In this cinema time period Hollywood was going through a financial depression which encouraged filmmakers to target a younger audience and explore previously forbidden content like sex, drug use, and graphic violence.
The young directors of this era began to change the method of storytelling in cinema by rearranging the story chronology, by including unsettling "twist endings", and blur the lines between the antagonist and protagonist. All this created a more suspenseful and less predictable cinema experience.
The Blockbuster
In 1975 the term "blockbuster" was first being used to describe films such as Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" and became perceived as something new; a cultural phenomenon, a fast-paced exciting entertainment, almost an entire genre. Audiences interacted with these films, talked about them afterwards, and went back to see them again just for the thrill.
X- Rated Films
From the late 1960's to about the mid-1980s, several mainstream films were released with an X rating such as Midnight Cowboy, Last of the Mobile Hot Shots, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, A Clockwork Orange, Fritz the Cat, Last Tango in Paris and The Evil Dead. Because the X rating was not trademarked, anybody could apply it to their films, including pornographers, and many began to in the 1970's. As pornography began to become chic and more legally tolerated, pornographers placed an X rating on their films to emphasize the adult content.
Description:
Good-girl Sandy and rough-around-the-edges Danny fall in love during the summer of 1959 in California. When Sandy's parents decide to move, Sandy and Danny realize they now both go to the same high school and struggle to get things back to the way they were in the summer because of Danny's judgmental greaser friends who make him embarrassed for falling for a girl like Sandy, who doesn't fit into the teenage norm of the time period, (drinking, smoking, sex).
Observations:
Even though the movie was filmed in 1978, it did a very good job using props and costumes to make it look realistically set in 1959. The use of costumes and wigs in the scene are used to make fun of Sandy after she gets sick from having a sip of wine and trying to smoke her first cigarette. Its very clear the girls aren't very good friends of hers and they find her innocence annoying. The lighting is very bright with a few filler lights on the wall which highlight the setting - a teenage girls room in the 1959-1960's, displaying photos of celebrity crushes ie. Elvis.
Analysis:
It is very easy to feel empathetic for Sandy when she is being made fun of for not fitting in with the girls at her new high school. The different values shared by the girls makes it hard for them to find activities they can all enjoy doing, which eventually leads Sandy to be peer pressured into trying to smoke and drink which causes her to get sick, and embarrassed for her failed attempt of fitting in.
Evaluation:
Grease has impacted musicals, romantic comedies, and many others alike. It encompasses many different issues that teens in the 70's could have been having, whether its drug or alcohol use or virginity. Although, in my opinion Grease doesn't send the right message to young girls (change who you are for the boy you like), it remains a favorite of mine due to its up-beat music and its ability to show me what it would have looked like to be a teen in that time period.
CLIP ANALYSIS:
Movie: The Godfather
Year: 1972
Actors: Marlon Brando & Al Pacino
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Description:
Vito, the head of the Corleone Mafia family, is known to friends and associates as "Godfather." He and Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer, also his adopted son, are hearing requests for favors because, according to Italian tradition, "no Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day. The Corleone family values respect and loyalty, which are always remembered when a favor is asked of them.
Observations:
Gordon Willis, the cinematographer is known famously for his work in The Godfather. Unlike most other movies that used lots of light so that every detail could be visible when watching at the drive-in or theater, Willis used barely any light, just an over head lamp to highlight certain features on the actors faces. The dark atmosphere that he created limited the actors movements (so they don't fall out of the small head lamps range), however this is one of the most distinct and unique things about The Godfather and made it the famous movie it is.
Analysis:
The darkness created by Willis allows for the audience to focus more on what the actor is saying and interpret what it means rather than watch their facial expressions and just get told what to feel. The dimly lit room suggests shady deals that must occur within the confines of the room and its people. The camera, being focused behind the person that is getting spoken to with a focus on the speaker really draws you into the scene and makes you feel as if you're standing right there with the Corleone family. The way that Vito Corleone is speaking suggests that he was going to accept his request anyways, but that he just wanted to strike some fear into the man and make sure he knows that a bit of respect goes a long way with him and that he is not an unkind person, but is someone who was seeking a friendship.
