Cinema Chapter 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16
13.10 Italy
By the early 1960s, some of the earlier filmmakers of the 1940s and 50s, like Visconti and Fellini, were already recognized as strong figures in the Italian film world. However, there are three Italian filmmakers that are worth mentioning during this decade: Michelangelo Antonioni (1912-2007), Gillo Pontecorvo (1919-2006) and Sergio Leone(1929-1989). Michelangelo Antonioni's style in his early movies was very different from other contemporary filmmakers. In films like L'Aventura (1960) he used a very precise mise-en-scene and very long takes that symbolized the subtle but continuous change in his characters, slowly building-up their alienation. His films do not seem to have a clear plot, but they are mostly about human relationships or the lack thereof. Later on Antonioni made films with a faster pace, but his characters still lived in some kind of emotional daze. His most famous works are Blow Up (1966), and Zabriskie Point (1970). Gillo Pontecorvo's films have always been deeply political. He started making documentaries and that experience served him well when he made the internationally acclaimed film The Battle of Algiers (1966). This movie is a fictional story of the Algerian rebellion against France, but Pontecorvo used a documentary style that brought it to life. While his next film Burn! (1969) was loosely based on real events, his film Ogro (1979) is a much more accurate reconstruction of reality. Sergio Leone was considered the father of the Spaghetti-Western. His films A Fistful of Dollars (1964) and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966), were some of the best representations of this sub-genre. Clint Eastwood became an international sensation when he became the protagonist of the very successful Leone's films. His style was defined by the use of extremely tight close ups of the actors' faces, really wide landscapes, and quickly edited shots for the showdowns scenes. Leone used the music of Ennio Morricone to wrap the very sparse and short dialogue along with the action scenes. His movies were heavily influenced by Akira Kurosawa's samurai films and in turn, Leone became the source of inspiration to a younger generation of filmmakers.
14.6 Television Directors become Hollywood filmmakers
The most celebrated directors of television moved from New York to Hollywood following the changes in management, the loss of experimentation when the sponsors demanded control of the shows, and the lack of excitement due to the taping of shows. Many of them re-made some of their best television work for the silver screen. Among them were Sidney Lumet, John Frankenheimer, John Cassavetes and Mike Nichols. Sidney Lumet (born in 1924) is one of the leading directors of this group whose work includes theater, television and film. Lumet was able to get very strong performances from his actors and is very skilled with his productions, finishing them on time and on budget. An extraordinarily prolific director and storyteller who prefers stories about the underdog confronting the system, the fragility of justice and corruption. His long career has produced numerous titles that became instant classics, from Twelve Angry Men (1957), The Pawnbroker (1965), Dog Day Afternoon (1975), and Network (1976). Many other of his great films are not listed here. John Frankenheimer (1930-2002) was another television director who crossed over to films and worked with some of the most prominent actors of his time. The Manchurian Candidate (1962) was the story of a Korean War veteran. It had a very unconventional plot structure and an interesting visual composition style. It was acclaimed by the critics, but for unclear reasons, the film was pulled from the screens for a long time until its re-release in 1988. He followed with Seven days in May (1964) another political thriller that Frankenheimer directed, wit Kirk Douglas and Burt Lancaster. It got nominated for two Oscars John Cassavetes (1929-1989) was an actor who was also considered a great director of actors. He used a cinema verite ("cinema of truth") style, and encouraged his actors to bring their characters to life. Unfortunately, his career was short-lived because of his alcohol addiction. Faces (1968) shot in 16 mm a small format that was only used for TV reporting, with a documentary style. It was a very low budget, personal film that he wrote with the input of his actors. In Husbands (1970), Cassavettes cast his friends and family. His off-screen relationship with his cast benefited the movie. The next generation of Cassavettes have acted and directed in multiple movies. Mike Nichols (1931-2014) is the recipient of the most prestigious recognitions in the entertainment industry: Oscar, Emmy, Tony and Grammy awards. His film Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf? (1966) had a script so close to the play that the movie had problems with the Production Code for its language and depiction of sexuality. In the end, it got released and became very popular. He also directed the biggest box-office hit of 1967, The Graduate, the first lead role for Dustin Hoffman. The popularity of this movie was due to a combination of subtle but ironic humor, sexual tension, visual metaphors created with editing, and the songs of Simon & Garfunkel.
13.12.8 Stanley Kubrick
2001: A Space Odyssey - The beginning of Science Fiction revival. This is the opening and you can find the rest online. I recommend the entire movie. This scene shows the beginning of the Paleolithic Era, and reveals that, by the usage of tools, man could stop being a victim of the world to become an active element, who has the power of action over nature https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ypEaGQb6dJk
13.12.2 Jean-Luc Godard
Breathless/ A bout de souffle (1960) Jean-Luc Godard https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ybl_R34ODHo&feature=youtu.be
15.5.2 UK
Elton John: Pinball Wizard (1975) Tommy The Movie Tommy https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=79gqcxLy_gQ&feature=youtu.be
14.5 The Production Code
From the early 1900s, America's favorite themes were sex and violence. In the 1960s sex and violence in the movies were seen as a way to express the frustration and alienation of American society. The Production Code that had been monitoring the movies since the 1930s was now out of touch with new audiences, and that was affecting industry revenues. The revision of the Production Code in 1951 made the rules stricter. Some filmmakers like Otto Preminger were constantly having problems with the Code. By 1960 the MPAA begun to require screen cuts in certain films, because they were considered indecent, before granting its consent to be released to the public. Some movies made small changes, some compromises were agreed upon, and finally films like Some Like It Hot (1959) and Psycho (1960) were released without the seal of approval. This was a direct challenge to the MPAA and the box-office success of those movies proved that the code was unnecessary. The fight for civil rights and the advocates of gay equality questioned the Code views on race, gender and sexual orientation. Once again movies got released without permission but the MPAA could do nothing about it. In 1968, the Production Code was abolished. That same year the MPAA came up with the Rating System as a replacement to the Production Code, with the purpose of providing parental guidance. While the rating system has been concerned with sex in the movies, it has not paid much attention to the amount of violence depicted in films.
13.12.3 Alain Resnais
Hiroshima Mon Amour This is the trailer. It is available online in its entirety in French and Italian. This debut feature from Alain Resnais, written by Marguerite Duras, a story told in two tenses about the aftereffect of the atomic bomb as experienced by two lovers in Hiroshima, is one of the great https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLts830aLlw
13.12.5 Roman Polanski
Knife in The Water - Unfortunately most of the clips online do not have subtitles or have been re-edited. Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LaBa2Wj3gHk
15.5.1 France
La Cage aux Folles (the original movie) LA CAGE AUX FOLLES - LES BISCOTTES - ZAZA ET RENATO http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x9i5q3_tu-t-habilles-comme-une-pute_shortfilms
16.10.7 Documentaries
Macked, Hammered, Slaughtered & Shafted - interesting doc. about blaxploitation Written, directed, and produced by David Walker, MACKED, HAMMERED, SLAUGHTERED, & SHAFTED is an insightful examination of the blaxploitation film movement of the 1970s. Featuring interviews with key actors and filmmakers, the documentary explores the origins of blaxploitation, and the controversial history of Hollywood's most misunderstood genre.
16.10.6 The Godfather
Mario Puzo
13.11 Greece
Michael Cacoyannis is probably the best-known Greek filmmaker of the 1960's. While most of his movies were based in classical Greek dramas, he also directed a co-production with the United States called Zorba, The Greek (1964), which became extremely famous with the help of his lead actor Anthony Quinn and the music by Mikis Theodorakis. The film received three Academy Award nominations.
16.10.3 American Graffiti
OPENING SEQUENCE directed: George Lucas
13.6 Poland
Roman Polanski (born in 1933) is probably the most international filmmaker from Poland. His tumultuous life as a child escaping Nazi persecution had an impact in his psychological thrillers that are filled with paranoia and terror. Polanski's first feature Knife in the Water (1962) won the Critic's Prize at the Venice Film Festival and was nominated for an Academy Award. Unfortunately, his adult life was as tumultuous as his childhood. Polanski's wife, Sharon Tate, was eight months pregnant when the Charles Manson cult murdered her. Years later, Polanski was accused of having inappropriate conduct with a minor and fled to France. Some of his more recent films are the award winners The Pianist (2002), and Oliver Twist (2005). Andrzej Wajda (born in1926) is a director whose films like Ashes and Diamonds (1958) had been critical of war politics and the Communist Polish regime. This prolific filmmaker is known for using symbols in his tragic stories. Wajda has opened a film school in Poland and collected the most prestigious international awards all over the world. He still is making films today.
