Secrets, unveiled: UCLA legend Howard Suber on what makes stories work

First, you must understand the Howard Suber phenomenon. Among UCLA film types, his name is spoken in hushed and reverent tones. His every uttering is dissected for shades of meaning.

“He is a GOD. Pure and simple. G.O.D.,” former student and author Lawrence Ross told me when Suber’s book, “The Power of Film,” came out some 16 years ago. “He teaches a film structure class that breaks down, well, film. It’s hard to explain why it’s good, but it’s like someone is explaining to you that you’ve been speaking English all of your life, but there’s a secret language called English 2.0, and this language opens your world to a whole new meaning. That’s what Suber does.”

Turner Classic Movies has adapted Suber’s magnum opus — and the secrets it lays bare — into an analytical series of the same name  exploring some of the greatest American classic films of the past century. It will air for six consecutive Thursdays beginning Jan. 4 (at 5 p.m. and 8 p.m. PST).

The questions Suber raises and answers — What makes a film great? Is there any such thing as a great character? — apply to storytelling in every format, and this (primarily non-fiction) scribe counts herself among Suber’s legions of devotees. The good professor will host, curate and dissect beloved films in the series, and TCM will screen 17 of them — something he said no other venue could really do.

“Popular films have their own principles, patterns and structures,” Suber wrote in the book. “These deal not so much with style and technique as with the psychology of storytelling, which ultimately is the psychology of contemporary human beings.”

Suber is a Southern California institution. The professor emeritus is credited with leading the campaign to establish UCLA’s School of Theater, Film and Television, and starting its critical studies and producers programs, and co-founding its film archive. He has amassed a cult-inspiring collection of theories and observations on the art of storytelling over many decades, and I’ve sat slack-jawed in his classroom at what I can only describe as a mystical unveiling, much like watching a magician reveal exactly how the trick is done.

His brilliance lies in working backward. He examines popular films that have remained popular across the years — “Casablanca,” “The Godfather,” “Amadeus,” “American Graffiti,” “The Graduate” — and figures out why. What do they have in common? How do they “work”?

I confess to feeling a wee bit jealous that he’s sharing these observations WITH THE ENTIRE WORLD, including our nemeses at USC.

” ‘The Power of Film’ goes far beyond an online masterclass by intertwining his structured framework, teachings and insights with nearly 50 dramatic movie scenes to create a uniquely engaging narrative through humor, emotion and human experience,” TCM’s promo stuff for the series says.

Here’s the lineup:

• Part 1: “Popular and Memorable,” Jan. 4. Most commercially successful films are quickly forgotten — but a rare few last from generation to generation. Using scenes from many of these films, including “The Godfather,” “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Star Wars,” Suber explores why they have such power.

• Part 2: “Trapped,” Jan. 11. Nearly all memorable stories are about traps, Suber says. There’s loss, sacrifice and ultimately, triumph, as the central character attempts to escape. He discusses “Casablanca,” “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Moonlight” and others.

• Part 3: “Character Relationships,” Jan 18. Suber maintains that there’s no such thing as an interesting character — there are only interesting relationships between them. But the structure of most memorable stories revolves around a single individual, with the action and other characters in orbit. Examples include “Sideways,” “E.T.” and “Do The Right Thing.”

• Part 4: “Heroes and Villains,” Jan. 25. Memorable films tend to compensate for what we don’t see much of in the real world: justice, commitment, altruism. While film drama often treats the central characters as if they were heroes or villains, the two are often very much alike. He discusses “Vertigo,” “High Noon” and “Wonder Woman,” among others.

• Part 5: “The Power of Paradox,” Feb. 1. In almost every memorable film, things aren’t what they seem. Learning the truth about characters and situations creates much of the tension, as in “Get Out,” “The Social Network” and “The Big Lebowski.”

• Part 6: “Love and Meaning,” Feb. 8. Hollywood doesn’t always require a happy ending. It’s astonishing how many of the most lasting love stories end with separation or death. Examples discussed: “Whiplash,” “Harold and Maude” and “Toy Story.”

The episodes are 40 minutes long and delve “deep into the art of storytelling by examining the defining principles and inner workings of beloved films.” The executive producers are former Suber students — Doug Pray and Laura Gabbert, “documentary film makers at the top of their careers,” as Suber says — who simply had to capture his wisdom. It was a labor of love for all three, who worked on the project for years and financed it themselves.

The book the series is based on elicited blurbs of praise from the likes of former students Francis Ford Coppola (“wise… liberating… surprisingly contrary to what ‘everyone knows’ ”), Sundance Film Festival director Geoffrey Gilmore (“one of the foremost teachers of film in the world”) and David Koepp, who wrote “Spider-Man,” “Jurassic Park” and “Mission: Impossible” (“What Aristotle did for drama, Howard Suber has now done for film”).

There are about 275 clips from some 50 films peppered into the series. TCM will screen many of these classics before and after “The Power of Film” episodes, one of the thrilling parts of working with the channel.

“I’m relieved to have finally put together the work of so many years, but wondering what lies ahead — an old retired geezer with no unfinished work,” Suber said.

We suspect that Suber will have no trouble keeping himself engaged. New movies are coming out every few minutes — he liked “Oppenheimer,”  “Barbie,” not so much — so there’s still a lot of work to do.

Suber was Michigan’s debate champ as a boy. He talked his way into Harvard University, majored in English, edited the freshman newspaper and, fatefully, joined a film club. He headed west to study film at UCLA (“The greatest racket I had ever heard of”), and earned its highest honor for teaching.

Watch this. If you don’t have cable, try accessing TCM via Hulu Live TV or YouTube TV.  Enjoy — then plot how to perfect your own masterpiece.