You could ask for context from any university reading list... http://www.kings.cam.ac.uk/study/undergraduate/offerholders/... ...they're of passing interest to people looking to be 'well read', but are provided mainly for the students, and the context is the course.
But that's not what it is. It's a list that one of the top living film directors on the planet thinks that directing students at one of the leading film schools in the world should watch.
That's a different thing entirely.
Each one of these films has things directors can learn from by just watching them. Film being a visual medium and all.
Sure, some lectures can provide context, but the movies themselves are the actual content.
I very much doubt the list, and the act of watching them is the whole lesson Spike is trying to impart. The lecture series would complete the educational message.