciech Has, 1965, 182min)

** ONE WEEK BREAK **

THE USSR

March 8
Lecture 4. THE KHRUSHCHEV THAW AND AFTER
BALLAD OF A SOLDIER (Grigory Chukhray, 1959, 88min)
I AM CUBA (Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964, 140min)

March 15
Lecture 5. WOMEN FILMMAKERS IN THE SOVIET UNION
WINGS (Larisa Shepitko, 1966, 81min)
BRIEF ENCOUNTERS (Kira Muratova, 1967, 96mins)

March 22
Lecture 6. TARKOVSKY
ANDREI RUBLEV (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966, 183min)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA I

March 29
Lecture 7. THE CZECHOSLOVAK FANTASTIC
THE FABULOUS BARON MUNCHAUSEN (Karel Zeman, 1962, 85min)
THE CASSANDRA CAT (aka When The Cat Comes) (Vojtěch Jasný, 1963, 105min)

April 5
Lecture 8. HISTORICAL RECKONING
THE SHOP ON MAIN STREET (Ján Kadár & Elmar Klos, 1965, 125min)

HUNGARY

April 12
Lecture 9. HUNGARIAN CINEMA
MY WAY HOME (Miklós Jancsó, 1965, 108min)

ROMANIA

April 19
Lecture 10. ROMANIAN CINEMA
FOREST OF THE HANGED (Liviu Ciulei, 1965, 163min)
SUNDAY AT SIX (Lucian Pintilie, 1966, 76min)

CZECHOSLOVAKIA II

April 26
Lecture 11. THE CZECHOSLOVAK NEW WAVE I
CLOSELY WATCHED TRAINS (Jiří Menzel, 1966, 92min)
THE FIREMEN’S BALL (Miloš Forman, 1967, 73min)

May 3
Lecture 12. THE CZECHOSLOVAK NEW WAVE II
THE CREMATOR  (Juraj Herz, 1969, 100min)

This original film studies course, to be delivered via Google Meet, will examine the Hollywood Studio System through 23 features, 3 animated shorts, and an episode of a serial.

After introductory weeks examining the Transition to Sound and the onset of the Production Code, we will study one-by-one each of the key studios—the ‘Little Three’, the ‘Big Five’, as well as the B-movie studios on ‘Poverty Row’. The story ends with the Paramount Decree and the Blacklist, both of which transformed Hollywood forever.

We will discuss representative studio films from a range of classic genres (screwball comedies, westerns, musicals, swashbucklers, romance, horror, gangster pictures, and film noir) from many of the greatest directors in Hollywood history—including Hitchcock, Chaplin, Ford, Wilder, Hawks, and Lubitsch.

Each class is limited to a maximum of 12 students. Each session will start with an original lecture presentation followed by an in-depth group discussion. All participants will have a chance to contribute. The only weekly homework will be to watch the films in your own time.

Weekly session: Saturdays at 12pm PT/3pm ET (North America)(8pm UK time/9pm CET)

Price per student: US$180 [GBP£135]. Contact me at matthewaspreygear@gmail.com for further information.

LECTURE PLAN

INTRODUCTION

January 10
Lecture 1. THE TRANSITION TO SOUND
We will discuss:
SUNRISE: A SONG OF TWO HUMANS (F. W. Murnau, 1927, 97min)
CITY LIGHTS (Charles Chaplin, 1931, 87min)

January 17
Lecture 2. PRE-CODE
THE PUBLIC ENEMY (William A. Wellman, 1931, 83min)
GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (Mervyn LeRoy, 1933, 97min)

THE LITTLE THREE

January 24
Lecture 3. UNIVERSAL PICTURES
THE MUMMY (Karl Freund, 1932, 73min)
DESTRY RIDES AGAIN (George Marshall, 1939, 95min)
Bonus serial: Flash Gordon: The Planet of Peril (Frederick Stephani, 1936, 20min)

January 31
Lecture 4. UNITED ARTISTS
YOU ONLY LIVE ONCE (Fritz Lang, 1937, 86min)
THE WESTERNER (William Wyler, 1940, 100min)
Bonus short: Silly Symphony: Flowers and Trees (Burt Gillett, 1932, 8min)

February 7
Lecture 5. COLUMBIA PICTURES
THE AWFUL TRUTH (Leo McCarey, 1937, 91mins)
THE MORE THE MERRIER (George Stevens, 1943, 104min)

THE BIG FIVE

February 14
Lecture 6. WARNER BROS.
CAPTAIN BLOOD (Michael Curtiz, 1935, 119min)
TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT (Howard Hawks, 1944, 100min)
Bonus short: Merrie Melodies: A Wild Hare (Tex Avery, 1940, 8min)