14.8.9 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
Satire of military fears. Made over 50 years ago, Please note all the different characters played by Peter Seller. The story concerns an unhinged US Air Force general who orders a first strike nuclear attack on the Soviet Union, and follows the President of the United States, his advisers, the Joint Chiefs of Staff and a Royal Air Force (RAF) officer as they try to recall the bombers to prevent a nuclear apocalypse, as well as the crew of one B-52 as they attempt to deliver their payload.
12.3 Japan
The 1950s is considered the Golden Age of Japanese films. The similarities of the Japanese Studio System and Hollywood were startling. Profit, not quality is what propelled the Japanese industry. While many films were just B-movies, a few directors were able to make low-budget A-quality pictures that still yield a profit. The practices of Block Booking and Blind Bidding were well spread. As their American counterparts, the studios kept everyone under contract. Their very hierarchical system of apprenticeship was just an extension of the strong values firmly rooted in Japanese culture. During the WWII years, Japan's government controlled the film industry, banning foreign films and censuring the content of domestic productions. Like most countries, a documentary unit got created for the production of newsreels and propaganda films. Nationalism, self-sacrifice, submission to authority, and family values were some of the conservative themes of the movies. The constant tension between traditional and modern values in Japanese films were accentuated during the seven years of the American occupation. Western principles were considered progressive and preferred over Eastern ones that were seen as feudal and regressive. The fatalistic unhappy endings were replaced with optimistic or neutral resolutions. In 1951 Akira Kurosawa's Roshomon won both the Venice Film Festival and the Academy Awards. Since then, Akira Kurosawa has been considered the most modern and experimental of the Japanese filmmakers for several reasons; he took the clichés out of stereotyped samurai films and infused them with interesting characters and plots. He used western literary sources and his multiple cameras and quick editing techniques gave him a visual agility that makes his films pop out. Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954) presented an interesting dichotomy; on one hand, he showed consensus and advice from the main pillars of society, the elders. On the other hand, Kurosawa's characters rebelled against lost causes and fight for what they believe. In the opposite side of the spectrum was Yasujiro Ozu, one of the most traditional filmmakers of this period. He made films about families and traditional values from the point of view of the parents, using the camera as an outside observer and mastering a pictorial mise-en-scene. Ozu represents Japanese realism. His movies are filled with small details that make them rich and simple at the same time. Tokyo Story (1953) is one of his best movies. Somewhere in the middle between Kurosawa and Ozu was Kenji Mizoguchi. His movie Ugetsu (1953) won an award at the Venice Film Festival and brought him national and international recognition. In his films, Mizoguchi explored stories about women. He also staged fantastic atmospheres with dense textures.
13.3 France: La Nouvelle Vague (New Wave)
The influence of Italian Neorealism and Classic Hollywood Style gave birth to a group of young French film critics that became filmmakers. Many of them were linked to the film magazine Cahiers de Cinema, edited by Andre Bazin. From their articles they attacked the tradition of French Cinema of making movies based on literary sources. The New Wave filmmakers had a deep knowledge of film history and they admired French directors like Jean Renoir and Jean Vigo, as well as American directors like Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, Howard Hawks, Nicholas Ray, and Orson Wells. In their critical approach of moviemaking they preferred to create films with an intellectual approach rather than an entertainment one. La Nouvelle Vague (New Wave) took advantage of the technology developed for TV, small cameras, sync sound recorders, and lights that were quick to set up and portable, making it easier for very small crews. Productions had low budgets, in part because France's financial situation was still recovering from WWII, in part because it meant another way to oppose the traditional production methods. Like the Italian Noerealism, the New Wave movies were shot on real locations and had no starts. However, unlike Neorealism, French films had loose plots or no scripts, benefiting from improvisation. They used self-conscious techniques like actors breaking the forth wall to address the audience directly, or disruptive editing, like jump cuts, with the purpose of reminding the viewer that he or she is just watching a film. Movies are not a mirror to life, but a director's personal vision that would shape films in an inevitably clash with established conventions, especially with well-structured stories. The unconventional movies of the New Wave were very well received by critics and audiences alike. This international recognition made this movement one of the most important film revolutions of the second half of the 20th Century. The deep political and social concerns of the French New Wave awakened filmmakers in other countries, who in turn formed the Japanese New Wave and the Indian New Wave. Films would have to wait three decades until the Dogme '95 movement to experience something similar, but with a much modest innovation. https://ilearn.laccd.edu/courses/18519/pages/13dot3-france-percent-3a-la-nouvelle-vague-percent-28new-wave-percent-29?module_item_id=481490
Question 1 2 / 2 pts Select ALL statements that refer to Method Acting (more than one answer is required): it uses improvisations and rehearsals it focuses on reaching inwards, connecting with previous experiences Question 2 0 / 2 pts Select ALL the reasons why television was the land of experimentation in the early 1950s (more than one answer is required): - television had a very ingrained division of labor budgets were small; there was little control; no high expectations new technical difficulties needed to be resolved shows were created by young people for young audiences - television shows were lavish spectacles Question 3 0 / 2 pts What do the films of Kenji Mizoguchi and Satjayit Ray have in common?: They tell stories about women They won the Venice Film Festival Question 4 2 / 2 pts What do American and Japanese film industries have had in common?: a combination of major and minor studios studios that owned their own chain of theaters blind and block booking all of the above Question 5 2 / 2 pts All of the following themes/values were present in Japanese movies during WWII EXCEPT: individualism Question 6 2 / 2 pts ______ created grotesque characters, autobiographical plots, and loved the circus. F. Fellini Question 7 2 / 2 pts Which of the following films was made by blacklisted filmmakers?: Salt of the Earth Question 8 2 / 2 pts Name the committee that carried on the red scare hearings: HUAC Question 9 2 / 2 pts Many films from the 1950s: were based on novels or plays had romantic aesthetics instead of explicit sexuality dealt with rebellious characters all of the above Question 10 2 / 2 pts The names in the blacklist known as the Hollywood Ten did not include: Actors IncorrectQuestion 2 0 / 2 pts Select ALL correct answers that complete the following statement (more than one answer is required): After the arrival of television... -going to the movies became a family experience more than ever before the beginning of audience fragmentation took place movies begun to show explicit content -the number of moviegoers decreased - movie theaters reduced ticket prices Question 3 2 / 2 pts Psychological and religious torments are some of _____'s themes. I. Bergman Question 4 2 / 2 pts The 1950s represent the Golden Age of ______ cinema. Japanese Question 5 2 / 2 pts _____ was well known for his brisk editing style. A. Kurosawa Question 8 2 / 2 pts The television show Marty was based in the United Artists movie by the same title. False Question 9 2 / 2 pts A difference between between mystery and suspense motion pictures is: The characters and the audience of mystery movies are aware of all the plot details as the story unfolds. On the other hand, many plot points remain unknown to them (characters and audience) in suspense films. False Question 10 2 / 2 pts Name the television anchor who challenged Senator McCarthy: Edward Murrow Question 1 0.67 / 2 pts Select ALL correct answers that complete the following statement (more than one answer is required): After the arrival of television... going to the movies became a family experience more than ever before the beginning of audience fragmentation took place movies begun to show explicit content the number of moviegoers decreased movie theaters reduced ticket prices Question 2 2 / 2 pts Select ALL statements that refer to Method Acting (more than one answer is required): - it uses improvisations and rehearsals - it focuses on reaching inwards, connecting with previous experiences Question 3 2 / 2 pts La Nouvelle Vague made an impact on the way movies were made in: the US Europe -both Question 8 2 / 2 pts Lucile Ball was never investigated by the Hollywood Ten because she only worked in television. False Question 9 2 / 2 pts Because television became very popular in the mid 1950s, many Hollywood film directors moved to New York city looking for work in the new medium. False Question 10 2 / 2 pts The Actors' Studio is the name of a famous photography studio where actors can get their headshots. False
