New Hollywood
By 1957, Life magazine called the 1950s "the horrible decade" for Hollywood. The Paramount Case had ended block booking and ownership of theater chains by film studios. Television emerged as a powerful competitor that drew audiences away from movie theaters. Studios initially used spectacle to retain profitability. Technicolor developed a far more widespread use while widescreen processes like CinemaScope were invented. Stereo sound and 3-D technology also appeared during this period. These innovations failed to increase profits significantly. Audience shares continued to dwindle and reached alarmingly low levels by the mid-1960s. Several costly flops including Doctor Dolittle and Tora! Tora! Tora! put great strain on the studios. The Julie Andrews vehicle Star! also failed to replicate the success of Mary Poppins or The Sound of Music. Both British and American press dismissed filmmakers Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks as "frivolous entertainers and nothing more." They praised more respectable models of American art films instead.
The Baby Boomer generation started coming of age in the mid-late 1960s. Old Hollywood was rapidly losing money during this time. Studios were unsure how to react to the much-changed audience demographics. The market shifted from a middle-aged high school-educated audience in the mid-1960s to a younger demographic. By the mid-1970s, 76% of all movie-goers were under 30 years old. Sixty-four percent of those young viewers had gone to college. European films made a splash in the United States during this era. Michelangelo Antonioni's Blowup found relevance with disaffected youth through its oblique narrative structure. Full-frontal female nudity appeared in that film without censorship. Japanese cinema also influenced American audiences alongside Commedia all'italiana and Spaghetti Westerns. The huge market of disaffected youth seemed to find artistic meaning in these foreign productions. Studios hired young filmmakers to capture that specific audience segment. They allowed them to make films with relatively little studio control. Some directors like Peter Bogdanovich were mentored by Roger Corman while others worked for lesser-known B movie directors.
Bonnie and Clyde emerged as a defining film of the New Hollywood generation in 1967. Warren Beatty produced and starred in the film while Arthur Penn directed it. Jack L. Warner hated the rough cut when he first saw it in summer 1967. Distribution executives at Warner Brothers agreed giving the film a low-key premiere. Bosley Crowther gave the movie a scathing review calling it "a cheap piece of bald-faced slapstick comedy." Time magazine received letters from fans after one negative review. Pauline Kael wrote a positive review in October 1967 for The New Yorker. Her article led other reviewers to follow her lead and re-evaluate the film. Newsweek and Time eventually celebrated the movie in December 1967. Stefan Kanfer claimed Bonnie and Clyde represented a "New Cinema" through its blurred genre lines. The impact of this film proved important for understanding conditions necessary for the American New Wave. The Graduate also released the same year became another era-defining hit about youthful rebellion. Mike Nichols won the film's sole Oscar for Best Director. These initial successes paved the way for studios to relinquish almost complete control to innovative young filmmakers.
Todd Berliner argues that the 1970s marks Hollywood's most significant formal transformation since conversion to sound film. Seventies films show a perverse tendency to integrate story information counterproductive to overt narrative purposes. Hollywood filmmakers often situate practices between classical Hollywood and European art cinema. Spectator responses became more uncertain and discomforting than typical Hollywood cinema. Narratives placed uncommon emphasis on irresolution particularly at climax moments. Conventional movies busy themselves tying up loose ends while these films did not. Seventies cinema hindered narrative linearity and momentum generating less suspense. Films like Easy Rider used jump cuts influenced by Bruce Conner to foreshadow the climax. Subtle editing reflected frustration in Bonnie and Clyde or subjectivity in The Graduate. The famous match cut from 2001: A Space Odyssey showed passage of time. Dense sound design was commonplace during this era. Experimental filmmakers like Arthur Lipsett and Stan Brakhage influenced directors such as George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola. The New Hollywood generation included Steven Spielberg, John Milius, Paul Schrader, and others educated at USC, UCLA, NYU, and AFIPost-Fordist Cinema. They were sometimes jokingly labeled "Movie Brats" or "Young Turks." Thomas Schatz points out characters became plot functions beginning with mid-1970s films.