February 21
Lecture 7. METRO-GOLDWYN-MAYER
A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (Sam Wood, 1935, 91min)
NINOTCHKA (Ernst Lubitsch, 1939, 110min)

***ONE-WEEK BREAK***

March 7
Lecture 8. 20th CENTURY FOX
THE GRAPES OF WRATH (John Ford, 1940, 129mins)
JANE EYRE (Robert Stevenson, 1943, 97mins)

March 14
Lecture 9. PARAMOUNT PICTURES
SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS (Preston Sturges, 1941, 90mins)
DOUBLE INDEMNITY (Billy Wilder, 1944, 107mins)
Bonus short: Superman [aka The Mad Scientist] (Dave Fleischer, 1941, 10min))

March 21
Lecture 10. RKO RADIO PICTURES
NOTORIOUS (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946, 101mins)
THE BODY SNATCHER (Robert Wise, 1945, 78mins)

POVERTY ROW

March 28
Lecture 11. B-MOVIES ON GOWER GULCH
RUTHLESS (Edgar G. Ulmer, 1948, 104mins) [Eagle-Lion Films]
I SHOT JESSE JAMES (Samuel Fuller, 1949, 81mins) [Lippert Pictures]

CONCLUSION

April 4
Lecture 12. THE PARAMOUNT DECREE AND THE BLACKLIST
ALL THE KING’S MEN (Robert Rossen, 1949, 110mins)

Header image: Public domain / Wikimedia commons

­­A 12-WEEK ONLINE FILM STUDIES COURSE (January – April, 2026)

PRESENTED BY MATTHEW ASPREY GEAR

In this original 12-week online film studies course, to be delivered via Google Meet, we’ll study 20 World War II films made between 1942 and 2016. Arranged as an international chronicle, these films collectively tell the story of the war from 1930s fascism to the surrender of Japan.

The course will simultaneously move through the history of World War II and explore questions provoked by the war film as a genre. We’ll watch a broad variety of war films – adventure stories, harrowing dramas, comedies, animated tales – by some of the world’s greatest directors. Its appropriately global approach will examine films from the USA, the UK, Italy, Japan, Poland, France, Hungary, and the Soviet Union.

The class is limited to a maximum of 12 participants. Each week I’ll give an original lecture presentation and then lead an in-depth group discussion. All participants will have a chance to contribute. The only weekly homework will be to watch a film (or two) in your own time. There will be no final exam or essay. This course is designed for exploration and discovery.

Weekly session: Sundays at 9am PT/12pm ET [North America] [which is 5pm UK time/6pm CET].

Price per student: US$180 [GBP£135]. Contact me at matthewaspreygear@gmail.com for further information.

LECTURE PLAN

January 25
Lecture 1. Introduction: World War II and Cinema
[Fascist Europe, 1938]
We will discuss:
INDIANA JONES AND THE LAST CRUSADE (USA, 1989) – Steven Spielberg [128min]
THE CONFORMIST (Italy, 1970) – Bernardo Bertolucci [108min]

February 1
Lecture 2. The British War Movie
[The Atlantic and Mediterranean, 1939-41]
IN WHICH WE SERVE (UK, 1942) – Noel Coward and David Lean [115min]

February 8
Lecture 3. Here and There, Now and Then
[Poland, 1939-42]
TO BE OR NOT TO BE (USA, 1942) – Ernst Lubitsch [99min]
A GENERATION (Poland, 1955) – Andrzej Wajda [87min]

February 15
Lecture 4. Hollywood’s War Effort
[North Africa, 1941-42]
CASABLANCA (USA, 1942) – Michael Curtiz [102min]
SAHARA (USA, 1943) – Zoltan Korda [97mins]

February 22
Lecture 5. Hollywood After the War
[The Pacific War, 1941-42]
FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (USA, 1953) – Fred Zinnemann [118min]
FATHER GOOSE (USA, 1964) – Ralph Nelson [116min]

* ONE WEEK BREAK *

March 8
Lecture 6. The 1990s Revival
[The Pacific War, 1942-43]
THE THIN RED LINE (USA, 1998) – Terrence Malick [146min]

March 15
Lecture 7. French Reckoning
[Occupied France, 1942–44]
MR. KLEIN (France, 1976) – Joseph Losey [123min]
AU REVOIR, LES ENFANTS (France, 1987) – Louis Malle [104mins]

