Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #5: In the Mood for Love
Cinematic love stories come in all shapes and sizes. Movies are really good at both capturing and projecting emotions. One of the best directors in the modern love story is Wong Kar-Wai. In this episode of Crash Course Film Criticism,...
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #7: Lost in Translation
It's time to take a look at a quieter, sweeter, and maybe happier film in this series. Sophia Coppola's Lost in Translation is a wonderful romantic comedy that doesn't play by the usual rules of its genre. In this episode, Michael talks...
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #8: Apocalypse Now
Francis Ford Coppola's Apocalypse Now is a different kind of war movie. It's a multi-genre film that maybe says more about human psychology than it does about war. In this episode of Crash Course Film Criticism, Michael Aranda takes us...
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #9: Pan's Labyrinth
In 2006, a movie took on authoritarianism and the violent aftershocks of the Spanish Civil War-all through the eyes of an innocent young girl and the fairy tale world she discovers in the woods. Pan's Labyrinth is both a beautifully...
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #10: The Limey
Steven Soderbergh is known as much for his Oscar-winning tense dramas as he is retiring, then not retiring. He was a part of the indy revolution in the 1980s and 90s that helped usher in a new case of writers and directors who didn't...
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #11: Three Colors Blue
Movies are really good at making us feel. Happy, sad, excited, etc. Part of that is because they use so many different types of media all at once. Photography, music, performance, and editing all play into their ability to communicate...
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #12: The Eagle Huntress
During our Film History and Production series, we talked about how Film is an "Illusion of Reality." That filmmakers use shots, cuts, and narrative structure to trick us into believing what we're seeing. But, what happens when that...
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #1: Citizen Kane
Is Citizen Kane the BEST MOVIE EVER MADE? Is that even an answerable question? Michael Aranda will try to help us through both of these questions as we take a look at our first film in Crash Course Film Criticism, Citizen Kane.
Crash Course
Crash Course Film Criticism #2: Aliens
James Cameron rocketed onto the action film scene with 1984's "The Terminator" and followed that up with a highly anticipated sequel to the 1979 film, "Alien." His film, "Aliens," would go on to not only be a financial success, but a...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: American Masters: Meet F. Scott Fitzgerald's Gatsby
Meet F. Scott Fitzgerald's iconic character Jay Gatsby in this video from the American Masters film Novel Reflections on the American Dream. Learn about the spectacle of Gatsby, the techniques the author uses to present Gatsby, and the...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: American Masters: The American Dream in the Grapes of Wrath
In this video [3:06] from the American Masters film Novel Reflections on the American Dream, see the quest for the American dream as depicted in John Steinbeck's "The Grapes of Wrath." Follow the Joad family as they search for work and...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Typical American: An Immigrant's American Dream Story
Get an introduction to Gish Jen's novel "Typical American" to explore the American dream through the eyes of a Chinese immigrant. The video [5:12] from the American Masters film Novel Reflection on the American Dream, introduces the...
PBS
Pbs: The Street by Ann Petry: Black Single Mother Seeks the American Dream
In this video [3:40] from the American Masters film Novel Reflections on the American Dream we meet Lutie Johnson, the African-American single mother heroine of Ann Petry's novel "The Street". The video gives an introduction to the novel...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Great Expectations 3: Happily Ever After?
This video excerpt is the moving, final scene from the 2012 Masterpiece adaptation of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. Pip, returned to his humble origins, hears that Estella, now a widow, has returned to Satis House. As he...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Great Expectations 2: Becoming a Gentleman
In this video excerpt from the 2012 Masterpiece adaptation of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations, months have passed since Pip received the news that a mysterious benefactor has provided money for his education as a gentleman. When Joe...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: David Copperfield 1: Meeting Mr. Murdstone
Explore how filmmakers bring characters to life in this video from Masterpiece: "David Copperfield." David's first encounter with his cruel stepfather, Mr. Murdstone, shatters his idyllic childhood and begins his journey to adulthood....
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Charles Dickens: David Copperfield Collection
This is a collection of three videos from MASTERPIECE: Charles Dickens: David Copperfield. Together they explore the Dickens' famous novel "David Copperfield" in a film adaptation of the novel.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: David Copperfield 3: David and Aunt Betsey
Analyze the filmmakers' choices when adapting a Dickens novel into a film. In this pivotal scene from the 2000 Masterpiece production of "David Copperfield," David, destitute and desperate, approaches his formidable Aunt Betsey for the...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Masterpiece Wuthering Heights Collection
This is a collection of three videos from the 2009 MASTERPIECE version of Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights." Teaching materials are included.
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Great Expectations 1: Setting the Scene
This video excerpt is the opening scene from the 2012 Masterpiece adaptation of Charles Dickens's Great Expectations. A man mysteriously emerges from a marsh to ominous music. A young boy, Pip, is shown briefly in a church graveyard,...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Diary of Anne Frank 3: The Suffering of Millions
Students examine how filmmaking techniques-such as music, voice-over narration, and camera cuts-build tension and capture the viewers' hearts and minds in this excerpt from the 2010 Masterpiece version of The Diary of Anne Frank. In this...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: The Diary of Anne Frank 2: Anne's Birthday
Students explore the process of adapting a work of literature for the screen in this excerpt from Masterpiece's 2010 adaptation of The Diary of Anne Frank. By comparing and contrasting the way in which the film and the book portray...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Emma 3: Mr. Knightley's Reprimand
Examine a pivotal scene in which Emma finally realizes the consequences of her actions after being admonished by Mr. Knightley, in this excerpt from the 2009 Masterpiece adaptation of Jane Austen's Emma. As Mr. Knightley chastises Emma...
PBS
Pbs Learning Media: Jane Austen, Emma Collection
This is a collection of three video clips from the 2009 MASTERPIECE adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma." Teaching materials and a biography of Jane Austen are included.