The 1970s

Era

Y12 FILM HL ALLISSA CHAN

WELCOME TO THE

70s

- HIPPIE MOVEMENT, CIVIL RIGHTS MOVEMENT, FREE LOVE, ROCK & ROLL, GENDER ROLE CHANGES, DRUGS

Hollywood experienced a great financial and artistic depression at the beginning of the 1970s Eventually becomes a huge CREATIVE HIGH POINT in the US film industry FUN FACT: Malcom McDowell scratched his cornea and broke a rib during the filming of Clockwork Orange.

HOLLYWOOD RENEWED AND REBORN

Motion picture art flourished; (vietnam war, kent state massacre, watergate scandal, nixons fall, munich olympic shootout, increasing drug use, growing energy crisis)

LOOSER RESTRICTIONS on language/adult content/sexuality/violence Subject matters reflecting the questioning spirit and truth of the times (curiosity, fantasy) Lack of faith in institutions, DARK SIDE OF THE AMERICAN DREAM Pushing the boundaries of cinema, TESTING THE LIMITS of what people can handle

MUSICAL FILMS - CONTROVERSIAL, HIGHLY EXPLICIT

Set in Berlin during the Weimar Republic in 1931

Aliens, UFOs, the government, creating life

MARTIAL ARTS FILMS

Bruce Lee reinvented martial arts films

The Big Boss (1971) Enter the Dragon (1973) - After his death; Most successful martial arts film in cinematic history
1978 Martial arts comedy films (set foundation for rise in Hong Kong cinema in the 80s.

1970- Five Easy Pieces 1971- A Clockwork Orange 1972- The Godfather 1973- The Exorcist 1974- The Godfather Part II 1975- Jaws 1976- Rocky 1977- Star Wars 1978- Halloween 1979- Alien

MOVIE BRATS

- A NEW GENERATION OF FILMMAKERS

GEORGE LUCAS Star Wars (1977) - Highest grossing film in history - Youth-oriented, action packed - Fantasy space world like no other - Refreshing new idea - Earned over $100mil in rentals

STEVEN SPIELBERG Jaws (1975) - Highest grossing film in history until Star Wars - One of the first film to earn over $100mil in rentals

JOHN CARPENTER Halloween (1978) - Highest-grossing independent film made in the US at the time - Spawned a mini horror-boom in cinema - Profitable and stylishly-made film - Iconic character

FRANCIS FORD COPPOLA The Godfather (1972) - Explicitly violent, complex, and majestic saga - First film to gross $100 million domestically - Apocalypse Now Nearly Kill Martin Sheen

WHAT IS A

BLOCKBUSTER?
A Blockbuster is a thing of great power or size, in particular a movie, book, or other product that is a great commercial success. In the 1970s, other terms to describe a hit movie included spectacular, super-grosser, and super-blockbuster. The term really started to pick up when Steven Spielbergs Jaws came out in 1975. (First film to be given the blockbuster distinction) It was a huge cultural phenomenon - a new and exciting facepaced entertainment. It couldve been its own genre. Often released during Summer and Christmas Attracted people (especially younger audiences) back to the cinema Special effects!

HIGH-CONCEPT

FILM

An original and unique premise A story that appeals to mass audiences ($$$) A story-specific pitch (details are crucial; differentiate it from a bland, generic storyline) Obvious potential A succinct pitch (one to three sentences long) Make people feel like Wow, why didnt I think of that? Rely on plot over character Immediate idea of plot, conflict, and theme

THE ONSCREEN ACTIVITY IS NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE SALEABILITY OF THE PRODUCT BRAND - High-concept movies are often regarded as a safe way to tell an
audience an entertaining story without them having to think too hard.

SEE TRAILER ON TELEVISION SEE ADVERTISEMENT IN MAGAZINES/NEWSPAPERS PAY FOR MOVIE TICKET WATCH MOVIE PAY FOR MOVIE MERCHANDISE

SOME YOU MAY RECOGNIZE...