What kind of movies were made in the UK during the 1940s: all answers are correct Question 2 1 / 1 pts The Third Man is a German movie about life during WWII. False Question 3 1 / 1 pts Gone with the Wind became so popular in Europe during WWII that was screened in the most important theaters of all major European cities. False IncorrectQuestion 4 0 / 1 pts John Wayne: began his career as a child actor started in B movies was discovered by Howard Hawks all answers are correct Question 5 1 / 1 pts The Why We Fight series is a group of: propaganda films Question 6 1 / 1 pts Name this film: The Red Shoes Question 7 1 / 1 pts French movies from the 1940s: none of the above Question 8 1 / 1 pts The film Casablanca: had Bergman/Bogart in the leading roles Question 9 1 / 1 pts The femme fatale character depicts women as instruments of evil, manipulative and dangerous. This character embodies the fears of a psychologically threatened man, who feels very uncomfortable with the social changes that took place during WWII. True Question 10 1 / 1 pts During the first half of the 1940s, some European countries banned American and Soviet films. True Question 11 1 / 1 pts The Service Act of 1940: got Hollywood mobilized Question 12 1 / 1 pts Name this film: Beauty and the Beast Question 13 1 / 1 pts Telefoni Bianchi refers to a series of propaganda films made in Austria at the very end of the 1940s. False Question 14 1 / 1 pts Name this film: Adam's_Rib.jpg Adam's Rib Question 15 1 / 1 pts What type of comedy became most popular in the 1930s and 1940s? screwball comedy Question 16 1 / 1 pts Name this film: Sunset Boulevard Question 17 1 / 1 pts Most French filmmakers during the early 1940s made movies about: none of the above Question 18 1 / 1 pts Film Noir movies: all answers are correct IncorrectQuestion 19 0 / 1 pts All of the following filmmakers were part of the Italian Neorealism movement EXCEPT: Visconti De Mille De Sica Zavattini Question 20 1 / 1 pts Lawrence Olivier: paid attention to both technical and artistic aspects, producing sophisticated movies Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of Italian Neorealism ideology and style: emphasis on propaganda ideals Question 12 1 / 1 pts Social Realism represents the post WWII era - austere, deglamorized and confused. True IncorrectQuestion 1 0 / 2 pts Throughout the 1960s the Hollywood studios: collapsed were bought by corporations began to shift production from spectacles to intimate movies all of the above none of the above Question 2 2 / 2 pts All of the following statements about American filmmakers of the 1970s are correct EXCEPT: -They were interested on classical cinema Question 3 2 / 2 pts S. Peckinpah's revisionist style includes all of the following EXCEPT: -Family entertainment, friendly to kids and seniors Question 4 2 / 2 pts Mad Max is a musical made by American director Peter Weir. False Question 5 2 / 2 pts By the early 1980s, the success of Australian cinema had been absorbed by television and by Hollywood. True Question 6 2 / 2 pts The Production Code was abolished: - in 1968 Question 7 1.33 / 2 pts Select ALL that apply to the New German Cinema (more than one answer required): It had pessimistic and futile views It was made by young left-wing intellectuals It consisted of low budget films It included many visual (special) effects Question 9 0.67 / 2 pts Select ALL the technical advances that made possible the New Wave style (more than one answer required): Portable/lighter equipment Film more sensitive to light* More versatile zoom lenses* Cheap video cameras The invention of the VCR Question 10 2 / 2 pts Blaxpotation's best-known representative was Sidney Poitier. False Question 1 2 / 2 pts In the 1970s British filmmakers look for employment in Television, live theater, and the Hollywood film industry. True Question 4 2 / 2 pts In the late 1960s the Cold War developed as a result of the Red Scare. False Question 8 2 / 2 pts The most famous Australian female filmmaker in the 1970s was: G. Armstrong Question 9 2 / 2 pts At the end of the 1960s, Americans were ready to embrace their institutions again. Themes like traditional family values and marriage, the positive effects of current politics in the life of the individual, and enthusiastic patriotism became most popular in the films of the 1970s. False Question 10 2 / 2 pts Among the following names, ______ is the most famous New Wave female director. Agnès Varda Question 3 2 / 2 pts The British invasion did NOT affect the film industry and English movies --especially the ones made with American funding-- tanked at the box office. True False Question 4 2/2 Which of the following took place in the 1960s?: Birth control became available The assassinations of major social and political leaders The British Invasion The landing on the Moon All of the above Question 5 0 / 2 pts Many Hollywood new directors in the 1970s: had migrated from Europe were graduate of film schools started their careers as actors all of the above*? none of the above Question 7 1.33 / 2 pts Select ALL that apply to the New Wave (more than one answer required): High budgets No big stars Mixing genres
International Cinema in the 1950s 12.1 International Cinema in the 1950s Timeline
1945-1952 - American occupation of Japan. 1950-1953 - Korean War. 1955 - Germany enters NATO. Warsaw Pact is signed: a military agreement among communist European countries in response to NATO. 1957 - The space satellite Sputnik I is launched by the USSR. Tensions between the US and USSR increases. 1958 - Birth of the European Common Market. European economies strengthen. 1959 - Cuban Revolution. Fidel Castro becomes the head of the Communist government.
14.1 American Cinema in the 1960s Timeline
1960 - The female birth control contraceptive, the pill, is released. 1962 - Telstar satellite broadcasts to both sides of the Atlantic. 1963 - Martin Luther King, Jr.'s speech "I Have a Dream" in Washington DC. President Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. 1964 - British Invasion: The Beatles, The Who and The Rolling Stones visit America. Ford puts the Mustang in the market. 1965 - Assassination of Malcolm X. 1966 - The draft: more troops are sent to Vietnam. College enrollment soars. 1967 - The motion pictures Production Code is removed. 1968 - Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. 1969 - Landing on the Moon. Protests against Vietnam war. Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village, New York. Woodstock Festival.
Chapter 13: International Cinema in the 1960s 13.1 International Cinema in the Late 1950s - 1960s Timeline
1961 - Berlin Wall is erected. The Soviets put the first man into space. America-Cuba: defeat of Bay of Pigs. 1962 - Italy leftist parties form coalition government. Cuban missile crisis. 1964 - The British Labor Party gains power. The Beatles begin the music "Invasion" of America. More American troops are sent to Vietnam. 1966 - Soviet spaceship lands in the Moon 1967 - Israel and Palestine Six Day War. Ernesto 'Che' Gevara is executed by Bolivian army. 1968 - French students and workers upraise because of working conditions. Separately, students all over Europe massively protest the Vietnam War. 1969 - Violence in Northern Ireland escalates.
16.1 American Cinema in the 1970s - Timelin Media Burn by Ant Farm - 1975
1970 - About half a million troops in Vietnam. Massive demonstrations on University Campuses. The Apollo 13 disaster. First Earth Day. 1973 - Arab oil embargo. All prices increase. 1973-1974 - Watergate Scandal. Nixon resigns. 1975 - U.S. troops leave Saigon, Vietnam. 1978 - Egypt and Israel sign peace agreement. 1979 - Second Arab Oil embargo.
15.1 International Cinema in the 1970s
1971 - Indo-Pakistani War, the first of several during this decade. 1972 - Olympics in Munich: Israeli athletes are kidnapped and killed by terrorists 1973 - Vietnam peace signed. Arab oil embargo. All prices increase rapidly. 1974 - Inflation rises all around the world. Drought and famine in sub-Saharan African countries. 1975 - Worldwide terrorist acts, kidnappings and bombings. Cambodian government's reform kills millions of citizens. 1978 - Massive suicide in Jonestown, Guyana, 900 people dead. 1979 - Soviet-Afghan War. Iranian Revolution and the Iran Hostage Crisis. Nicaraguan Revolution. Margaret Thatcher elected Prime Minister, first woman to hold this position. Mother Teresa wins Nobel Peace Price.