Breakthroughs in film technology enabled location shooting with relative ease. The Panavision Panaflex camera introduced in 1972 allowed 35mm camera film to be shot in exteriors. The Steadicam arrived in 1976 making movement smoother than before. Location shooting proved cheaper since no sets needed to be built. New York City became a favorite spot for this new set of filmmakers due to its gritty atmosphere. Documentary films by D.A. Pennebaker and the Maysles Brothers influenced filmmakers of this era. Frederick Wiseman's work also shaped their approach. Editing practices adhered to realism more liberally than classical predecessors. Filmmakers used editing for artistic purposes rather than continuity alone. European art films inspired these choices alongside works by D.W. Griffith and Hitchcock. Films like Easy Rider utilized jump cuts to reflect feeling of frustration. The Graduate employed subtler uses to show subjectivity of the protagonist. Sound design became dense and complex during this period. Experimental collage filmmaker Bruce Conner influenced the use of jump cuts in Easy Rider. These technological advances resulted in a more naturalistic approach compared to stylized musicals from earlier decades.
The end of the production code enabled anti-establishment political themes in New Hollywood films. Rock music appeared frequently within mainstream blockbusters during this era. Sexual freedom deemed counter-cultural by studios became acceptable content. The youth movement of the 1960s turned anti-heroes into pop-culture idols. Bonnie and Clyde and Cool Hand Luke characters gained iconic status among young audiences. Life magazine called characters in Easy Rider part of fundamental myth central to counterculture. Midnight Cowboy succeeded despite its X rating showing interest in controversial themes. The success demonstrated weakness of the rating system and segmentation of audience. Films dealt with female identity in second wave feminism era. Masculine crises featured flawed male characters throughout many productions. Downbeat conclusions and pessimistic subject matters characterized much of the output. Emotional realism appeared in female identity stories alongside negative attitudes toward authority. America reeled from tense conflicts like Vietnam War and Watergate scandal. Hard-nosed depictions reflected societal tensions during these years. Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise indulged storylines showed eccentric characteristics. Hopper's acid western The Last Movie disregarded genre conventions entirely. These elements combined to create a distinct cultural moment within American cinema history.
Peter Biskind argues that the new wave began in earnest with Easy Rider but reversed when Jaws and Star Wars succeeded commercially. Studios realized importance of blockbusters advertising and control over production after those films. The Godfather was said to be precursor to blockbuster phenomenon though some dispute this claim. John Belton points to changing demographic even younger more conservative audiences by mid-1970s. Fifty percent aged 12, 20 shifted focus to less politically subversive themes. Thomas Schatz saw mid-to-late 1970s as decline of art cinema movement as significant industry force. Peak occurred around 1974, 75 with Nashville and Chinatown before fading. Heaven's Gate nearly bankrupted United Artists in 1980 marking end of era. They All Laughed and One from the Heart also failed at box office. Steven Hyden called Movie Brats cinematic version of classic rock comparing Spielberg to Beatles. Scorsese became Velvet Underground while Coppola represented Bob Dylan. Lucas stood for Pink Floyd and Altman for Neil Young. Brian De Palma equated Led Zeppelin while Bogdanovich matched Beach Boys. Hal Ashby aligned with Kinks. These comparisons highlighted how directors embodied different musical styles within film culture.
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Common questions
What caused the decline of Old Hollywood by 1957?
Life magazine called the 1950s the horrible decade for Hollywood because the Paramount Case ended block booking and studio ownership of theater chains. Television emerged as a powerful competitor that drew audiences away from movie theaters while audience shares reached alarmingly low levels by the mid-1960s.
When did Bonnie and Clyde emerge as a defining film of the New Hollywood generation?
Bonnie and Clyde emerged as a defining film of the New Hollywood generation in 1967. Warren Beatty produced and starred in the film while Arthur Penn directed it, and Pauline Kael wrote a positive review in October 1967 for The New Yorker.
Which technological innovations enabled location shooting during the 1970s?
The Panavision Panaflex camera introduced in 1972 allowed 35mm camera film to be shot in exteriors while the Steadicam arrived in 1976 making movement smoother than before. Location shooting proved cheaper since no sets needed to be built and New York City became a favorite spot for this new set of filmmakers due to its gritty atmosphere.
What marked the end of the New Hollywood era around 1980?
Heaven's Gate nearly bankrupted United Artists in 1980 marking the end of the era. They All Laughed and One from the Heart also failed at box office after studios realized importance of blockbusters advertising and control over production following Jaws and Star Wars success.
Who were the key directors associated with the Movie Brats label in New Hollywood?
The New Hollywood generation included Steven Spielberg, John Milius, Paul Schrader, and others educated at USC, UCLA, NYU, and AFIPost-Fordist Cinema who were sometimes jokingly labeled Movie Brats or Young Turks. Thomas Schatz points out characters became plot functions beginning with mid-1970s films.