Evaluation:
The Godfather made cinema history by introducing this new style of cinematography of shooting without ample lighting and making two copies, one for the theaters and one for drive-ins that require more light to be viewed. His work was groundbreaking for the time period and the equipment they had to use and has impacted us so much that the type of cinematography used looks as if it was the norm.
CLIP ANALYSIS:
Movie: Superman
Year: 1978
Actors: Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder
Director: Richard Donner
Description:
An orphan gets sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he becomes the first and greatest superhero. In disguise as Clark Kent, a typist at a local newspaper office, Superman is able to live a double life. At first, he is able to save Lois, his office crush, from a few life endangering incidents but soon moves on to see the greater threat, a villain who is looking to destroy Clark's new beloved home, Metropolis.
Observations:
Clark seems nerdy and it is shown through his body movement that he's a bit of an awkward guy, although very sweet and respectable. He follows Lois around because he is new to the city, but it becomes clear that he has a bit of a crush on her as well. The style of filming is one of a science-fiction period film, and displays the scene from many angles which creates a better perspective for the audience.
Analysis:
Clark's disguise of being a nerdy guy is an inside joke with the audience because we know the truth that in fact, he is a superhero with uncanny strength and little to no fear. The audience will feel good about being in on his secret and it takes away the need to be fearful or worried when he is put into those first few incidents with Lois, even though he acts as if he is scared, we know he isn't. They use this knowledge of the audience as a way to poke a bit of fun at Lois. Even though she is the brave one in the scenario, shes still the one we laugh at for taking Clark's geekiness so serious and not seeing past his glasses and well fitted suit. However, everyone can relate to the underdog (Clark) which creates a better bond and feel for the movie.
Evaluation:
Superman remains extremely influential today, with sequels and re-makes being produced all the time. Its use of special effects was groundbreaking for the time period and it won many academy awards for its work, and is known famously for "breaking the 4th wall" by allowing Superman to smile at the camera when he flies off in the final scene.
The New Hollywood
(1970's-1980's)
In this cinema time period Hollywood was going through a financial depression which encouraged filmmakers to target a younger audience and explore previously forbidden content like sex, drug use, and graphic violence.
The young directors of this era began to change the method of storytelling in cinema by rearranging the story chronology, by including unsettling "twist endings", and blur the lines between the antagonist and protagonist. All this created a more suspenseful and less predictable cinema experience.The Blockbuster
In 1975 the term "blockbuster" was first being used to describe films such as Steven Spielberg's "Jaws" and became perceived as something new; a cultural phenomenon, a fast-paced exciting entertainment, almost an entire genre. Audiences interacted with these films, talked about them afterwards, and went back to see them again just for the thrill.
X- Rated Films
From the late 1960's to about the mid-1980s, several mainstream films were released with an X rating such as Midnight Cowboy, Last of the Mobile Hot Shots, Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, A Clockwork Orange, Fritz the Cat, Last Tango in Paris and The Evil Dead. Because the X rating was not trademarked, anybody could apply it to their films, including pornographers, and many began to in the 1970's. As pornography began to become chic and more legally tolerated, pornographers placed an X rating on their films to emphasize the adult content.
Important Writers & Directors in this Era:
Important Actors in this Era:
Notable Films of this Time Period:
CLIP ANALYSIS:
Movie: Grease
Year: 1978
Actors: John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John
Director: Randal Kleiser
Description:
Good-girl Sandy and rough-around-the-edges Danny fall in love during the summer of 1959 in California. When Sandy's parents decide to move, Sandy and Danny realize they now both go to the same high school and struggle to get things back to the way they were in the summer because of Danny's judgmental greaser friends who make him embarrassed for falling for a girl like Sandy, who doesn't fit into the teenage norm of the time period, (drinking, smoking, sex).
Observations:
Even though the movie was filmed in 1978, it did a very good job using props and costumes to make it look realistically set in 1959. The use of costumes and wigs in the scene are used to make fun of Sandy after she gets sick from having a sip of wine and trying to smoke her first cigarette. Its very clear the girls aren't very good friends of hers and they find her innocence annoying. The lighting is very bright with a few filler lights on the wall which highlight the setting - a teenage girls room in the 1959-1960's, displaying photos of celebrity crushes ie. Elvis.