16.10.2 All the President's Men
All the President's Men, (two very different clips, the Watergate robbery and "Deep Throat") All the President's Men Movie CLIP - Watergate Burglary (1976) - CLIP DESCRIPTION: Security guard Frank Wills (Frank Wills) discovers a break-in at the Watergate office complex. FILM DESCRIPTION: Conspiracy film specialist Alan J. Pakula turned journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling account of their Watergate investigation into one of the hit films of Bicentennial year 1976. While researching a story about a botched 1972 burglary of Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex, green Washington Post reporters/rivals Woodward (Robert Redford, who also exec produced) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) stumble on a possible connection between the burglars and a White House staffer. With the circumspect approval of executive editor Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards), the pair digs deeper. Aided by a guilt-ridden turncoat bookkeeper (Jane Alexander) and the vital if cryptic guidance of Woodward's mystery source, Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), Woodward and Bernstein "follow the money" all the way to the top of the Nixon administration. Despite Deep Throat's warnings that their lives are in danger, and the reluctance of older Post editors, Woodward and Bernstein are determined to get out the story of the crime and its presidential cover-up. Once Bradlee is convinced, the final teletype impassively taps out the historically explosive results. CREDITS: TM & © Warner Bros. (1976) Cast: F. Murray Abraham, Anthony Mannino, Lelan Smith, Frank Wills, Richard Herd Director: Alan J. Pakula Producers: Jon Boorstin, Michael Britton, Walter Coblenz Screenwriters: Carl Bernstein, William Goldman, Bob Woodard -Follow the Money - All the President's Men (1976) -CLIP DESCRIPTION: Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) meets with an anonymous source, going by the codename Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), who tells him that the key to Watergate is to follow the money. FILM DESCRIPTION: Conspiracy film specialist Alan J. Pakula turned journalists Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein's best-selling account of their Watergate investigation into one of the hit films of Bicentennial year 1976. While researching a story about a botched 1972 burglary of Democratic Party headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex, green Washington Post reporters/rivals Woodward (Robert Redford, who also exec produced) and Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) stumble on a possible connection between the burglars and a White House staffer. With the circumspect approval of executive editor Ben Bradlee (Jason Robards), the pair digs deeper. Aided by a guilt-ridden turncoat bookkeeper (Jane Alexander) and the vital if cryptic guidance of Woodward's mystery source, Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), Woodward and Bernstein "follow the money" all the way to the top of the Nixon administration. Despite Deep Throat's warnings that their lives are in danger, and the reluctance of older Post editors, Woodward and Bernstein are determined to get out the story of the crime and its presidential cover-up. Once Bradlee is convinced, the final teletype impassively taps out the historically explosive results. CREDITS: TM & © Warner Bros. (1976) Cast: Robert Redford, Hal Holbrook Director: Alan J. Pakula Producers: Jon Boorstin, Michael Britton, Walter Coblenz Screenwriters: Carl Bernstein, William Goldman, Bob Woodard
15.3 German New Wave
Almost ten years after the French New Wave, German filmmakers were resisting the commercial trends that had dominated the movies of the previous decade. They wanted to make Art, breaking away from conservative premises. They were the new generation; one that grew up after WWII and that was ready to explore the economic miracle that had made possible the reconstruction of the country. However, in order to get funding for this rebellious adventure they were compelled to make an agreement with Television, a side of the industry that was interested in their talent and their product. From 1974 on, these films would have distribution on the big and the small screens. The Neuer Deutscher Film (German New Wave) movement was influenced by Italian Neorealism, French New Wave, British Kitchen Sink Realism and Hollywood's System of Genres. They made very pessimistic and philosophical films, with small budgets, small crews, and no stars (except for Fassbinder). Their films dealt with ordinary people, and explore German themes, including WWII. These movies became most popular outside of Germany, restoring German international recognition to a level that approached the period prior to the 1940s. Wim Wenders (born in 1945) explored the German obsession with American culture in The American Friend (1977). Volker Schlondorff (born in 1939) adapted several novels about the Nazi period, like The Tin Drum (1979). Werner Herzog (born in 1942) dealt with a man who thought was omnipotent, in Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972). And Rainer Fassbinder (1945-1982) told stories about women with conflicted lives like The Marriage of Maria Braun (1978).
16.5 Blockbusters
Along with the success of movies like The Godfather and Jaws, the studios were changing their marketing strategies to maximize profits. These strategies included using a story that had already proved to be a success, usually based on a bestselling novel. As well as launching advertisement campaigns in all media that would precede and accompany the release of the movie in theaters all over the country. This way, studios could almost assure their profits. Secondary but still very important strategies were the use of visual special effects and comic-book elements, especially important in the film Star Wars (1977). Most of these tactics are still used today. While the old Hollywood Studio System was based on a large number of productions, quantity over quality, the new approach was radically different because it was focused on just a handful of pictures that would absorb the majority of the Studio budget. Considering that the Studios in the 1970s were owned by large corporations, formed by a conglomerate of companies that in many cases included television, record labels, magazines and other media, the profits for the conglomerate were compounded. Thus, the Blockbusters were born. The rest of the movies were mostly independently produced and distributed by the Studios distribution branches. The independent producers affronted the majority of the risk while the Studios were playing safe. However, even then, the financial loses of some films had terrible consequences to the Studios. The best example is probably Michael Cimino's Heaven's Gate (1980) a flop that was able to destabilize United Artists and consequently, the studio went bankrupt. After the collapse of United Artists, the auteur style was shifted across the industry to a tighter Studio control of all productions.
14.8.7 Midnight Cowboy
Big city's appeal. The city is perceived as the place where success is assured. But is it really that way? Viewer discretion advised. Midnight Cowboy - That's a Funny Thing You Mentioning Money (1969) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6UG7H2dcos -Cass (Sylvia Miles) breaks down when Joe (Jon Voight) asks for money for his time. FILM DESCRIPTION: Based on a James Leo Herlihy novel, British director John Schlesinger's first American film dramatized the small hopes, dashed dreams, and unlikely friendship of two late '60s lost souls.
16.10.4 Chinatown
Chinatown It is like a 1940s movie but in color. Very good. Landmark movie in the film noir tradition, Roman Polanski's Chinatown stands as a true screen classic. Jack Nicholson is private eye Jake Gittes, living off the murky moral climate of sunbaked, pre-war Southern California. Hired by a beautiful socialite (Faye Dunaway) to investigate her husband's extra-marital affair, Gittes is swept into a maelstrom of double dealings and deadly deceits, uncovering a web of personal and political scandals that come crashing together for one, unforgettable night in...Chinatown. Co-starring film legend John Huston and featuring an Academy Award®-winning script by Robert Towne, Chinatown captures a lost era in a masterfully woven movie that remains a timeless gem.
12.5 Italy
FELLINI AND HIS PERSONAL STYLE The legend says that Federico Fellini ran away with the circus when he was a child. Whatever the case, Fellini loved puppets as a child, and maybe that is why he made films with stories about a real circus, or about the circus of life. A gifted caricaturist and cartoonist, Fellini populated his movies with grotesque-comical characters, escaping from predictable lives. He wrote many scripts and had a long collaboration with Rosellini, writing several of his films including Roma, Open City (1945). Fellini's hardcore Neorealism was represented by his internationally acclaimed La Strada (1954) followed by The Nights of Cabiria (1956). Both films embodied the tender and tough sides of the same reality. When he made La Dolce Vita (1959) he stepped away from Neorealism, into what would become a very personal style; plots that had surrealistic touches, as well as fantastic and weird characters. Throughout his life, Fellini had several episodes of depression. He read about psychology and studied his own dreams for a long time. Their influence could be seen in his autobiographical film 8 ½ (1963) which at the peak of his career came to define what has been called the "Fellini Style". PINK NEOREALISM Aside from Fellini, nothing as interesting as what had happened in the previous decade can be said of the 1950s in Italy. As the conditions in the country improved, movies began to soften up, thus Neorealism was followed by Pink Neorealism. The films of this movement were more commercial and featured the beauty of a group of female stars: Sophia Loren, Gina Lollobrigida and Claudia Cardinale among others.
16.3 The New Hollywood
Following the decline of the Hollywood System in the 1960s, younger and unknown producers were heading the film industry. They were breaking away from the traditional Studio ways and had a better connection with what audiences wanted. New young executives were willing to give new young filmmakers an opportunity; after all they did not have too much to loose, the budgets were small and the movies did not have stars. The influence of the French New Wave had arrived to the U.S., and the New Cinema movement lasted from 1968 until 1976. It was called the New Hollywood. In the middle of a huge economic turmoil, audiences escaped to the movie theaters. With the increase of attendance, Hollywood prospered. The tax incentives made filmmaking a very secure investment. There was money to be made, and soon financiers were enticed in by carefully prepared packaged deals that included a story, a producer, a director and a star with box office appeal. A new generation of directors was ready for the job. Trained in some of the best film schools in the country they had absorbed the history, grammar, techniques and styles of filmmakers from all countries since the beginning of cinema. Some of them like Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, and Martin Scorsese became household names. They benefited from the French imported auteur style that gave them unprecedented budgets and control over their movies. This combination worked. Their movies were making money: The Godfather (1972), American Graffiti (1973), Jaws (1975) and Taxi Driver (1976) are some examples. The auteur style stayed in vogue for the rest of the decade. In the New Hollywood everybody was financially happy.
