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Great Directors
UndergraduateGRF-CMM2412025
Course information for 2025 intake View information for 2024 course intake
Take a seat alongside some of cinema’s most celebrated auteurs. Cast the spotlight on filmmakers like Kubrick, Bigelow, Scorsese and the Coens. Develop an understanding of how some directors can leave an undeniable stamp on each film they make.
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 6 July 2025
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 13 weeks
- Price from
- $2,124
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- HECS-HELP and FEE-HELP available
Great Directors
About this subject
At the completion of this subject students will have:
- an improved understanding of film aesthetics in their historical contexts
- familiarity with critical and theoretical arguments and debates related to film aesthetics and the auteur--arguments and debates that are fundamental to the field of film and media studies, as well as cinema culture more generally
- an improved ability to think critically about film and film theory and apply this to critical analyses of film texts
- an improved ability to make close analyses of different types of film texts
- an improved ability to think more critically and write more clearly, as a consequence of having practised these skills while completing the subject.
- Introduction: the idea of the auteur/Howard Hawks I
- Howard Hawks II
- Kubrick I
- Kubrick II
- Scorsese I
- Scorsese II
- Bigelow I
- Bigelow II
- Guillermo Del Toro I
- Guillermo Del Toro II
- Taika Waititi I
- Taika Waititi II
This subject was previously known as Screen Analysis 2.
Take a seat alongside some of cinema’s most celebrated auteurs. Cast the spotlight on filmmakers like Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Guillermo Del Toro and Taika Waititi. Develop an understanding of how some directors can leave an undeniable stamp on each film they make.
The average entertainment film is the result of dozens, sometimes hundreds, of creative and technical personnel working together. And yet, certain directors have come to be known for their ability to put an individual stamp on their films, despite the collective and industrial nature of commercial film production. This subject looks closely at the work of such directors in studio era and contemporary Hollywood cinema, as well as global cinema more generally. Looking closely at the work of and critical responses toHollywood’s Howard Hawks, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, and Kathryn Bigelow, as well as Mexico’s Guillermo Del Toro and New Zealand’s Taika Waititi, this course emphases aesthetic and thematic close analyses while considering the idea of the director-as-film-author or auteur in its social, cultural and industrial contexts.
- Essay 1 (40%)
- Essay 2 (60%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
With a network of campuses spanning three cities in South East Queensland, Griffith University is committed to progressive multidisciplinary teaching and research and a valuable online provider with Open Universities Australia. Already attracting students from over one hundred countries, Griffith's dedication to academic excellence is available across Australia through OUA.
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- QS Ranking 2024:
- 18
- Times Higher Education Ranking 2024:
- 20
Entry requirements
Prior study
You must either have successfully completed the following subject(s) before starting this subject, or currently be enrolled in the following subject(s) in a prior study period; or enrol in the following subject(s) to study prior to this subject:
Please note that your enrolment in this subject is conditional on successful completion of these prerequisite subject(s). If you study the prerequisite subject(s) in the study period immediately prior to studying this subject, your result for the prerequisite subject(s) will not be finalised prior to the close of enrolment. In this situation, should you not complete your prerequisite subject(s) successfully you should not continue with your enrolment in this subject. If you are currently enrolled in the prerequisite subject(s) and believe you may not complete these all successfully, it is your responsibility to reschedule your study of this subject to give you time to re-attempt the prerequisite subject(s).
Additional requirements
- Other requirements - Access to videos or DVDs or movie downloads.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
What to study next?
Once you’ve completed this subject it can be credited towards one of the following courses
UndergraduateGRF-ART-DEG
UndergraduateGRF-COM-DEG
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