AMAZING CLASS! It's 4 hours long, but it doesn't feel like it. I always looked forward to going to this class. Kuntz is an excellent lecturer, I don't think any other teacher could keep my attention for as long as he did. Extremely knowledgeable. Just a great class.

Was GREAT lecturer. Really made all the topics interesting. Movies were all enjoyable too. I also had Phil Wagner as my TA, and he was tremendous. He had a large amount of knowledge on subject, and was very helpful and cared about his student. He graded tough, but it paid off in the end.

What a brilliant and hilarious professor Kuntz is.
Not once did he ever look at his notes; he just knows EVERYTHING from the top of his head.
I really loved this class; you have to really love films to get through the long lectures, but depending on the movie, you'll usually get out a half hour early.

I managed to get away with a B+ in the class by cramming both papers the night before and studying for the exams the night before (I don't recommend this unless you're a spectacular all-nighter cramming person like me).
Also, like everyone says, the book is absolutely pointless, BUT you should take excellent notes in class, since everything that's on the exams come directly off of lecture.

All in all, I HIGHLY recommend this class, even if you're not that into movies. You'll learn anything and everything that has to do with the history of American films!

He is an amazing professor and you can tell that he loves what he's teaching. I'm not gonna lie, lectures are extremely long and I fell asleep through most of them but I tried my best to stay awake just because he's so nice and everything he says is interesting.

Lectures are LONG.. it's 8 hours a week + 1 hour discussion. the first 2 hours = lecture and then a movie afterwards. I usually just stayed for lecture and then watched the movies on netflix/hulu. you don't need to read the textbook if you take really good notes during lecture & he posts up powerpoint slides with the broad topics online so that helps

I thought the midterm was pretty easy.. but I studied a lot for it. Remember, it's still a history class so you need to be able to define/state the significant of major events, people, etc. + the dates/time periods. There's a lot of material covered before the midterm so make sure to start studying at least two days earlier... not the day before.

There's 2 papers, 6-8 pages each. Honestly, they were pretty hard to write. The research paper took forever and the film analysis paper did too because you have to watch a film over and over again.

The final.. I thought was okay. I felt that it was very fair and that it included the main topics of the 2nd part of the class.

Basically, you learn a lot from this class and the professor is great. It's a 6 unit class so don't slack off! It's not that easy to get an A ( I ended up with a B+) so make sure to write good papers! get your TA to check it if you write it early.... the papers are what brought down my grade.

Usually I would give a more indepth review, but most everything to say about the class has been covered. Overall, great class, no real negatives. Take it if you're interested in film history or have wanted to see some classic films.

Professor Kuntz is an awesome instructor. He's fun to listen too and has lots of interesting anecdotes to go along with his lectures. The films we watched in this class were very well chosen, lots of favorites from Casablanca to the Godfather. The midterm and final aren't easy, but as long as you attend lectures you'll be fine. I'd recommend this course to serious movie-lovers and those interested in the history of Los Angeles and Hollywood.

One of the best courses I've ever taken.
The class is easy. Lecture first half, awesome movies second half. Yes, the silent era can be a little boring, but right around mid-terms the class moves into WWII era with talkies, and the movies/subjects of lectures just keep getting better. Kuntz has an encyclopedic knowledge of the film industry and he's a dynamic speaker so his lectures are never dull. As for the silent movies, who doesn't like Chaplin? Even those that are shallow and empty with no ideas and nothing interesting to say found some of the Edison films entertaining. Two easy essay assignments, an easy midterm and easy final. Take this class, you watch some of the greatest movies ever in a theater!

Professor Kuntz goes above and beyond in his lectures. Not only is he absolutely well versed in the course material, he clearly loves every aspect of what he teaches! I have learned all about the history of film from his engaging lectures and positive attitude. Don't be scared off by the first few lectures of this class...it's pretty hard to make lengthy, silent, black and white films interesting yet Kuntz still does a good job. The other films shown are all famous and what's so bad about watching top-grade movies in an actual movie theater? Not only that but you will know everything about film's history (which is pretty intriguing). Take Kuntz, take this class, and enjoy.

Professor Kuntz is a total sweetheart. He is extremely knowledgeable about film history. If you don't believe me, check out his IMDB page. Seriously, he has been featured in tons of documentaries about various aspects of film.

The class itself is amazing. I loved films going into the class, and have an even greater appreciation now. The class definitely provides students with a necessary background in film; if you take this class you will see 5 of AFI's top 10 movies of all time.

I think for most people the main downside of this class was the time. 4 hours twice a week is a very long time to be sitting in a theater for some people. The first half of the class Kuntz lectures, followed by a 15 min break then the film(s) of the day. If you like films this class will not be difficult to sit through. I was really surprised at how many students skipped out on the second half of the class every week. The films are the best part, and even if you have seen the film before, seeing it on the big screen is really different.

I received an A in the class. I attended every lecture and discussion. The two papers are very easy and fun. For the first one you are allowed to choose any topic about American film history prior to 1940; I loved this paper because I got to write what I wanted. The second paper is a critical piece on the film of your choice (from those shown in class, but my TA said she allowed students to write about others if they provided a good argument about why they should be allowed to do so). The midterm and final are both major time crunches; you will definitely know a lot and have a lot to say. Grading is very fair though, and it is not that difficult to find terms you can ID and essays you know info about. Each TA offered a 1 pt extra credit assignment, though they said that is rare for this class. There is no curve in the class.

Overall, I think this class is definitely worth taking. It may not be an exceptionally easy A, but the effort required for an A is most definitely reasonable. Frankly the class is just really fun.

Professor Kuntz is awesome! Really knowledgeable and friendly and definitely willing to listen if you have suggestions about the class. His lectures can get a little dry at times, but he is clearly very enthusiastic about the subject he teaches, and is pretty much a walking encyclopedia of film. Plus, although the class seems long, half of the time (sometimes more) usually goes to showing a movie and he often would let us out early. Bring a computer to take notes, don't worry about buying the book (never opened it...) and if you can, get Dawn as your TA.