Analysis:
It is very easy to feel empathetic for Sandy when she is being made fun of for not fitting in with the girls at her new high school. The different values shared by the girls makes it hard for them to find activities they can all enjoy doing, which eventually leads Sandy to be peer pressured into trying to smoke and drink which causes her to get sick, and embarrassed for her failed attempt of fitting in.
Evaluation:
Grease has impacted musicals, romantic comedies, and many others alike. It encompasses many different issues that teens in the 70's could have been having, whether its drug or alcohol use or virginity. Although, in my opinion Grease doesn't send the right message to young girls (change who you are for the boy you like), it remains a favorite of mine due to its up-beat music and its ability to show me what it would have looked like to be a teen in that time period.
CLIP ANALYSIS:
Movie: The Godfather
Year: 1972
Actors: Marlon Brando & Al Pacino
Director: Francis Ford Coppola
Description:
Vito, the head of the Corleone Mafia family, is known to friends and associates as "Godfather." He and Tom Hagen, the Corleone family lawyer, also his adopted son, are hearing requests for favors because, according to Italian tradition, "no Sicilian can refuse a request on his daughter's wedding day. The Corleone family values respect and loyalty, which are always remembered when a favor is asked of them.
Observations:
Gordon Willis, the cinematographer is known famously for his work in The Godfather. Unlike most other movies that used lots of light so that every detail could be visible when watching at the drive-in or theater, Willis used barely any light, just an over head lamp to highlight certain features on the actors faces. The dark atmosphere that he created limited the actors movements (so they don't fall out of the small head lamps range), however this is one of the most distinct and unique things about The Godfather and made it the famous movie it is.
Analysis:
The darkness created by Willis allows for the audience to focus more on what the actor is saying and interpret what it means rather than watch their facial expressions and just get told what to feel. The dimly lit room suggests shady deals that must occur within the confines of the room and its people. The camera, being focused behind the person that is getting spoken to with a focus on the speaker really draws you into the scene and makes you feel as if you're standing right there with the Corleone family. The way that Vito Corleone is speaking suggests that he was going to accept his request anyways, but that he just wanted to strike some fear into the man and make sure he knows that a bit of respect goes a long way with him and that he is not an unkind person, but is someone who was seeking a friendship.
Evaluation:
The Godfather made cinema history by introducing this new style of cinematography of shooting without ample lighting and making two copies, one for the theaters and one for drive-ins that require more light to be viewed. His work was groundbreaking for the time period and the equipment they had to use and has impacted us so much that the type of cinematography used looks as if it was the norm.
CLIP ANALYSIS:
Movie: Superman
Year: 1978
Actors: Christopher Reeve & Margot Kidder
Director: Richard Donner
Description:
An orphan gets sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he becomes the first and greatest superhero. In disguise as Clark Kent, a typist at a local newspaper office, Superman is able to live a double life. At first, he is able to save Lois, his office crush, from a few life endangering incidents but soon moves on to see the greater threat, a villain who is looking to destroy Clark's new beloved home, Metropolis.
Observations:
Clark seems nerdy and it is shown through his body movement that he's a bit of an awkward guy, although very sweet and respectable. He follows Lois around because he is new to the city, but it becomes clear that he has a bit of a crush on her as well. The style of filming is one of a science-fiction period film, and displays the scene from many angles which creates a better perspective for the audience.
Analysis:
Clark's disguise of being a nerdy guy is an inside joke with the audience because we know the truth that in fact, he is a superhero with uncanny strength and little to no fear. The audience will feel good about being in on his secret and it takes away the need to be fearful or worried when he is put into those first few incidents with Lois, even though he acts as if he is scared, we know he isn't. They use this knowledge of the audience as a way to poke a bit of fun at Lois. Even though she is the brave one in the scenario, shes still the one we laugh at for taking Clark's geekiness so serious and not seeing past his glasses and well fitted suit. However, everyone can relate to the underdog (Clark) which creates a better bond and feel for the movie.
Evaluation:
Superman remains extremely influential today, with sequels and re-makes being produced all the time. Its use of special effects was groundbreaking for the time period and it won many academy awards for its work, and is known famously for "breaking the 4th wall" by allowing Superman to smile at the camera when he flies off in the final scene.