This course explores the Hitchcockian concept - or edict - of “Pure Cinema”, which is a recognition that cinema is a predominantly visual (and audial) art form, separate from narrative. Hitchcock strove to create films that used “cinematic means to relate a story”. In this regard he was heavily influenced by the work of Soviet Montage theorists - and this is most evident in his choices in cinematography and in editing. This course begins with an exploration of some of Hitchcock’s most iconic films, such as “Psycho” and “Vertigo”, while also investigating earlier works such as “Rebecca”. We will then move on to study the works of two later practitioners of “Pure Cinema” - Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Wong Kar Wai. In this course, the films of these three great auteurs will be approached through multiple academic disciplines, such as Film Studies, Film Theory, Formalist Film Theory, Soviet Montage Theory, Psychoanalytic Film Theory, and Gender Studies. Students will analyze and deconstruct narrative elements and the social context of these films, while paying particular attention to filmic elements such as mise en scene, cinematography, editing and sound design.