Film Appreciation Class

Fall 2026

"My Favorite American Films"

UNCSA Professor Emeritus Dale Pollock shares four American films that made him fall in love with the movies.  Spanning 1940 to 1975, these four films encapsulate major Hollywood trends, showcase the craft of filmmaking, and feature many of Hollywood's most recognizable stars.  Each session begins with a lecture from Dale exploring the film’s history, the creative team, the technical aspects of filmmaking, and fascinating insights into the making of each film.  Each class concludes with a discussion of the film led by Dale. The films are shown in UNCSA's Gold Theater,  which gives a large screen theatrical experience.  Dale is an experienced feature film producer who made 13 films, including two that were nominated for Academy Awards. He is also the author of SKYWALKING, THE LIFE AND FILMS OF GEORGE LUCAS,  and a film and TV reviewer.  

 

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The Films

Week 1:

ACE IN THE HOLE (1951), written and directed by Billy Wilder, starring Kirk Douglas.  Running time: 1:51.   

While a commercial failure, this film about a reporter seeking to rejuvenate his failing career by creating a media event out of the plight of a man trapped in a cave has since become regarded as one of writer-director  Billy Wilder’s major works. Wilder was acutely aware of the rise of television and its insatiable need for content. He documents the birth of a new way of reporting that became evermore sensationalistic.

Week 2: BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967), directed by Arthur Penn, starring Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Gene Hackman, Gene Wilder, Estelle Parsons. 

Running time: 1:51.  

Nominated for 10 Academy Awards, this landmark film shocked audiences of  its day with its graphic depictions of violence and its sympathetic portrayal of criminals that tapped into the counter-cultural currents of its time.  The mixing  of comedy and graphic violence, as seen in later films such as PULP FICTION, is just one way that BONNIE AND CLYDE changed Hollywood. Beatty went on to become an Oscar-winning actor and director, while Dunaway, Hackman and Wilder embarked on careers that would make them stars. All of them considered BONNIE AND CLYDE the pivotal film of each’s career. 

 

Week 3: THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940), directed by George Cukor, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and Jimmy Stewart.  Running time: 1:52. 

This subversive romantic comedy uses a storyline of divorce and remarriage to explore the taboo topic of marital infidelity, which was often  blocked by the Motion Picture Production Code at the script stage. PHILADELPHIA STORY was originally conceived as a play starring Katharine Hepburn at a time when her film career was damaged by a series of boxoffice bombs. In an unusual move by a Hollywood actress of her era,  Hepburn secured the rights to the play with financing from her friend, mining tycoon Howard Hughes. PHILADELPHIA STORY went on to be nominated for six Academy Awards and was remade as the musical “High Society” in 1956.

Week 4: NASHVILLE (1975), directed by Robert Altman, starring Lily Tomlin, Keith Carradine, Karen Black, Shelley Duvall, Ronee Blakely, and Ned Beatty.  Running time: 2:40.    

Considered Robert Altman’s masterpiece, this satirical comedy resists easy synopsis.  Themes of identity, popular culture, sexism, exploitation and the political sensibilities of 1970’s America are explored through Altman’s unique improvisational style. His use of overlapping sound and self-confessional humor aid in satirizing the country music industry in the film’s title city. NASHVILLE features an enormous cast of 24 main characters and multiple storylines. 

Instructor

Dale M. Pollock has produced 13 feature films, including "Set It Off," "Mrs. Winterbourne," "A Midnight Clear," "The Beast" and "Blaze." His films have received four Academy Award nominations and have won several awards, including Best Film at the Cleveland and Houston film festivals.

He was chief film reviewer for Daily Variety, chief film reporter for the Los Angeles Times (where he was a Pulitzer Prize nominee) and author of “Skywalking: The Life and Films of George Lucas,” first published in 1984 with more than 150,000 copies in print. He is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences; the Producers Guild; the Writers Guild of America, West; and frequently speaks at film festivals and conferences.