(1975) Steven Spielberg

(1975) Milos Forman

(1977) George Lucas

(1979) Francis Ford Coppola

WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT IT?

Redefined the international film industry Skillful editing, chilling score, and sound recording Appeals to large audiences Keeps you on the edge of your seat Clunky metal shark hardly appears throughout the movie and yet everyone is still terrified simply due to all the built up suspense and anticipation

More ways to make money - Movie merchandise

WHATS SO GREAT ABOUT IT?

New and exciting concept Iconic soundtrack Appeals to large audiences of all age groups Lots of marketing potential Blew up science fiction in Hollywood, making people fall in love with the idea of aliens and outer space

Earning profit from the film, food products, toys, posters, etc.

CONCEPT
Jaws and Star Wars marked the beginning of the new US film industry business model that was hugely dominated by highconcept movies. The importance of a movie shifted from an artistic focal point to money making focal points. The 1970s was the beginning of the end of the New Hollywood period. The basic idea was that your movie had to be easily described/understood and marketable.

NEW MARKETS FOR HOLLYWOOD PRODUCTS

Cable TV (1972- HBO founded) 1973 - major films only open towards the end of the week (weekend movie watchers = maximize profits) Pay cable TV - unlike regular cable, can view explicit content (sex, profanity) Celebrity magazines - market the movie actors Advertising new releases on television Some feature films were aired on television (attracted huge audiences) Movies released in smaller numbers, on more screens, with more advertisement

THE STEADICAM
Developed in 1978 Camera mount attached to cameraman More flexibility than tripod/dolly Camera moves with the man (running, jumping, walking)

THANK YOU.

1970s Cinema Adverts New age of advertisement and the development of in-theater previews. It was all about finding as many ways as possible to make money.

WORKS CITED
IMAGES
http://img.moviepilot.com/assets/tarantulaV2/project_images/1376470709_jaws.jpg http://bensbargains.net/thecheckout/awesomeness/twenty-amazing-behind-the-scene-film-photos/ http://thecoolship.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/Young-George-Lucas.jpg http://assets.nydailynews.com/polopoly_fs/1.1189627!/img/httpImage/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_635/spielberg23f-2-web.jpg http://ronbase.files.wordpress.com/2011/10/spielberg.jpg http://ia.media-imdb.com/images/M/MV5BOTUwMzY4NzI4Nl5BMl5BanBnXkFtZTcwMDgzNjk3OA@@._V1_SY317_CR12,0,214,317_.jpg http://www.filmlinks4u.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Star-Wars-1977-Hollywood-Movie-Watch-Online1.jpg http://www.sensesofcinema.com/wp-content/uploads/images/directors/03/25/carpenter2.jpg http://foglobe.com/data_images/main/francis-ford-coppola/francis-ford-coppola-04.jpg http://scraber.ru/-/movie/photo/id/670 http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-ZzPsFpWpIaM/Ucb3_pmUHII/AAAAAAAACAc/b0M5-Jnsixc/s1600/img687.jpg https://d2nh4f9cbhlobh.cloudfront.net/_uploads/galleries/249/the_rocky_horror_picture_show_poster.jpg http://www.archiviokubrick.it/opere/film/shining/steadicam/steadicam01.jpg http://images5.fanpop.com/image/photos/28300000/Enter-the-Dragon-bruce-lee-28319699-833-1000.jpg

WEBSITES
"Kahuna Ashram: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest." Kahuna Ashram: One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. Roebuck, John. "HOW JAWS SPAWNED THE MODERN BLOCKBUSTER."Http://portable.tv/. Http://portable.tv/, n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. "High Concept Defined Once and For All." High Concept Defined Once and For All. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013. "Scenes from the Morgue." Scenes from the Morgue. N.p., n.d. Web. 5 Sept. 2013.

BOOKS
Tom Shone: Blockbuster (2004). London, Simon & Schuster UK. ISBN 0-7432-6838-5. See pp. 2740. Thompson, Kristin, and David Bordwell. Film History: An Introduction. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Higher Education, 2010. Print.