American Jewish Directors by JHVC 6 films

American Jewish Directors: Three Visions of the American Jewish Experience examines the work of three important auteurs — Woody Allen, Paul Mazursky, and Sidney Lumet. While each director has a distinct vision, their films address common issues: the younger generation's drive to forge independent lives; the concepts of guilt and atonement; relations between Jews and non-Jews; and the power of the past.

This list is drawn from a Jewish Heritage Video Collection course created by Lester D. Friedman and David Desser. Their extended discussion of the course can be found at www.jhvc.org.

Lester D. Friedman, professor of humanities at the SUNY Health Science Center and of cinema studies at Syracuse University, is the author of The Jewish Image in American Film, coauthor of American-Jewish Filmmakers: Traditions and Trends, and editor of Unspeakable Images: Ethnicity and the American Cinema.

David Desser, professor of cinema studies at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, is the coauthor of American-Jewish Filmmakers: Traditions and Trends and coeditor of Reflections in a Male Eye: John Huston and the American Experience.

FILMS (6)

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