13.4 Nouvelle Vague Filmmakers
Jean-Luc Godard was probably the most controversial filmmaker from the New Wave, partially because he was very radical. Godard believed that the film audience should have an active role, elaborating on the analysis of the movie instead of just watching it. He developed a personal visual style that included innovative distancing techniques such as the interruption of the narrative through abrupt changes in space, time and even characters. Other examples from Godard's rebellion against conventional storytelling were: the combination of images and sounds that had no synchronicity, or no continuity, or both. Godard used film as a tool to express his extreme ideas about life, society and politics, like a personal journal. The self-reflexive themes of his movies were the result of multiple experiments. Among Godard's followers are Brian de Palma, Quentin Tarantino, Bernardo Bertolucci, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder. Godard's best-known film Breathless (1959) was written by Truffaut and is an homage to Howard Hawks' Scarface (1932). Some of his other films are Alphaville (1965) and Weekend (1967). Francois Truffaut was another founder of the French New Wave. From the moment of his birth he was immersed into undesired situations. Unloved through out his childhood he took refuge in the movies. The difficulties of Truffaut's formative years made him become self-taught and independent. No surprise that he would come up with the Auteur theory: only the Director's view and style can be responsible for the message of a movie, shaping the conventions of any film genre. Truffaut became one of the most prolific writers of the publication Cahiers du Cinema and one of the most opinionated film critics in France, to the point that he was banned from the Cannes Film Festival in 1958. Ironically, the very next year, his first feature film The 400 Blows (1959) won the First Grand Prize at the very same festival in Cannes. A semi-autobiographical story, The 400 Blows is filled with homage scenes to classics like Sternberg's The Blue Angel (1930), and it has become a classic itself. Some of Truffaut's films are Shoot the Piano Player (1960), Jules and Jim (1962), and Day for Night (1973). In 1977 Truffaut collaborated with Steven Spielberg in Close Encounters of the Third Kind, film in which he played the role of a scientist. He died of a brain tumor in 1984. Another important name of La Nouvelle Vague is Alain Resnais. He started as a documentary filmmaker exploring the effects of time and the impact of past events. The visual style of Night and Fog (1955) is a clear example that has been imitated often. Resnais also made fictional movies. His narrative themes include subjective memories and violence in someone's life, even horrors. Good examples are Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), and Last Year at Marienbad (1961). In the other side of the spectrum are Eric Rohmer and Claude Chabrol. Rohmer's films are concerned with mundane topics such as finding the correct beach to spend a summer vacation. His characters are middle class, well-educated men and women who have long conversations about love and relationships. Nevertheless, their naiveté and playfulness is so natural that it makes them entertaining. On the other hand, Chabrol is considered the most commercial filmmaker of the New Wave, specializing in psychological thrillers. Some critics have named him the French Hitchcock, but his films are darker and slower.
12.4 India
Like Japan, the 1950s were the Golden Age of Indian cinema. With hundreds of films made every year, Hindi films had Bombay (now called Mumbai) as its production center. Many of those movies were, and still are, mostly musicals with very popular singers and dancers. Their themes included impossible love between different casts, dramatic family dynamics, mythology and spiritual lessons, and of course romantic comedies. They were immensely popular with mass audiences in the national market. In addition to the commercial mainstream Hindi films, a new movement was born in this decade; it was called Parallel Cinema. Considered India's version of Social Realism, this movement was concern with the social and political situation of India, treating characters and plot with realism. Although much less commercial than the Hindi films, it reached international exposure thanks to filmmakers like Satyajit Ray and Ritwik Ghatak. Inspired by the Italian Neorealism and French Poetic Realism, Ray's work brought international attention when his film Pather Panchali (1955) won an award at the Cannes Film Festival. After his movie Aparajito (1957) won the Venice Film Festival, he considered a third film to complete what was called The Apu Trilogy; the film was titled The world of Apu (1958). Although he worked with musicians like Ravi Shankar, he also composed the score of many of his movies.
16.10.1 Cabaret
Liza Minnelli Performing Mein Herr with Chair The Blue Angel and Gold Diggers "Mein Herr" Written by John Kander and Fred Ebb Sung by Liza Minnelli Bob Fosse Choreographed and Directed Liza Minnelli Performing Mein Herr in "Cabaret" before her arthritis, 3 hip replacements and a recent knee replacement. Dancers have a very poor shelf life. Gwen Verdon could not keep her head steady for decades. The world's best dancers always wind up crippled. Madonna paid homage to this number, Dancing with a Chair, for her "Confessions on a Dance Floor" tour which was her tribute to the stars of the 70s. Fosse stole it from Marlene Dietrich. Nothing is new. The smart ones only steal from the best.
13.12.4 Jacques Tati
Mr. Hulot - There are several clips available online, this is the trailer. Modern slapstick comedy at its best. "M. HULOT'S HOLIDAY" French national treasure Jacques Tati directs and stars as M. Hulot in one of the funniest films ever made. The music is from the film, composed by Alain Romans. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZGUIpdc0i4 Mon Oncle - Another great satire. Tati mon oncle extrait 01 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gkvtE1AS6Qo
15.5.4 Australia
My Brilliant Career (1979) https://aso.gov.au/titles/features/my-brilliant-career/clip3/ -Harry Beecham (Sam Neill) has waited two years for Sybylla (Judy Davis) to agree to marry. As drought grips the land again, he comes for an answer, but Sybylla explains why she cannot. Picnic at Hanging Rock https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apwO27NLTFo Mad Max (1979) My favorite road warrior movie. I recommend the first film of the trilogy. -A vengeful Australian policeman sets out to avenge his partner, his wife and his son whom were murdered by a motorcycle gang in retaliation for the death of their leader. The first film in the series, Mad Max spawned sequels Mad Max 2 (aka The Road Warrior) in 1981 and Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome in 1985.
12.6.1 Akira Kurosawa Two of his most important films (scroll down)
Rashomon - 1950 with English subtitles (if they do not show up, make sure you turn them on, click on CC) This is one of the jewels of Japanese cinema in the '50s. Very important film that is responsible for the term the Rashomon effect. If you have questions or comments about this, post in Discussions for fun. https://ilearn.laccd.edu/courses/18519/pages/12-dot-6-1-akira-kurosawa?module_item_id=481481 The Seven Samurai - 1954 Don't Waste Your Life Probably the most significant samurai movie of all times. This film was later remade by Hollywood as a western and called The Magnificent Seven. Highly recommended. This is one of the 3 clips from TCM. http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/203402/Seven-Samurai-The-Movie-Clip-Don-t-Waste-Your-Life.html
14.8.6 Easy Rider
Sex, Drugs and Rock 'n Roll. The rebels get on the road, young men from different sides of the spectrum become buddies (the true antagonists are the values of the older generation). Viewer discretion advised. Two clips. Easy Rider - Indians https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hCb6UkQ_AnM&feature=youtu.be Easy Rider (1969) -- (Movie Clip) Born To Be Wild -The seminal motorcycle road-trip credit sequence, director Dennis Hopper (as "Billy") and colleague Wyatt (Peter Fonda), starting their trip in Easy Rider, 1969, with Steppenwolf's hit Born to be Wild.
16.8 Sex and Cinema
Since the disappearance of the Production Code in 1967, Hollywood movies opened to stories with sexual content, some of them just depicted nudity, and other films were more explicit. Just two years later, in 1969 the success of John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy showed that the audience was in favor of sexual content, and a number of movies were made with graphic scenes included in otherwise regular plots. These X-rated movies could not be screened in regular theaters, only in the art houses, along with other non-mainstream movies, including foreign films and sometimes documentaries. By the mid-1970s a series of theaters began to specialize in pornographic movies. They were called "adult cinemas". These theaters were the venue where hardcore porn could be screened. Most of the porn movies did not have plot or character development, some did not even have faces or dialogue, just many insert shots of body parts. While the majority of these movies were the products of a "factory" system, some were better than others. For example, the film Deep Throat became extremely controversial and equally popular in 1972, in part because it was an attempt to have plot and characters in a porno movie. Rumor has it that Jacky Onassis was seen exiting a screening of this movie. In any case, as VCRs got affordable, porn became available on videotape, and the adult cinemas disappeared, unable to compete with the home viewings.
15.5.5 Russia
Solaris (1972), (the original movie, before the American re-make, You do not have to watch the entire movie, it does not have subtitles, a favorite of Sci-Fi fans) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R4vSPEDxGic&feature=youtu.be
15.4 Australia's Golden Age
Thanks to the support of the Australian Government filmmakers like Peter Weir (born in 1944) could produce period movies set in the 1900s, with stories about the upper class, like Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975). Another period film was Gilliam Armstrong's My Brilliant Career (1979). This film is especially significant because it was the first time in half a century that an Australian woman had directed a movie. Based on a novel, this is a comedy about a rebellious woman who prefers to write than the comforts of a marriage. It received multiple awards. While those movies were interesting portraits of a bygone era, it was George Miller's Mad Max trilogy that best captured the adventurous and tough character of the Australian desert. These singular science fiction films have a beautiful visual style that rivals their contemporary Star Wars.
12.2 Tension and Prosperity
The 1950s is marked as having strong political tensions along with a general feeling of prosperity. The end of the war was five years behind; it felt that the worse was over, and a strong need for the return to normality was in the air. People were rushing to settle into their lives, getting married, having a home, kids and a car. It was a time of growth. This decade is also marked by the rise of Asian Cinema. Both Japan and India became protagonists at major international film festivals, and westerners took notice. Akira Kurosawa, Kenji Mizoguchi and Yasujiro Ozu shared the stage with Satyajit Ray. The clash between tradition and modern values was felt all over Asia, especially in Japan and India. Period films, stories of contemporary life, domestic dramas, mythology, science fiction, musicals and samurai films were some of the most common themes. Then, there was Fellini. Reminding us that life is just a play, a circus act.
