Film History of the Seventies

1
Film History of the Seventies

• A Hollywood New Wave

2
Ch-ch-ch-Changes

• Whats Old
• Financial and artistic depression
• Restrictions on language, sex, and violence
• The Studio System
• Whats New
• New ways to make money
• New bolder movies
• Independent Studios

3
Hollywood Diversifies More

• Cable Television
• Pay Television
• New Fan Magazines
• Videocassettes
• Advertising on Television
• Multiplex Theaters

4
New Directors

• John Carpenter
• Known for dark cinematography
• Known for horror films
• Halloween(1978)
• Alan Pakula
• Started as a producer
• Directed 8 different Oscar Winners
• All The Presidents Men (1976)
• The Parallax View (1974)

5
New Directors

• Martin Scorcese
• Known for new, dark, violent movies
• Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore (1974)
• Taxi Driver (1976)
• Brian DePalma
• Known for lurid psychological thrillers
• Carrie (1976)
• The Fury (1978)

Taxi Driver
6
New Directors

• Peter Bogdonovich
• Started as an actor
• Liked the style of classic Hollywood
• The Last Picture Show (1971)
• Paper Moon (1973)
• Robert Altman
• From Kansas City
• Documentary Style
• Nashville (1975)
• A Wedding (1978)
• Mash (1970)

MASH
7
New Directors

• Stephen Spielberg
• Science Fiction/Fantasy
• Special Effects Blockbusters
• Jaws (1975)
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• George Lucas
• Redefined Special Effects
• Star Wars (1977)
• American Graffiti (1973)

American Graffiti
8
New Directors

• Francis Ford Coppola
• He made blockbuster epics
• The Godfather (1972)
• The Godfather, Part II (1974)
• Apocolypse Now (1979)

9
New Directors

• Woody Allen
• New York Cerebral Comedy
• Annie Hall (1977)
• Everything You Wanted to Know
  About Sex (1972)
• Mel Brooks
• Vulgar, Screwball Comedy
• Parodies
• Blazing Saddles (1974)
• Young Frankenstein(1974)

10
Stars of the Seventies

• Jack Nicholson
• Al Pacino
• Robert DeNiro
• Robert Redford
• Dustin Hoffman
• Jane Fonda
• Diane Keaton
• Burt Reynolds
• Goldie Hawn
• Gene Hackman
• Paul Newman
• Barbra Streisand

11
War Films

• The seventies saw a plethora of films about the
  Vietnam War, mostly anti-war.
• Coming Home (1978)
• About a woman who falls in love with a paralyzed
  soldier when her husband is in Vietnam.
• The Deer Hunter (1978)
• The story of three buddies from a small town who
  go to Vietnam together, each coming home (or not)
  with a different experience.
• Apocalypse, Now (1979)
• Based on Joseph Conrads Heart of Darkness,
  this movie is about a group of soldiers who must
  stop an out of control American colonel.

The Deer Hunter
Apocalypse, Now
12
Disaster Movies

• The seventies saw the disaster genre movie take
  off with spectacular special effects, perilous
  rescues, and star-studded casts
• Airport (1970) Hijacked airplane
• The Poseidon Adventure (1972) Disaster at sea.
• The Towering Inferno (1974) Fire in a skyscraper
• Earthquake (1974) Huge quake in L.A.

13
The Blockbuster

• The studios invested heavily in one or two big
  pictures, hoping to make big profits. These
  pictures focused heavily on special effects.
  Among the blockbusters of the 70s were
• Jaws (1975)
• Star Wars (1977)

14
New Ratings System

• Ratings System was modified in 1970.
• M became PG
• R nobody admitted under 17 without parent.
• Xtaken over by pornographers, though for awhile,
  it was mainstream with films such as Deep Throat
  (1972) and Last Tango in Paris (1972)

15
Independent Studios

• Disgruntled studio officials started their own
  independent studios in the seventies.
• Miramax Studios formed
• Orion Pictures formed

16
Film Critics

• Roger Ebert and Gene Siskel began their PBS
  series Sneak Previews in 1978, becoming the
  highest rated PBS series ever.
• It was the beginning of Thumbs Up Thumbs Down.
  Later, they went into syndication.