Think online classes are for The Birds? Would you rather stare out your Rear Window than join an internet seminar? Well, Turner Classic Movies may change your mind with its latest offering: a free summer learning series called The Master of Suspense: 50 Years of Hitchcock.

After all, there may be no Western director more worth devoted study than Alfred Hitchcock. To the point where “Hitchcockian” is an adjective, his innovative use of blocking, daring editing techniques, andcoverage of long takes changed cinematography forever and have provided inspiration to other filmmakers for decades.

We got an exclusive first peek at the course (below), which will run from June 26 to August 7.

The class is concurrent with TCM’s spotlight on Hitchcock’s films. The network is showing a comprehensive slate of more than 40 Hitchcock productions every Wednesday and Friday evening this summer, ranging from such early silent-era works as The Ring (1927) and The Farmer’s Wife (1928) to his final two features, Frenzy (1972) and Family Plot (1976).

Dr. Richard Edwards, host of the podcast Out of the Past: Investigating Film Noir, helms the course. Unlike some online courses that offer no interaction with the profs, Edwards will hold live-tweet sessions with students to supplement the course's videos and multimedia activities.

Sign up here. It would be Psycho not to.

moochitchcockAlfred Hitchcock
DirectingFilm School