16.6 Blaxpoitation
The 1960s saw the Civil Rights movement, assassinations of visionary leaders, and birth of radical groups like the Black Panthers. The effects of those events mixed with Vietnam protests, economic recession, increase of inflation and unemployment in the 1970s made an explosive combination. It is from that mix that Blaxpoitation emerged. It was a very prolific movement that featured movies made by African-American directors and cast. Despite the lack of big budgets and big stars, the movies were very popular. One of the best examples is Gordon Parks' Shaft (1971), released by MGM. It was the story of a private detective and his dealings with the Italian mafia. Its theme song became extremely famous and won an Academy Award. Most movies from this movement were designed for urban audiences, although a few were made that captured Southern audiences appeal. The stories took place in the ghetto with characters that were drug dealers, crooks or criminals. Blaxpoitation movies were in the opposite side of the spectrum. Oscar Micheaux's films of the 1920s were stories that had strong, educated and prosperous black characters. While very popular with moviegoers, Blaxpoitation films were strongly criticized for perpetuating stereotypes about African-Americans, and by 1976 this movement ceased. In 2000, Paramount tried to bank on the success that Shaft had thirty years earlier, remade the film, and released it to a new audience. The film did well at the box office.
14.2 American Society and Cinema
The 1960s were times of social and political upheaval. The first half of the decade was impacted by the civil rights movement, which saw violent actions, bombings, beatings and killings in the South, even after the Civil Rights Act of 1964 was passed. The second half of the decade was a time of protests, the antiwar movement, counter-culture and social revolution. The clash between the conservative values of the older generation and modern values of a younger generation escalated to the point of brutal confrontations. American youth saw the 1950s as a time when life was focused on materialism and ostentation, and it looked for a radical departure towards a new and exciting life. They used drugs, became hippies and followed Timothy Leary's slogan "Turn on, tune in, drop out". Women and men embraced the Sexual Revolution and populated communes that transformed their social structures. People wanted to live closer to earth, have freedom of love or protect their religious beliefs; whatever the choice, it had to deviate from the norm. The Sixties was the era of the "counterculture" that initiated a social revolution in many countries, questioning authority and government, and fighting for equal rights for minorities, women, and gays. The 1967 Summer of Love in San Francisco and the 1969 Woodstock Music Festival in New York, became the bookends to the probably most violent period in modern American history. The escalation of the Vietnam War made people very critical of the Establishment and initiated the civil unrest of the antiwar movement. These already tumultuous times were compounded with the numerous assassinations of leaders during this decade including president Kennedy, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy. At the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago they were riots, and shootings at Kent University in 1970. It was the end of innocence. This decade also represented the end of the classical Hollywood Cinema era. The decline of the Studio System, the influence of international trends and television, and the abolishment of the Production Code are some of the events that shook the world of the silver screen.
15.2 The International Scene
The 1970s found the world submerged in wars, revolutions, terrorism, hostage crises, an oil embargo, inflation, drought and famine. Film industries were tumbling and some of them fell. Government funding became, in many cases, the only stabilizing and propelling force for the development of movies. In some countries television played a very important role offering work to great names that otherwise would have had trouble getting their productions made. The biggest star of the International Cinema was Germany. Australia played a part too. Other countries also made contributions, however, in the form of isolated filmmakers or specific movies, not a real movement. In a time when most countries were experiencing the results of the sexual revolution of the sixties, Italian Bernardo Bertolucci (born in 1940) made his famous Last Tango In Paris (1972), a love story with very provocative scenes. The scene that gave name to the film incorporates the camera as another dancer that participates in the characters' tension. Other Italian significant filmmakers are the Taviani Brothers (born in 1929 and 1931) and Lina Wertmüller (born in 1928). In France, the most important work on this topic is E. Molinaro's La Cage aux Folles (1972) that became a great success in the United States. Later on, it was adapted into a Broadway musical and a film named The Birdcage (1996). The most popular films of the UK were adventure movies, comedies and musicals, including the James Bond series, The Monty Python movies and Elton John's Tommy (1975). Some of the best work from the Soviet Union came from the films of Andrei Tarkovsky (19320-1986), whose movie Solaris (1971) was a very personal, dark, but interesting story with images that feel surrealistic and a slow pace that seems to reach the end of the world.
15.5.3 Germany
The American Friend (1977) Wim Wenders Der Amerikanische Freund Dennis Hopper Bruno Ganz Lisa Kreuzer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=06hIZ76Zlds&feature=youtu.be Alice in the cities.- Wim Wenders, 1974 https://youtu.be/4y71mSuYSE0 The Tin Drum (1979) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ewzWkFZOFk&feature=youtu.be -Director: Volker Schlöndorff The Marriage of Maria Braun Rainer Werner Fassbinder - Die Ehe der Maria Braun (1978)
12.6.3 Satyajit Ray
The Apu Trilogy - trailer (2015) The Apu Trilogy brought India into the golden age of international art-house film, following one indelible character, a free-spirited child in rural Bengal who matures into an adolescent urban student and finally a sensitive man of the world. These delicate masterworks—Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road), Aparajito (The Unvanquished), and Apur Sansar (The World of Apu)—based on two books by Bibhutibhusan Banerjee—were shot over the course of five years, and each stands on its own as a tender, visually radiant journey. They are among the most achingly beautiful, richly humane movies ever made—essential works for any film lover. Director Satyajit Ray
13.12.10 Gillo Pontecorvo
The Battle of Algiers - you can see the influence of this movie in modern films like The Bourne Ultimatum (you may need to watch more than just this clip to see the influence) The Battle of Algiers (1966) A film commissioned by the Algerian government that shows the Algerian revolution from both sides. The French foreign legion has left Vietnam in defeat and has something to prove. The Algerians are seeking independence. The two clash. The torture used by the French is contrasted with the Algerian's use of bombs in soda shops. A look at war as a nasty thing that harms and sullies everyone who participates in it. Written by John Vogel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2uodce2bN2c
13.12.1 Francois Truffaut
The Four Hundred Blows - I recommend the entire movie. It is very good. Can you identify the movie that this film pays homage in the classroom scene? Click here to see the first part of this film, it may take a few seconds to load, be patient. Unfortunately, it has greek subtitles, if you do not speak French you could watch it in Hulu. The 400 Blows: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xt5mhr_the-400-blows_shortfilms
13.12.7 Tony Richardson
The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)- I recommend the entire movie. directed by Tony Richardson starring Tom Courtenay based on the book by Al https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MQJsE4dJmG0
16.4 Post-Classical Style
The New Hollywood Style was a departure from the Classical Cinema of the old Studio System. Unlike the movies from the Golden Age, the new movies were more personal and had looser plots. With a more open structure they did not have to be linear and could change the classical beginning-middle-end order. The depth of the characters and their relationships were more important than the plot itself. The new style offered multiple unexpected twists and open endings that were more uncertain. These type of endings required that the audience had to actively determine the resolution of the story. Open endings had never played well with American audiences, sometimes affecting box office revenues. But thanks to the practice of making sequels, movie audiences began to accept open endings as the possibility of getting another episode with their favorite characters. New protagonists of the Post-Classical Style had a different system of values, a code of honor that could be very personal and not shared with the rest of the characters. The antagonists often had traits that had been traditionally found in the protagonists and vice-versa. The audience identification process with the good guy was altered due to the fact that the bad guy was shown as having human depth and sometimes carrying out good deeds; while the good guy was not always that good. Thus, well-respected police officers could be corrupted or terrible mafia bosses could be compassionate and displayed vulnerabilities. This new style made characters three-dimensional, stories more interesting and the movie experience less predictable and more exciting.
13.8 United Kingdom: the Swing Era
The Swing Era is considered the period between 1963 and 1970. It was almost the opposite style from the Kitchen Sink Realism, with color films, more liberal attitude towards sex in the movies and a social representation of prosperity. Alfie and Georgy Girl, both from 1966, were some of those films. David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia (1962) represented a historical and more classical version of the swing era. Representing all aspects of the Swing style, producers Harry Saltzman and Albert Broccoli started a new trend. Their box-office smash series James Bond was a combination of exotic locations, intriguing spy-like plots, humorous dialogue, action scenes, attractive actors and the inevitable sex scenes. Also part of the Swing movement was the work of several foreign filmmakers who worked in the UK during this period: blacklisted American Joseph Losey, Polish Polanski, Italian Antonioni, and Americans Stanley Kubrick and Richard Lester. With the development of new special effects, Kubrick re-discovered a trend that is still on vogue today. His film 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) became the first of many movies that include special effects. Lester also used visual effects with the famous Beatles movies A Hard Day's Night (1964), and Help! (1965). On the other hand Polanski's Repulsion (1965), and Antonioni's Blow-up (1966) expanded the trend of more open treatment of sex in the movies.
