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THE POWER OF FILM is a 6-part television event from legendary UCLA film Professor Emeritus Howard Suber, analyzing why certain films have remained both popular and memorable for generations.
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"A one-of-a-kind odyssey into the soul of cinema and why it matters.”
WADE MAJOR, LAist, FilmWeek, Cinegods.com
"By connecting us to what makes our stories powerful, Howard Suber connects us to who we are as human beings. An extraordinary and essential series.”
ALEXANDER PAYNE, DIRECTOR, THE HOLDOVERS, SIDEWAYS
Ancient Mythology in Modern Film Storytelling • Sociology and Power Dynamics in Society • Institutional Power and Political Power • The Cult of “Heroic” American Individualism • The Role of Antagonists and Protagonists • The Psyche of the Audience • Bisociation • Duality and Paradox in Film • Loss, Death and Transcendence • Power Dynamics in Character Relationships • The Power of Memory in Storytelling • The Relationship Between Pain and Humor • Fate vs. Destiny • Heroes as Intermediaries • Representations of Family • The Appeal of Psychopaths and Sociopaths in FilmDate of Completion: 2024 | Run Time: 45 minutes | Language: English | Captions: Yes | Includes: Transcript | Created/Written by: Howard Suber | Executive Producer/Supervising Editor/Writer: Doug Pray | Executive Producer/Director: Laura Gabbert
THE POWER OF FILM is a 6-part series about the inner workings of America’s most popular and memorable films. It’s hosted by legendary UCLA Film School Professor Emeritus Howard Suber, Ph.D., who’s insights are interwoven with dramatic clips from an incredible array of powerful and beloved movies from the last century through today. For over fifty years, Professor Suber taught directors, screenwriters, producers, and scholars the defining principles and hidden patterns of great films. THE POWER OF FILM distills these teachings into six episodes with clarity, humor, and an understanding of the history of storytelling from Aristotle to Shakespeare to Coppola and beyond. Neither a technical analysis nor a review, this series reveals the psychological underpinnings of why certain films affect viewers so deeply and can impact viewers for generations beyond their release. Using dramatic film scenes, Suber uncovers mysteries, dispels myths, and explains powerful themes that have impacted us for millennia. Though THE POWER OF FILM is about movies, it’s really about ourselves. By examining the psyche of the audience, Suber ultimately inspires us—as the heroes of our own stories—to realize that we can seize our own destinies, “that we CAN change our world.”
Although it’s often said Hollywood films need a happy ending to succeed, an astonishing amount of love stories end with the separation or death of one or both of the lovers, from “Romeo+Juliet” to “Harold and Maude” to “Brokeback Mountain.” In this episode, Howard Suber delves into romance and demonstrates our need in movies to see love as a triumph over death (“Titanic”), and cites Billy Wilder’s famous quote, “All great stories are love stories.” Narcissism, from the Greek myth Narcissus and Echo, is seen in tragic characters such as Kane in “Citizen Kane,” the obsessed Jimmy Stewart in “Vertigo,” and in Gloria Swanson’s unrequited love in “Sunset Blvd.” Suber also analyzes all four versions of “A Star is Born” (1937 through 2018) to show their common, structural shift in power between the lovers, and how those relationships represent a form of gift giving. Wrapping up the series with an emotional plunge into “The Wizard of Oz,” we find nearly all the patterns and elements we’ve covered throughout the series exhibited within. As Dorothy sings, Suber identifies what most memorable and popular films are fundamentally about: “the fulfillment of desire.” Sacred dramas, for a secular society.
Wade Major | LAist, FilmWeek, Cinegods.com
“A one-of-a-kind odyssey into the soul of cinema and why it matters.”
Alexander Payne | Director, The Holdovers, Sideways
"By connecting us to what makes our stories powerful, Howard Suber connects us to who we are as human beings. An extraordinary and essential series.”
Dave Karger | Turner Classic Movies
“When it comes to documentaries about movies, ‘The Power of Film’ is one of a kind in that it explores how we as an audience interact with classic films. In exploring how movies affect us, the series is equally affecting.”
Stephen Saito | Moveable Fest
"Gabbert and Pray cast their own spell in carefully juxtaposing clips from films throughout Hollywood history from “Casablanca” to “Whiplash” to show the elements of timeless appeal Suber has identified and highlight his own enduring wisdom.”
Robert Abele | President, Los Angeles Film Critics Association
"Why and how do our favorite movies live inside us? Let filmmakers Laura Gabbert and Doug Pray, and great cinema mind Howard Suber, show you how with a deeply entertaining dive into this lasting art form.”
Alonso Duralde | Linoleum Knife
"This is a fun watch, the kind of academic lecture where people applaud at the end... it's THAT level of entertaining.”