The British Family In Film: Heavy Is The Head That Wears The Crown (OOL)
Osher Online | Registration opens Sunday, August 16, 2026 2:00 PM
This course examines royal succession through acclaimed British films that explore power not as ceremony, but as moral and political crisis. We will trace the monarchy’s evolution from personal rule to institutional authority, beginning with the Plantagenet struggles in Becket (1964) and The Lion in Winter (1968).
We will then examine the moral costs of kingship and the performance of national leadership through two Shakespeare adaptations: Chimes at Midnight (1965) and Henry V (1989). The course will conclude with the Tudor rupture: A Man for All Seasons (1966) and the consolidation of legitimacy Elizabeth (1998).
The Program will meet each Monday, September 28 through November 2 at 12:00 pm
Each live session is 90 minutes
Monday, September 28
Monday, October 5
Monday, October 12
Monday, October 19
Monday, October 26
Monday, November 2
As this class is delivered by the National Resource Center for OLLIs (NRC) at Northwestern University, you will receive a welcome email from osheronline@northwestern.edu. The email will include your credentials (username & password) as well as a hyperlink to the Osher Online Website through which you will access your course website. Please save the link once you receive it. Multi-session courses will use this same link each week.
Bernard (Butch) Epps
Bernard (Butch) Epps earned his undergraduate degree from Loyola Marymount University, graduating cum laude as an award-winning film production major. He received his MFA from the UCLA School of Film and Television’s graduate Producers Program, where he specialized in story development and working with screenwriters. At UCLA, he served as the academic liaison to the MFA Producers Program faculty, which included studio heads, development executives, and industry professionals. Epps has taught film appreciation courses with a strong emphasis on story analysis.