14.4 End of Hollywood's Classical Era
The audience taste was changing and the industry had to change too. Television directors and producers migrated to Hollywood with their style of intimate productions. French New Wave's auteur theory gave the director the responsibility of the creative aspects of a movie, in some cases making him or her more powerful than the producer. Portable equipment and documentary techniques allowed filmmakers like Andy Warhol to work independently from the film industry. The anti-trust Paramount decision increased the number of art houses, making easier the release of foreign, avant-garde, independent or experimental movies. Whatever the reason the result was the same: the production of smaller, more personal films. And audiences loved them. The counterculture provoked the beginning of a new Hollywood era, in which the restrictions of the Production Code were not always enforced and more independent producers (sometimes actor-producers) worked outside of the Studio System.
13.12.9 Ingmar Bergman
The dream scene of Wild Strawberries has always been one of my favorites (maybe because it feels like a real dream, dark and weird, a bit Gothic, not like dreams in Hollywood movies) Ingmar Bergman - Wild Strawberries One of the most powerful scened from Ingmar Bergman's Wild Stawberries SHOW MORE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3n4TxNeaPg
13.2 Political and Social Change
The end of the 1950s and the 1960s were very conflictive times all around the world. With the building of the Berlin wall, the physical separation of West and East Berlin was materialized. However, the implications of that separation reached far beyond the concrete. It actually reached other planets The competition between the USSR and the US was played in the spatial race. What nation would reach the surface of the Moon first? Well, as usual in history, it depends who you ask. Is it landing a spaceship considered enough to be the first one or is it necessary to have a human footprint? In a decade that started with thirty-two African territories still needing decolonization, was the Moon just another territory to be claimed? This was a period of radical political turmoil. African territories became independent nations. The Middle East had a six-day war. The Vietnam War escalated. The Cuban missile crisis almost became another International War. People protested everywhere. Civil rights, desegregation, independence, fair working conditions, peace; the list was long and very important. Leaders were being assassinated. Some people joined forces to fight together, some fought against each other, some separated themselves from the rest, and some took drugs and were not present. There was also the counterculture movement, which included the social and sexual revolutions. It was definitely a period of change. Would the movies reflect those changes?
14.3 The Decline of the Studio System
The film Studios had been scaling back in the number of productions made in Hollywood, in part to mitigate the decrease in audience since the arrival of Television. However, also in part because productions were moving to natural locations, or made in studios overseas, especially London and Rome. The strategy was to make fewer movies but more expensive ones. Thus, all the movies from this point on were made in color, a much more expensive process than black and white was at that time, and a sure winner against television. Following the motto 'bigger is better', a series of really big screen lavish historical spectacles were produced, like Ben-Hur (1959) and Cleopatra (1963). The movies that produced the biggest box office returns were the ones targeting family audiences; musicals like West Side Story (1961), Mary Poppins (1964), and The Sound of Music (1965) were most lucrative. And yet, the decline of the traditional Studio System was inevitable. Corporations formed by commercial conglomerates took over. No longer the big names like Selznick or Goldwyn, recognizable to everyone, would be in charge. The new young producers were unknown to the public. Sure they had less experience than the big moguls, but they were more in tune with the rapidly changing times.
13.5 The Comedy of Tati
The films of Jacques Tati (1907-1982) seem to be from another era. This French filmmaker started as a mime, and developed a character named Monsieur Hulot. Tati's movies barely had any intelligible dialogue, and sound effects were so carefully planed that created the perfect atmosphere for a different but current world. His unique style was recognized at the Cannes Film Festival, where his film Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953) won the Grand Prize and was nominated for an Academy Award. One of his better-known movies is Playtime (1967).
14.7 Filmmakers Seeing Through Their Movies
The last years of the sixties were very productive. Young directors who were part of the rebellious and idealistic counter-culture, and social and sexual revolutions made most of the very popular films released. easy rider.jpg Some like Dennis Hopper and Peter Fonda made no apologies for presenting the reality of their lives in their film Easy Rider (1969), a movie that was conceived as the result of the Summer of Love. The audience response was wonderfully encouraging. The film won the Cannes Film Festival and the polarized critics ended up agreeing that this was the beginning of a new film phenomenon. With the Production Code not longer enforced, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy (1969) brought the sexual revolution to the screen. From the dry style of some scenes to the fluid psychedelic tones of other ones, this movie presented the relationship among the world of sex games, fantasies and everyday realities. This film took one step forward and became the first X-rated film to win Best Oscar. The life outside the movie theaters was violent, even brutal. Questioning authority had become an everyday activity. Civil rights and anti-war protests were getting radical. A bunch of filmmakers set up to express the feelings of frustration and lack of trust on the establishment. Their movies may have been set in a different time, but their conflict and violence came from the same place. Among them were some of the most famous films of this period. Bonnie and Clyde.jpg Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde (1967); Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969), and Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973), and George Roy Hill's Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) captured the rebellious spirit and unconformity of a young audience, which accounted for two thirds of the tickets sold. dr-strangelove.jpg In a different note, Staley Kubrick's Doctor Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1963) was a satire about the threat of an apocalyptic nuclear war. This black comedy dealt with a potentially devastating subject matter thanks to the parody of its own paranoia. The production of this movie would have been inconceivable just ten years earlier. It turned out to be very popular with the audience and critics alike.
13.7 The Golden Age of the UK
The late 1950s and the 1960s are considered the Golden Age of British Cinema. The beginning of this period is marked by darkness and anger, but as the decade progressed so did British films. Many of these movies were being recognized internationally. The London studios were busy and multiple co-productions were being made. The movies made in the UK can be divided between the simply commercial films and films with a social conscience. In the first category are the numerous horror movies that were very profitable and made actor Christopher Lee a household name. The movies made with a social conscience belong to the Free Cinema movement and the Kitchen Sink Realism. With a long tradition of documentaries that goes back to the 1930s, the Free Cinema movement began in the mid 1950s. Inspired by Italian Neorealism, this movement was responsible for a series of personal documentaries on working class life. Filmmakers Tony Richardson, Karel Reisz and Lindsay Anderson are the most prominent names. After their experience making documentaries, filmmakers Richardson, Reisz and Anderson got inspired by the French New Wave and began to write on the British film magazine Sequence. Between 1958-63 those filmmakers gave birth to what has been called Kitchen Sink Realism, also called the British New Wave, and at times the Angry Young Man movement. All those names referred to a series of black and white movies about working class life, homosexuality and abortion. These stories were told with a stark style and a social consciousness. Some of the characteristics of Kitchen Sink Realism were small budget movies shot on locations with unknown actors. They incorporated a realistic style of acting, based on Method Acting, with non-literary dialogue. Kitchen Sink films depicted the positive and negative aspects of their characters and their sexual lives. Like the French movies, they adopted a left-liberal hostility towards the Establishment sometimes staged in sporting events and violent scenes. Among the most representative films of this period are Richardson's The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962), Anderson's This Sporting Life (1963), and Reisz's Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960). The group dissolved after the success of Richardson's Tom Jones (1963). While in color, this film has some of the same self-conscious devices used by the French New Wave, including addressing the camera and unconventional editing.
16.7 Politics, Corruption and Movies
The movies of this period took a close look at the corruption in American institutions. The Watergate scandal and the political turmoil that followed were the subject of Alan Pakula's film All the President's Men (1976). This movie was closely based in the novel written by Woodward and Bernstein, the two journalists that did the original investigation of the Watergate events. Other movies like Sidney Lumet's Serpico (1973) were also representative of the paranoia resulting from these tarnished times. The films of the 1970s also reviewed the corruption in earlier decades, like Roman Polansky's Chinatown (1974) or Francis Ford Coppola's The Godfather (1972); both of them were Academy Award Winners.
14.8.5 Faces
The older generation has its own breakdown, with the help of a lot of alcohol Faces (1968) - Film Clip - "I Dream Of Jeannie With The Light Brown Hair" Tango https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKqNO0gVdUI&feature=youtu.be -Written and directed by John Cassavetes. This scene features Gena Rowlands, John Marley and Fred Draper.
