What is Deep Focus? Deep Focus is an online educational program including full film courses and monthly seminars. Join us online to discuss great movies and to increase your appreciation of film. DEEP FOCUS is designed for a general audience – from the casual film lover to the hardcore cineaste. There is something for everyone.
More infoTCM writer Hannah Jack leads our Classic Hollywood monthly seminars, aiming to build on the success of the conversations she has already brought to our community. While all of the talks in this category will be about movies considered “classics”, they will range from those extremely widely known and well-received to hidden gems whose critical reputation has changed over time.
While our monthly Deep Focus seminars are free for anyone, we recommend a small donation from non-members to your local theater to support the series. You can donate to the County, Ambler, Garden, or Hiway.
John Ford’s working class drama tells the story of a Welsh coal mining family as they struggle through a period of societal change during the early 20th century as they become divided over a miners’ strike. Meanwhile, the only daughter in the family pines after the new village preacher. Boasting a terrific cast that features Walter Pidgeon, Maureen O’Hara, Anna Lee, and Roddy McDowell. The film is most famously remembered for beating out Citizen Kane, Sergeant York, and The Maltese Falcon to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
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Hitchcock’s first Hollywood film is an elegant adaptation of Daphne du Maurier’s gripping psychological thriller. Joan Fontaine stars as the new bride of an aristocratic widower, played by screen legend Laurence Olivier. Upon moving into his estate, she finds herself haunted by the memories of her husband’s first wife and tormented by her housekeeper. This brilliant new restoration showcases Hitchcock’s masterful filmmaking and cinematography.
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This black and white thriller stars Frank Sinatra as a former military commander who sets out to uncover an assassination plot involving a fellow war veteran who may have been brainwashed by the enemy. Set against the backdrop of the Cold War, John Frankenheimer crafts an incredibly suspenseful and surreal political nail-biter that remains as relevant today as it was over 60 years ago. Also starring Janet Leigh, Laurence Harvey, and Angela Lansbury in a memorable supporting turn.
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John Sturges fuses elements of film noir into this revisionist Western starring Spencer Tracy. Tracy plays a one-armed stranger passing through an isolated California desert town where he finds that the residents of this tiny hamlet are harboring a dark secret that they will protect by any means necessary. Employing early use of CinemaScope, BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK is a tight thriller filled with menace, mood, and arresting visuals.
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Rodgers & Hammerstein’s first collaboration is set in the early 20th century in the unsettled land of Oklahoma. Cowboys, ranch hands, and traveling businessmen compete for the affection of local ladies. The film won an Academy Award for the wonderful original score featuring the classic songs “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’” and “Oklahoma.” (Hammerstein penned the iconic lyrics from his home and farm in Doylestown.)
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While South Korean cinema has flourished across many eras, we are living through its modern renaissance. Created in collaboration with Princeton University Professor Steven Chung, this month-long virtual cinema studies course will explore this rich cinematic tradition through four different contemporary South Korean films, each by a different director: Mother, House of Hummingbird, Decision to Leave, and Burning. Weekly discussions will be enriched by supplementary reading and suggestions for further viewing.
Registration for the class includes admission to Mother at your preferred nonprofit theater. Our cinema studies class includes a modest course fee that goes to sustaining the Deep Focus program by helping us pay our staff and guest speakers.
Registration for this course has hit capacity and is now closed. Please look out for announcements about Deep Focus cinema studies courses in the near future!
All About Deep FocusSeries offered under the Deep Focus umbrella will use different lenses to examine a variety of film genres while also creating opportunities for sustained conversations built around certain topics and themes. We generally offer different series, each consisting of events led by expert speakers, ranging from professors, to film critics, to members of the industry. While the format will vary slightly depending on the speaker, audience members will always be invited to ask questions and share their opinions. Events will be run in an online format, allowing us to partner with other local independent art house cinemas and to reach an even broader audience. Deep Focus is the successor to our Film 101 series. It has same great programming but is rebranded as we expand the scope of the series.
Deep Focus is a seminar only series. The films discussed are not included in the scheduled seminars. Be sure to watch the films ahead of time. You can catch some titles at screenings in person at our theaters – for that, you’ll have to check your local theater to see if and when it is showing the film. We’ll also provide guidance as to where you can stream the films online. See below in each film description under the heading "Where to Watch."
Registration. While our monthly Deep Focus seminars are free for anyone, we recommend a small donation from non-members to your local theater to support the series. You can donate to the County, Ambler, Garden, or Hiway. Our courses require a modest registration fee to help sustain the program and compensate our speakers. Enrollment in our cinema studies courses is discounted for members.
Archive of past seminars. Our monthly seminars are recorded and will be available on YouTube at a later date.
Renew Theaters operates four Pennsylvania/New Jersey movie theaters: the County Theater in Doylestown, PA, the Ambler Theater in Ambler, PA, the Hiway Theater in Jenkintown, PA, and the Princeton Garden Theatre in Princeton, NJ. Renew manages each theater according to each individual mission to: Exhibit art, independent and world films that offer the community an opportunity to experience a broad range of artistic and alternative expressions; Educate the community about the film and media arts through a diverse program of educational activities that seek to develop a lifelong involvement with the arts; Serve as a community and charitable resource for the arts, and to promote and effect access to the arts for all members of the community; and
Preserve the theaters as cultural resources.
Deep Focus is supported by a generous grant from the Vesta Fund. We offer free monthly online seminars as well as more formal cinema studies courses.