This is a popular course that focuses on the things that make a great movie or book. Each week, we select a novel that has been filmed for the big screen e.g. The Godfather, The Van, Gone with the Wind, Lolita, Anna Karenina, Tess of the D’urbervilles, The Maltesse Falcon, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (these are some we did in recent years). We don’t do movies that are not based on novels. In the evening, a few clips will be shown from the big screen version and also passages from the book version read out. We will discuss what appeals to us about both. What are the implicit themes in the story? What can you say about the principal characters? In the case of the movie version, are there aspects of the script, characterisation, cinematography etc that really stand out from the works of other film makers? What are the elements that have made both book and movie a classic, a work that has stood the test of time? It’s nothing too heavy…you don’t have to have read film theory or studied literature at college to be able to follow what we are discussing! Again, there is no homework…it helps if you have seen the movie/read the book in question beforehand but it’s not mandatory by any means. Each week, I will give the participants good quality notes that expand upon the points and themes of the night’s class.