The close of a decade

1956-1959

Hollywood’s attack on tv

    Television is now a permanent fixture Hollywood’s attack:   No movies were to be shown on television No movie stars were to appear on a television program ban on actors lifted in 1956 Used technological advances to lure people out

Technological Changes

   Color Film Advent of wide-screen cinematography  These two effects created effects that the television could not match.

2 competing systems created the wide-screen film:   Cinerama CinemaScope

Cinerama

    3 cameras 3 projectors A large curved screen  “How the West Was Won” Proved to be too costly and impractical

Cinemascope

   1 camera Was more effective and less expensive Soon other studios werer creating similar wide-screen formats

The Blockbuster

  Lavish, lengthy and spectacular Came into existence in 1956 with 3 epics:    

Around the World in 80 Days War and Peace The Ten Commandments The Bridge on the River Kwai

Blockbusters cont..

  Because of costs, the extravagant epic would enjoy a limited life span.

Some of these films can be considered to be among Hollywood’s greatest productions containing some of Hollywood’s finest music.

 Religious films are the most sensational epics of the time.

A New American Cinema

1960-1976

60’s transformation

      Peak of the Cold War Threat of total nuclear annihilation Civil rights Assassinations Moon landing The Vietnam War

The Influence of tv

  Television cameras recorded many historic events.

Instead of bringing people together, it illustrated the issues that separated them.

  Division based on race, sex, and age led to open and often violent confrontations.

Traditions and authority were questioned in every aspect of life.

New Wave Cinema

  Huge French influence on film in the late 50’s early 60’s  Auteur-director/artist Just as an author controls all aspects of a book, the auteur manipulates every detail of a film:    Script Cinematography music

  

New wave…

Traditional narrative techniques from the 30’s are no longer adequate New trends:    Innovative plots (unclear beg and endings) Ambiguous moral implications Unconventional plot lines Allowed exploration of: slow motion, jump cutting, and freeze frames

New wave directors

   Showed great concern for psychological importance of mise-en-scene and music Music was used to help establish a mood  No more mirroring the action, underscoring individual emotions, and loud endings.

Music created atmosphere and was detached from the details of the story

Psycho 1960

  1 st outstanding film score relecting new wave ideas.

Alfred Hitchcock   Chose to shoot in black and white Most famous creative shot:   The shower montage Moves rapidly between 87 shots with a cutting technique that seems as violent as the scene itself.

Cont…

 By the end of the shower montage the audience imagines that it has seen nudity and a knife stabbing a body, but both are implied, not shown.