The New Hollywood

This is a report I wrote for a school about the New Hollywood generation of American filmmakers. Please leave comments, questions, etc.

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During the 1960's films seemed to have lost the interest of most audience members. With the introduction of televisions as a major form of entertainment many viewers parted from seeing films on the big screen and as a result of this, film was feared to be becoming a dead art form (it also didn't help that films were becoming more and more irrelevant each year, not saying anything new or testing the restrictions of the set cinematic language). But from the late 1960's to the early 1980's a group of young and talented film makers emerged and for a while took control over Hollywood. This group of filmmakers was referred to by the press as "The New Hollywood" - their films were personal, relevant and spoke to their audience. For the first time directors had almost complete, unquestioned controls over their films.

One of the first of these films was "Bonnie and Clyde" made in 1967, it was a project that the studio (Warner Brothers) had very little hope in. However, the makers of this film were filled with inspiration from the La Nouvelle Vague film movement taking place in France. Written by Robert Benton and David Newman (two film writers for the magazine "Esquire" with a passion for independent and foreign film, most notably the work of Jean luc Godard and Francois Truffaut) and directed by Arthur Penn, a former big league director who was blacklisted during the 50's over fear of being a communist. It starred Warren Beatty (who also produced and had more faith in the film than any other crew member) and Faye Dunaway.

The studio didn't have very much hope in the film - it was violent and they just couldn't understand why anyone would ever like it. So it was a huge surprise (perhaps even for the makers of the film) when it became a smash hit and was nominated for several Academy Awards.

Along with a little independent film called "Easy Rider" a new era was ushered in for film. One in which the artist had more control over their films than the suits. The contributors of this era were known to the public as "The New Hollywood".

Look at almost any film lover's list of favorite American films and you will see that a good deal of the films will be from the New Hollywood era. The best works of some of America's greatest directors were made in this era. To name a few of these directors: Scorsese, Bogdonavich, Ashby, Peckinpah, Altman and DePalma.

During this time, these great directors were able to flourish and make their films with little to no interference from the studios. They could do anything, with any amount of money. The director was finally the sole author of their films. Unfortunately, this new control for the directors was ruined by two films. These films were "Star Wars" and "Jaws". Opening on thousands of screens across the country (and across the globe) these films grossed more than any other films in the history of cinema. Besides this, with Star Wars the studios were able to make countless amounts of money off merchandise like toys, books and video games bringing in huge amounts of cash. But it isn't fair to place blame entirely on the greedy studios and the filmmaker's who consider film more of a business than an art form. The directors themselves let prestige get to their heads. They thought they could do anything and they drove the studios to shut them down.

The four films that were mainly responsible for killing the New Hollywood were "Heaven's Gate", "They all Laughed", "New York New York" and "Sorcerer". "Heaven's Gate" went hugely over budget and made very little money back in the studios. "They All Laughed" was a fantastic film but after the murder of star Dorothy Stratten, nobody wanted to see it. "New York New York" was a good film but perhaps a little too personal and William Friedkin's epic "Sorcerer" opened on the same week as "Star Wars" and did no business (which was unfortunate because it was a great film).

After these films were released nothing would ever be the same for the New Hollywood directors. That's not to say that the films they subsequently made weren't good. Scorsese continued making some fantastic films, as did Ashby and Friedkin. But it was now (and still seems to be) the era of over-budgeted, unoriginal, all flash no substance blockbuster films.

Review of The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is one of the best films I've yet to see that deals with themes of rebellious and frustrated youths. Tom Courtenay brilliantly plays Colin Smith, a young man living in an impoverished area of England. Colin is the oldest member of a large family, his father is in poor shape and refuses to take his medication. The entire family seems to remain unbothered by this and his mother even carries on several affairs with different men. Eventually, the father dies and with the money she receives from insurance she blows on clothes and a new television.

Frustrated about not having any money (because he refuses to get a job, insisting that he doesn't see any sense in working his guts out just so the employer can make all the money) Colin breaks into a bakery and steals a cashbox.

Eventually, Colin is caught by the police and sent to a reformatory school where he shows promise in athletics as a long distance runner. The Governor takes special notice of him and gives him special treatment, hoping for him to compete in the long distance run against a preparatory school.

When the day of the competition comes Colin straight away takes a huge lead on the star runner of the opposing school. He keeps up a steady pace but throughout a series of flashcuts we see Colin reflecting on his home life. He stops in place and in a rebel yell stares at the Governor who was completely expecting him to win.

Now, the film is told in a non-linear narrative which makes the film have a lot more emotional resonance. It is shot in black and white, in a fantastic documentary style. The music in this film perfectly underlines all the emotions Colin goes through (most specifically loneliness, when it shows just his shadow running along a long road).

Throughout the film we find that the apparent criminal seems to have more moral and ethical codes than the authority figures.

The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner is a great example of a film in which almost all of the elements work perfectly together. It's experimentations in editing, the shaky camera work, gritty cinematography and fantastic acting all go together wonderfully.

-9/10

Review of Avatar (2009)

Avatar (2009)

So, I saw the trailer for Avatar and from what I saw it didn't really look like it would be the type of movie that I'm into but a few friends were going so I figured I might as well go check it out.

From the first scene it's pretty obvious what type of movie it's gonna be. The story was far from original (it was basically Dances with Wolves with aliens) and the characters were basically one dimensional. Anyway, that's pretty much what I was expecting so I wasn't disappointed. The obvious reason to go see Avatar is it's special effects which are definitely fantastic. James Cameron was able to create a whole new world with CGI which is definitely interesting to see but also (for me at least) detracted from the overall film. I couldn't take any of the dramatic moments between the aliens seriously because I just couldn't get it out of my head how they're just computer generated images.

Overall, I'd say Avatar is just another example of an all flash no substance Hollywood movie. If you have any interest at all in seeing it, go to the theaters because the experience will be ruined at home.

-7/10

My top ten films of the decade

Alright, so seeing as how it's the first day of 2010 and all I figured what better time to start a blog? Also, it's a good time to make my top ten films released in the past decade list. Keep in mind that there are a lot of films released in this decade that are held in high regard that I've yet to see so don't bust my balls for not having City of God on the list. I'm working on it!

1. Requiem for a Dream
2. Memento
3. The Royal Tenenbaums
4. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
5. Amelie
6. Into the Wild
7. Donnie Darko
8. Punch Drunk Love
9. Elephant
10. The 25th Hour

Anyone out there reading this have a list of their favourite films of the decade? If so, I'd love to read it.