16.2 American Society and Cinema
The political and social turmoil inherited from the 1960s got exasperated by the financial downward spiral of this decade. At a time when U.S. military presence in Vietnam was at its peak, the 1970s began with massive protests against the Vietnam War in many University Campuses. Furthermore, the tensions between the U.S. and the Soviet Union increased and divided the world even more. The American space program slowed down after the disaster of the Apollo 13 mission. The Arab oil embargo of 1973 and 1979 generated a price hike, severe inflation, and a crisis in the financial markets worldwide. The Watergate scandal and the resignation of president Nixon reduced the already low-faith in the American government. Thus, disillusioned voters stayed away from the polls in the 1976 elections. Political tensions, social chaos, scandals and recession pushed disenchanted Americans to the movies. A new Hollywood received them with movies that reflected the viewers' world and their fantasies, with stories that spoke directly to the audience, with characters that the spectators could relate to. For the first time in decades, the theaters saw an audience increase. And by mid-decade a new series of blockbusters kept them going to the theaters.
14.8.4 Dog Day Afternoon
The rebellion gets out of the bedroom. It was very unusual to see a gay character taking action in a Hollywood studio picture. Inevitably, according to the morals of the time, he breaks down pretty soon. This is one of my favorite heist movies. Murphy's Law all the away. Dog Day Afternoon https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nvdBfpA8r4o&feature=youtu.be -Stevie (Gary Springer) chickens out when Sonny (Al Pacino) and Sal (John Cazale) set the bank robbery into motion. -Based on a true 1972 story, Sidney Lumet's 1975 drama chronicles a unique bank robbery on a hot summer afternoon in New York City. Shortly before closing time, scheming loser Sonny (Al Pacino) and his slow-witted buddy, Sal (John Cazale), burst into a Brooklyn bank for what should be a run-of-the-mill robbery, but everything goes wrong, beginning with the fact that there is almost no money in the bank. The situation swiftly escalates, as Sonny and Sal take hostages; enough cops to police the tristate area surround the bank; a large Sonny-sympathetic crowd gathers to watch; the media arrive to complete the circus; and police captain Moretti (Charles Durning) tries to negotiate with Sonny while keeping the volatile spectacle under control. When Sonny's lover, Leon (Chris Sarandon), tries to talk Sonny out of the bank, we learn the robbery's motive: to finance Leon's sex-change operation. Sonny demands a plane to escape, but the end is near once menacingly cool FBI agent Sheldon (James Broderick) arrives to take over the negotiations. CREDITS: TM & © Warner Bros. (1975) Cast: John Cazale, John Marriott, Al Pacino, Gary Springer Director: Sidney Lumet Producers: Martin Bregman, Martin Elfand, Robert Greenhut Screenwriters: P.F. Kluge, Frank Pierson, Leslie Waller
14.8.2 West Side Story
The squeaky-clean Studio version of urban gangs. A great musical. West Side Story https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bxoC5Oyf_ss -10-time Academy Award winning musical film Conceived, Directed and Choreographed by Jerome Robbins Music by Leonard Bernstein Lyrics by Stephen Sondheim Book by Arthur Laurents
12.6.4 Fellini
These three films (scroll down) are crucial to understand Fellini's huge impact on posterior films, including American Cinema. 8 1/2 - this dream scene is the opening of the film - 1963 One of the best opening sequences in cinema Nights of Cabiria - 1957 Won an Oscar for best foreign film. Stop Being So Jealous! http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/470805/Nights-Of-Cabiria-Movie-Clip-Stop-Being-So-Jealous-.html -Hiding in the hotel suite while actor Alberto (Amedeo Nazzari) makes up with Jessy ("Dorian Gray"), Giulietta Masina (title character) makes a getaway, in Nights Of Cabiria, 1957, directed by Federico Fellini. Three Reasons: La Dolce Vita - 1960 directed by Federico Fellini Probably the most popular of his films in the US. The clips form this film are not subtitled in English, so here is the trailer.
16.9 Genres
This decade had a significant number of movies representing multiple genres, but the most recurrent one were war movies. However, throughout the decade combat movies dealt with different wars. In the early 1970s, this type of film tried to represent the realities of war, with a lighter side to it. Some of the most popular titles were Patton (1970) about WWII, and M*A*S*H (1970) about a military hospital during the Korean War. A big moneymaker film was Love Story (1970), which made approximately five times the amount that it cost to produce. Unfortunately, this movie was an exception; mosxs movies of the 1970s did not portray deeply loving relationships. Many movies mixed violence with intimacy or sex, like Straw Dogs (1971). At best, men and women were just in different universes, like in Woody Allen's comedy Manhattan (1979). A new type of sub-genre that became very popular in the 1970s was the disaster movie. Airport (1970) and its several sequels popularized this genre. The formula was easy; a bunch of A-list stars, most of them with similar, relatively small characters, were grouped in one place that is about to be destroyed. Other examples are The Poseidon Adventure (1972), The Towering Inferno (1974), and Earthquake (1974). Movies like The French Connection (1971), Get Carter (1971) and Shaft (1971) told detective stories; while the world of the underdog was the focus of Taxi Driver (1976) and Rocky (1976), which generated a series of sequels. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) and Network (1976), were very different stories, but both of these two brilliant films had characters that kept jumping back and forth the thin line between reality and madness. Horror movies took another dimension with The Exorcist (1973), Carrie (1976) and The Omen (1976). Halloween (1978), The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) and the gore movies of Wes Craven were in the smaller budget category but would become very popular cult horror films. Science Fiction jumped to a prominent place with Star Wars (1977)and its sequels. Musicals were embodied by Saturday Night Fever (1977) that started the revolution of the Disco era in film. It was followed by the also very popular musical Grease (1978). Completing the circle of the 1970s, the decade finished with more war movies, these ones about the already ended Vietnam War. Two films got to show a different perspective about it, The Deer Hunter (1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979).
14.8.3 The Graduate
This film breaks the rules of sexual behavior on the screen and depicts changes on male roles. I recommend the entire movie. The Graduate https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hsdvhJTqLak&feature=youtu.be -Director: Mike Nichols
14.8.1 The Apartment
This film represents the lingering conformism of the youth in the early '60s and their relationship with older generations. The Apartment (1960) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x356ll3hTxg&feature=youtu.be -Classic Jack Lemmon film. We're all in this together.
12.6.2 Yasujiro Ozu
Tokyo Story - 1953 Tokyo Story (東京物語 Tōkyō Monogatari) is a 1953 Japanese film directed by Yasujirō Ozu. It tells the story of an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children. The film contrasts the behavior of their children, who are too busy to pay them much attention, and their widowed daughter-in-law, who treats them with kindness. It is often regarded as Ozu's masterpiece, and has appeared several times in the British Film Institute lists of the greatest films ever made.
16.10.5 One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
Trailer for Milos Forman's film starring Jack Nicholson,Louise Fletcher,Will Sampson,Brad Dourif,Sydney Lassick,William Redfield,Christopher Lloyd,Danny DeVito,Scatman Crothers,Vincent Schiavelli,Nathan George,Alonzo Brown
14.8.8 Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid
Trying to hold onto those traditional male roles by looking into the past with a soft romantic touch. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) http://www.imdb.com/video/screenplay/vi2377908505/ -Two Western bank/train robbers flee to Bolivia when the law gets too close.
13.9 Sweden
While there were other Swedish filmmakers during the 1950s and 1960s, Bergman was the best known and respected internationally. At age nine Ingmar Bergman had a magic lantern that inspired him to create fantastic stories. He then became a storyteller who made films, produced operas and theater plays, and wrote and directed for television. This prolific artist crated very personal films, that some critics considered pessimistic because of his continuous exploration of death, faith and the human condition. He filmed a series of medieval and religious stories, dealing with faith and doubt, despair and hope, trust and betrayal. Bergman also made contemporary movies in which he examined psychological torments and love with stark realism. He studied Freud's subconscious theories and explored them in several of his films. Bergman worked with a consistent group of actors and was considered a "woman's director" (his relationship with actresses was his distinctive trait as a director). In the 1960s he became more experimental. Bergman always made small budget movies, keeping only what was essential in the shot, and a very small crew behind the camera. Thus he was able to recover the investments and, on his own account, never had problems getting his projects founded. Some of his best movies are The Seventh Seal (1956), Wild Strawberries (1957), and Persona (1966).
13.12.6 Michael Cacoyannis
Zorba, the Greek - dance scene and more Near slapstick from director Michael Cacoyannis, English writer Basil (Alan Bates) doing better than Anthony Quinn (title character), whom he's just hired, on a ferry from the mainland to Crete, in Zorba The Greek, 1964. http://www.tcm.com/mediaroom/video/504740/Zorba-The-Greek-Movie-Clip-The-Full-Catastrophe.html