Hollywood Reacts - Seminole Cinema: SEHS Film



IB Film: Year Two, W 42.1American New WaveWhat is American New Wave?The term American New Wave?has been used to refer to at least 3 generations of American filmmakers.The first, emerging in the 1950's in New York, were concerned with realism and a truthful depiction of American society at the time.The second, often called the New Hollywood Generation, rose to prominence in the late 60's, bringing a new set of values representative of the counter-culture and an aesthetic influenced by the French New Wave.More recently, in the late 80's and 90's, a new generation of filmmakers working outside the Studio System and openly in debt to both the Nouvelle Vague and New Hollywood were awarded the mantle.What all these filmmakers shared in common was a desire to work independently of Studio control and a belief in Cinema as an Art rather than mere entertainment. ReactsHollywood in the 1960's was a mixed bag.The industry was worried about competition from television and started a tendency towards large-scale extravagant films in the hope of getting people back into the theatres.Films like?Ben-Hur?(1959) and?The Sound of Music?(1965) were box office successes, but were seen by critics as bordering on decadent.Some feared Hollywood was becoming increasingly irrelevant and un-inventive.Baby Boomers and Young GunsIn the 1960's the so-called ?Baby Boomers - children born shortly after World War II - were coming of age.?The Boomers were going to College, exploring other cultures, and reaching out for alternatives to the standard Hollywood films of the day.?Films from the French New Wave were making their way to Colleges in the United States and finding an audience.?In order to tap into this large new audience, production companies began hiring talented and innovative young Directors to direct a New Wave?of American films.?Many of these young Directors were Film School educated, as opposed to having worked through the ranks of the Studio System.?Like their counterparts in France, the young filmmakers knew their film history - they had studied the great films and great Directors.?And like the French New Wave Directors, the New Hollywood Directors wanted to make personal movies, movies that were fresh but at the same time showed a respect for the Masters of Cinema they admired so much.?The stage was set for studio-produced films that maintained an independent feel - films like?Bonnie and Clyde?(1967) and?Easy Rider?(1969).Bonnie and ClydeDirected by Warren Beatty in 1967, Bonnie and Clyde was hailed by Time magazine as a film that represented a renaissance in American cinema.?The film is a retelling of the true story of the infamous bank robbers, but done with an emphasis on the characters and story rather than the stars.?The film is unique in its graphic depiction of violence and antagonism towards authority.Counter CultureThe positive critical reception of?Bonnie and Clyde?and its success at the box office, led the way for more films that reflected the new Counter Culture?attitudes of the Hippies, films like?Easy Rider?(1969).Easy Rider?was written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper ( who also directs ),and Terry Southern.The film is a modern Western / Road movie that features Fonda and Hopper as two motorcycle-riding Hippies who are making their way across the United States to New Orleans and Mardi Gras.Beyond that, the movie does not really have a story.We never really find out who these guys are - there is not any kind of traditional backstory.All the audience knows is that Hopper and Fonda are anti-establishment, part-time drug dealers.On a symbolic level, they represent both the independent Cowboys of the Old West and the new generation of freedom-searching Baby Boomers.Like many of the films of the French New Wave,?Easy Rider?was filmed using natural light, a fair amount of improvisation, and occasionally, non-professional actors.Sub-plotThe film?Easyrider?features Jack Nicholson as an alcoholic Lawyer who joins up with Hopper and Fonda on their quest.Nicholson's performance made him a star, and he went on to star in?Five Easy Pieces?in 1970.He was nominated for the Best Actor Oscar for his role in that film.New Wave LegacyMany of the greatest modern American Directors came out of this era, Directors who were directly influenced by European movements like the French New Wave, and who went on to bring their own personal visions to life.These Directors include -Martin ScorseseFrancis Ford CoppolaRobert AltmanPeter BogdanovichGeorge LucasSteven SpielbergWoody AllenBarbara LodenBrian De PalmaJohn CassavetesInternet Movie Database (IMDb) is a great starting point to review these Directors, along with Wikipedia.You should search each of these Directors to get a better understanding of their origins, careers and contributions to film.Website -?IMDBWebsite -?Wikipedia ................
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