Film Studies Courses
Study online & in London

Explore the horror film through a range of key films, concepts and critical accounts of the genre. We will consider its history and development, from its beginnings to the present day, the ways in which different production contexts, such as American, European and East Asian horror cinemas, have given rise to variations in the genre, and the approach to theme and style in the films themselves.

This course explores the extraordinary life and career of Bette Davis, one of Hollywood’s most enduring and iconic actresses. Known for her fierce independence, magnetic screen presence, and bold choices both on and off camera, Davis redefined the role of women in Hollywood and paved the way for future generations of performers.
Through a mix of film analysis, historical context, and cultural critique, students will examine Davis not only as a performer, but as a force who challenged studio power structures, gender norms, and audience expectations. This course also reflects on the broader themes of fame, femininity, and resilience in the Golden Age of Hollywood.

The late 1960s witnessed the rise of the modern American horror film, its redefining of the limits of horror being both critically problematic and enormously successful with audiences. This course explores its development through films such as Night of the Living Dead (1968), The Exorcist (1973), and Halloween (1978), its status as a major genre, and a range of critical responses to the films.

Emerging fully only in the second half of the 1950s, the British horror film was initially characterised by Hammer's striking productions, but other producers and styles soon became part of a British horror boom. Explore the British horror film, from its origins in the 1930s and 1940s to its heyday in the 1950s and 1960s and beyond, while considering both its critical and popular reception.

“The outlaws of the West have always fascinated me…I suppose I’m something of an outlaw myself” Sam Peckinpah only felt alive when directing. In the 1960s and 70s he was one of Hollywood’s more colourful, innovative and controversial directors. This day long course will explore and immerse in his individual signature style.

Hollywood’s high point was in the years when the studio system flourished. Now that Paramount has bought Warner Brothers and Amazon owns MGM, studying the development of the studio system is more important than ever. Every era since the 1950s declared the end of Hollywood. In 1951 Ben Hecht listened to his former boss verbally topple the town he helped create. The movies, said David O. Selznick, “were over and done with and Hollywood was already a ghost town trying to seem alive”. But if something was over and done with, it wasn’t the movies. It was the dominant studio system. If that vertically integrated infrastructure was gone with the wind, what had Hollywood been? And what was there beyond Hollywood? One answer: Italian neorealism, French new wave, kitchen sink realism, Kurosawa and Bergman. Another answer: the New Hollywood.

Come and join us at the Cultureplex Ciné-Club, where once a week, for 12 weeks (and throughout the academic year), we will watch and discuss film. Taking its cue from the famous Parisian ciné-club set up by the celebrated critic and writer, André Bazin, ‘the single thinker most responsible for bestowing on cinema the prestige both of an artform and of an object of knowledge’, and the man who foresaw the emergence of film studies as a legitimate discipline of academic study, our contemporary incarnation of the film club will offer a curated series of films for detailed study, discussion and debate. Each film will be introduced, placed in both its cinematic, cultural and historic context. In sharing our viewing in City Lit’s premier screening room, the Cultureplex, we will approximate the experience of watching film in the cinema, one that is intense and fully focussed in a way that other modes of viewing often are not. After the screening we will devote the rest of the class to a collective exploration of the film, led by the tutor, but involving everyone in a participatory discussion that will allow all to express their responses, their views, their thoughts on the film screened.
Please note that the films screened in this year’s Ciné-Club are different to any previous versions of the Ciné-Club, so if you have attended in the past you may wish to join us once again this year.

Can a film do good - or harm - in the world? Do filmmakers have a moral duty to their subjects, their audience, or their art? Do film audiences have responsibilities, rights or duties, and what would those be? In this course, we will explore the moral dimensions of the moving image - from the ethics of cinematic representation and spectatorship to the responsibilities of filmmakers and audiences alike.

The 1990s has been described by some as a ‘golden decade’ for broadcast television. It was the decade that preceded the digital streaming services that began to appear in the mid-2000s and represents a high point for the sitcom with the blockbusting Friends (1994 - 2004) one of the most popular and most enduring.

Cult classics such as Twin Peaks (1990 - 91) and The X-Files (1993 - 2001) made a significant impression on audiences and were to prove influential while animated shows such as The Simpsons (1989 onwards), South Park (1997 onwards) and King of the Hill (1997 onwards) were hugely popular. The Cheers (1982 - 1993) spin-off Frasier (1993 - 2004) was another erudite and intelligent sitcom that was broadcast on the UK’s still newish Channel 4 and made stars of Kelsey Grammer and David Hyde Pierce as the pompous, ultra-competitive Crane brothers. US crime dramas such as NYPD Blue (1993 - 2005) and the Star Trek reboot Voyager (1995 - 2001) were also avidly watched by UK audiences; and of course, who can forget Buffy the Vampire Slayer, which ran for seven series between 1997 and 2003.

There were many more popular series that enriched the decade, so join us for four weeks of 1990s nostalgia as we explore our favourite shows from the 10 years that preceded Y2K as it was known.

Come and join us at the French Film Ciné-Club, where once a week, for 10 weeks (and throughout the rest of the academic year), we will watch and discuss French film. Taking its cue from the famous Parisian ciné-club set up by the celebrated critic and writer, André Bazin, our contemporary incarnation of the film club will offer a curated series of French films for detailed study, discussion and debate. Each film will be introduced, placed in both its cinematic, cultural and historic context. In sharing our viewing in City Lit’s premier screening room, the Cultureplex, we will approximate the experience of watching film in the cinema, one that is intense and fully focussed in a way that other modes of viewing often are not. After the screening we will devote the rest of the class to a collective exploration of the film, led by the tutor, but involving everyone in a participatory discussion that will allow all to express their responses, their views, their thoughts on the film screened.