ENG 4953 The Films of Fritz Lang and Alfred Hitchcock
In this course we will explore some shared concerns of Lang and Hitchcock regarding terrorism, sabotage, spy networks, romance, recording media, memory, cinema, and the state. Films will include The Lady Vanishes, They Clash By Night, Saboteur, Spies, Beyond a Resonable Doubt, Metropolis, North by Northwest, and The Ministry of Fear, among others. Some films by neither director will be discussed for contrast: Peeping Tom, Sisters, and The Train.
Required Books will include Slavoj Zizek, Everything You Wanted to Know About Lacan, But Were Afraid to Ask Hitchcock; Tom Gunning, The Films of Fritz Lang;
Tom Cohen, Cryptonomies, Vols. 1 and 2.