Citizen Kane. Casablanca. Silence of the Lambs. The Big Sleep. Jaws. Saving Private Ryan. The Godfather. All of the above are considered by most major film critics and many audiences as just a few of the greatest films ever made. But what makes these films great? Is it the cinematography?  Music? Acting? Characters? Story? Direction? Some would argue that a cohesion of all of these features, and more, is what makes a masterpiece — a perfect balance between many elements. But sometimes even technical perfection is no match for the opinions of Fluvanna County High schoolers.

Jimmy Small teaches an American Cinema class at FCHS, where many of the above films, as well as many other cinematic “masterpieces,” are shown. From comedies such as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off to noir films such as Double Indemnity, Small works to introduce many older films to younger audiences, also asking the students to discuss the films and evaluate cinematic history. However, not all of his spring 2016 students seem as impressed with these movies as he is.

For example, most of the students seemed to enjoy the comedy section of films the most, but the noir section received more varying reactions. Seniors Tim Novak and Aaron Avant enjoyed most of the Noir films, but conversely, fellow Senior Xavier Jones disliked them, saying that the plots were the same in every film. Cayla Stephens enjoyed the noir film Double Indemnity, but disliked more traditional noir films such as The Big Sleep and the Maltese Falcon. “They were too confusing,” she stated, “ [and] nothing seemed to happen.”

In the Classic Hollywood Cinema section, films such as It Happened One Night and Bringing Up Baby were shown, alongside two films considered the greatest of all time, Casablanca and Citizen Kane. Despite being known as examples of cinematic brilliance, both films received mixed reactions Small’s students. Stephens particularly disliked Citizen Kane. “It was all build-up with no pay off,” she said. Senior Colin Grimsley felt similarly, saying that both films “were too boring.” Others aimed their sights at Casablanca, with several students calling it “pointless” or “stupid.”

However, students seemed to enjoy other films of different genres, particularly Alfred Hitchcock’s film library. His films Vertigo and Rear Window received mostly positive reactions from the students. One of their particular favorites was Hitchcock’s Rope, a mystery about a murder. Other positive responses were directed at the comedy genre, which featured movies from the 1930 Marx Brothers comedy Animal Crackers to Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.

Small expected such mixed reactions from his students and actually encourages them, stating that he appreciates the varying opinions the students bring to the table. “That’s part of the class,” he explained, “it’s what makes [the class] fun.” From the selection he is showing, his favorite is It Happened One Night, a screwball comedy staring Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert that swept the Academy Awards in 1934.

When asked about his opinions on Citizen Kane and Casablanca, Small said he finds Casablanca to be the better movie, although he appreciates how important Citizen Kane is to the film industry. “It shaped how films should be acted, filmed, directed,” he explained.

Besides watching movies in American Cinema, students will be given quizzes on the content of these films, as well as participation grades for watching the films and discussing them. Upcoming Juniors and Seniors can sign up for this semester-long class, and Small encourages anybody who likes movies to sign up. “Everyone has a different opinion,” Small said, “and I can’t wait to see what my next class thinks of these films.”