Fall 2015 Franke Lectures to examine ‘film masterpieces’

The fall 2015 Franke Lectures in the Humanities will examine masterpieces in film in conjunction with the seminar “Interpreting Film Masterpieces,” co-taught by Dudley Andrew and David Bromwich. Open to the New Haven public, the series will feature screenings of 14 selected American and European films.

The series will explore the major work of eight original and innovative directors: Jean Renoir, Howard Hawks, Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Nicholas Ray, Robert Bresson, Luis Buñuel, and Ingmar Bergman. Each film will be introduced by one of the professors or by a guest scholar. The series presents a rare opportunity to explore a few of the highest achievements of a great popular art, say the organizers.

All screenings are on Mondays at 6:30 p.m., in the Whitney Humanities Center auditorium, 53 Wall St. The schedule is as follows:

Sept. 7— “Grand Illusion” (France, 1937), 114 min.

Sept. 14 — “Rules of the Game” (France, 1939), 110 min.

Sept. 21 — “His Girl Friday” (USA, 1940), 92 min.

Sept. 28 — “The Big Sleep” (USA, 1946), 114 min.

Oct. 5 — “Citizen Kane” (USA, 1941), 119 min.

Oct. 12 —“Magnificent Ambersons” (USA, 1942), 88 min.

Oct. 19 — “Notorious” (USA, 1946), 101 min.

Oct. 26 — “Johnny Guitar” (USA, 1954), 110 min.

Nov. 2 — “A Man Escaped” (France, 1956), 99 min.

Nov. 9 — “Pickpocket” (France, 1959), 75 min.

Nov. 16 — “Los Olvidados” (France/Mexico), 80 min.

Nov. 30 — “Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie” (France, 1972), 102 min.

Dec. 7 — “Smiles of a Summer Night” (Sweden, 1955), 108 min., and “Persona” (Sweden, 1966), 83 min.

The Franke Lectures are made possible by the generosity of Richard and Barbara Franke, and are intended to present important topics in the humanities to a wide and general audience.