John Huston was an actor, screenwriter, and director, who over a 45-year career starting as a screenwriter in the beginning days of talking pictures in 1925, directed 37 films, his first in 1941, most of which he wrote. He had a great respect for literature and many of his films are adaptations of great works that stayed close to the text that inspired them. He also trained as a painter in Paris and his directing style shows great care in composition and the expressiveness of the image captured by the camera. Like Hitchcock, he storyboarded all his shots and kept multiple coverage of a shot to a minimum so as to not give studios too much to change and have to keep what he wanted in the film. He shot what he needed to tell the story.

He was a charismatic man who lived his life with great gusto, big game hunting, fishing, drinking, womanizing, and gambling with cards, dice, horses and his career. Many of his films feature a quest story which portrays the existential nature of the human condition wherein people’s desires exceed their ability to achieve them. We will study six of his most critically acclaimed films that cover a wide variety of genres and themes and range over four decades, from 1948 to 1987: Treasure of the Sierra Madre. 1948; African Queen, 1951; The Night of the Iguana, 1964; The Man who Would Be King, 1975; Wise Blood, 1979; and Prizzi’s Honor, 1985.  The class will be a brief lecture with extensive discussion and analysis. Clips for analysis will be shown in class when possible.  

The films can be rented, borrowed from the library, or streamed.    Preparation time will be 2-4 hours, depending on the length of the film.  To respond to viewing questions it is recommended to watch the film a second time if possible.

Please note that the last class is during the break week, and there is no class on April 1, 2026.