March 22
Lecture 8. The Soviet War Film
[The Eastern Front, 1941-45]
THE CRANES ARE FLYING (USSR, 1957) –  Mikhail Kalatozov [97min]
IVAN’S CHILDHOOD (USSR, 1962) – Andrei Tarkovsky [95min]]

March 29
Lecture 9. The War as Epic
[The War in Europe, 1943-45]
PATTON (USA, 1970) – Franklin J. Schaffner [170min]

April 5
Lecture 10. The Holocaust on Film
[Auschwitz, 1944]
SON OF SAUL (Hungary, 2016) – László Nemes [107mins]

April 12
Lecture 11. Human Drama
[The Pacific War and Japan, 1944-45]
HELL IN THE PACIFIC (USA, 1968) – John Boorman [113min]
GRAVE OF THE FIREFLIES (Japan, 1988) – Isao Takahata [89min]

April 19
Lecture 12. Elegy
[Burma, 1945]
THE PURPLE PLAIN (UK, 1954) – Robert Parrish [100min]
THE BURMESE HARP (Japan, 1956) – Kon Ichikawa [116min]

*

[Header image: Detail from Libération de Paris, 26 August 1944.]

­­A 12-WEEK ONLINE FILM STUDIES COURSE (November 2025- February, 2026)

In this original 12-week online film studies course, to be delivered via the Google Meet platform, we’ll study 18 key films of Classic American Film Noir (1941-1961) as well as 7 pieces of hardboiled and noir fiction. The lectures will explore these films through the stories of their production and in the wider context of American society, history, and politics. We’ll also examine the careers of the major directors and writers.

Classes are limited to a maximum of 12 students. Each week I’ll give an original lecture presentation on a set film and theme and then lead an in-depth group discussion. All participants will have a chance to contribute. The only weekly homework will be to watch a film (or two), and sometimes read a short story. There will be no final exam or essay. This course is designed for enjoyment and discovery. All are welcome.

Weekly session: Saturdays at 9am PT/12pm ET [North America] [which is 5pm UK time/6pm CET].

Price per student: US$180 [GBP£133]. Enrollments are open. Contact me at matthewaspreygear@gmail.com .

LECTURE PLAN

November 15
Lecture 1. The Shamus
We will discuss:
THE MALTESE FALCON (1941) – John Huston [1hr41]
Reading: ‘Fly Paper’ by Dashiell Hammett

November 22
Lecture 2. Knight Moves
MURDER MY SWEET (1944) – Edward Dmytryk [1hr35]
Reading: ‘I’ll Be Waiting’ by Raymond Chandler

November 29
Lecture 3. The Sewn-Up City
THE STRANGE LOVE OF MARTHA IVERS (1946) – Lewis Milestone [1hr56]
Reading: ‘The Homecoming’ by Dorothy B. Hughes

December 6
Lecture 4. A Way To Lose
OUT OF THE PAST (1947) – Jacques Tourneur [1hr37]
DETOUR (1945) – Edgar G. Ulmer [1hr08]
Reading: from The Postman Always Rings Twice by James M. Cain

December 13
Lecture 5. Eyes on the City
THE NAKED CITY (1948) – Jules Dassin [1hr36]
HE WALKED BY NIGHT (1948) – Alfred L. Werker/Anthony Mann [1hr19]

** HOLIDAY BREAK **

January 10
Lecture 6. The Big Carnival
ACE IN THE HOLE (1951) – Billy Wilder [1hr51]
Reading: ‘Forever After’ by Jim Thompson

January 17
Lecture 7. Murder Most Foul
IN A LONELY PLACE (1950) – Nicholas Ray [1hr34]
THE BIG HEAT (1953) – Fritz Lang [1hr30]

January 24
Lecture 8. Ida Lupino’s B-Noir
THE HITCH-HIKER (1953) – Ida Lupino [1hr11]
PRIVATE HELL 36 (1954) – Don Siegel [1hr20]

January 31
Lecture 9. Fighting a Swamp With a Teaspoon
THE BIG COMBO (1955) – Joseph H. Lewis [1hr29]
Reading: ‘Some Lucky License’ by Charles Willeford

February 7
Lecture 10. This Dirty Town
SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS (1957) – Alexander MacKendrick [1hr36]
ODDS AGAINST TOMORROW (1959) – Robert Wise [1hr36]

February 14
Lecture 11. On the Border
TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) – Orson Welles [1998 version: 1hr51]
Reading: from A Rage in Harlem by Chester Himes

February 21
Lecture 12. Samuel Fuller
THE CRIMSON KIMONO (1959) – Samuel Fuller [1hr22]
UNDERWORLD U.S.A. (1961) – Samuel Fuller [1hr39]