Hooray for cinema! Free film class now offered through Gavilan College in Morgan Hill

Are you becoming disillusioned with a sequel-saturated Hollywood and mediocre blockbuster pickings? (ahem, “John Carter“).

Now is your chance to dive into discussion-worthy films in good company.

Adults ages 55 and over can now participate in a free class/film series facilitated through the Gavilan College Department of Noncredit Instruction.

Humanities 767, Film Classics, will take place in Morgan Hill and is designed to study the facts, fantasy, history and trivia of classic and modern films. The background, history and performances of each film will be compared and contrasted in post-film class discussions. The new class is “open entry,” meaning participants do not have to attend all classes.

Instructor Grant Richards is a Gilroy High School and Gavilan College alumnus who earned his bachelors degree in Liberal Studies at Chico State University, along with a bachelors and masters degree in English from Sacramento State University. Richards teaches film history and film production at Gavilan, including Film and Fiction, Introduction to the Cinema, American Cinema and Approaches to Modern Cinema. He is also developing a Film Production major at Gavilan and will be adding several more classes including Screenplay Writing, Foreign Cinema and numerous film production classes. 

Films will be screened from 2 to 5 p.m. Wednesday afternoons through December 12 at the Morgan Hill Community Playhouse, located at 17090 Monterey Street in Morgan Hill.

Students may register in person during the class, or call (408) 848-4859 in advance. 

Morgan Hill Film Schedule, Fall 2012

September 12th: Marty (1955)—Delbert Mann / Ernest Borgnine / Betsy Blair

September 19th: The Trouble With Harry (1955)—Alfred Hitchcock / John Forsythe / Shirley MacLaine

September 26th: Bagdad Café (1987)—Percy Adlon / Marianne Sagebrecht / Jack Palance

October 3rd: Big (1988)—Penny Marshall / Tom Hanks / Elizabeth Perkins

October 10th: Sleepless In Seattle (1993)—Nora Ephron / Tom Hanks / Meg Ryan

October 17th: Erin Brochovich (2000)—Steven Soderbergh / Julia Roberts / Albert Finney

October 24th: The Contender (2000)—Rod Lurie / Joan Allen / Gary Oldman / Jeff Bridges

October 31st: Good Night and Good Luck (2005)—George Clooney / David Strathairn

November 7th: Up (2009)—Pete Docter & Bob Peterson / Edward Asner / John Ratzenberger

November 14th: Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close (2011)—Stephen Daldry / Tom Hanks / Sandra Bullock

November 21st: The Descendants (2011)—Alexander Payne / George Clooney / Shailene Woodley

November 28th: The Artist (2011)—Michel Hazanavicius / Jean Dujardin / Berenice Bejo

December 5th: Hugo (2011)—Martin Scorsese / Ben Kingsley / Sacha Baron Cohen / Asa Butterfield

December 12th: The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel (2012)—John Madden / Judi Dench / Maggie Smith