French 41 with Gans was a mixed experience. On one hand, the course was pretty easy: Two papers, one of which you can rewrite for an improved grade, and an easy final that's only worth 30% of the grade. There are weekly quizes that account for 25% of your grade that are pretty easy if you stay awake during the movies. My TA for this course, Trevor, was amazing; the best TA I've had at UCLA so far. I felt like his discussions were probably more valuable than Gans' lectures. On the other hand, however, I felt pretty disappointed in the films we watched. Professor Gans threw out all the previous films and brought in new ones for our class. As a result, I felt like we saw a lot of the "second rate" French films, not the famous ones like "Breathless." I'd have to say I really only enjoyed two films: "Diabolique" and "The Battle of Algiers". The others ranged from moderately interesting, to crude/strange, to completely boring. There were days when the lights came after films and the students just rolled their eyes at eachother. Professor Gans is a pretty boring lecturer, but a nice man overall. I'd say if you can appreciate things that others find boring, enjoy French culture or cinema, and don't mind staying in one class for 4 hours straight, then this class will be great for you. However, if you're more of a fan of traditional American films and find yourself easily bored, then by all means, skip this class. But even if you find yourself in it and don't enjoy it, it's not that time consuming outside of class and is a pretty easy A.

French 41 with Professor Gans is a good choice if you're looking for an enjoyable and painless GE. Professor Gans is a real life Mr. Magoo, and although he mumbles and bumbles with electronics, his antics add to his friendly disposition. He shows films in chronological order so that students see the progression of film over time, and he makes each film available in the media center. The course reader and book are interesting and helpful resources that actually apply to the course and are useful for the papers and final. Professor Gans is insightful and points out nuances in the films that might otherwise go unnoticed. I discovered a new way to perceive film and appreciate filmmaking. I had a great TA, felt encouraged and appreciated for my work, and I got an A in the class. If you like French and film, you'll like this class.

cool guy, interesting movies, interested in students' learning, tells you what'll be on the final...pretty easy A if you actually do the work

This man can make you laugh! Picture a clumsy, VERY nice, laid back, lifesize Mr. Magoo and you have Professor Gans. His class is my first A at UCLA. The films are interesting, you don't even really need to do the reading...I'm telling you this, because I did and it ended up being a waste of my time. I don't even think he knows he is funny, but he is. The papers are easy and so is the final.

Prof Gans is really nice. The class is really easy too, but he is often hard to understand. The papers were pretty short and easy, and the Final was also pretty lame. This is an easy GE. Try to go the days the movies are playing, but you can easily go to the media lab and watch them there. Take this class!!

If you want to go to a class where....
-the first 15 min (after the teacher gets to class late) are spent by the teacher fiddling around with the VCR and the lights
-the teacher has a terminal case of the the mumbles
-French film history is the subject, yet Goddard and Truffaut are never covered
-films are picked which have no clear connection to one another
-the only two phrases of film technique you will hear are "jump cut" and "shot" (which will be repeated ad naseum throughout the quarter)
-the teacher does not seem to care that he has permanently lost the class's attention from the first day on (nor does anything to rectify the situation)
-the teacher takes lecture time not to speak about the movies or reading but to speak about-actually I could never tell what he was speaking about
...then this is the class for you.
This was an easy class, and would fufill a GE requirement. But those two reasons are not good reasons to take this class. I was very disappointed by this class and teacher. I gained nothing out of it because the teacher was merely going through the motions. Don't take this class if you think you're going to learn about film!!!!

Professor Gans is a really nice and funny teacher. He is not the most talented lecturer, but he does have a lot of knowledge and passion for films. This class was easy.

This professor is a really bad lecturerer! He just kinda rambles on and on about stuff you don't are about! Nobody enjoys his lectures and most people either fall asleep or do other homework in there. This class is a total waste of time but an easy GE. YOu don't really need to go to class ever, just watch the videos in the Media Lab.