Sp 471 American Film History Week 11

The Seventies • Divided into two distinct periods as far as film history goes

Saturday Night Fever, 1977

The Seventies • The VietnamWatergate years 1970-1977

The Seventies • And after Star Wars

The Seventies • •

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Vietnam continues Invasion of Cambodia by Nixon sparked more numerous and more violent protests on college campuses Finally exited the most unpopular war in history in history in 1975

The Seventies • • •

Social gains eroded by economic recession Foreign competition led to first ever trade deficit OPEC oil embargo in 1973 lowered production & raised prices - to $3.65 a barrel! (now it’s $78)

The Seventies • The Civil Rights movement became more radicalized • Rise of AfricanAmerican cinema • Positive images like Sounder

The Seventies • Blaxploitation • Employed a large number of African Americans in front of and behind the camera • Attacked by NAACP for negative images

The Seventies • Watergate - Break-in at Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Hotel -1972 • Spiro Agnew, Vice president, resigns in 1973 because of bribery charges • Resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974 • Gerald Ford becomes the only president who was never elected

The Seventies • Watergate Casualties and Convictions – one presidential resignation – one vice-presidential resignation – 40 government officials indicted or jailed

The Seventies • Paranoia and disillusionment were prominent as cinematic themes

The Seventies • • • •

Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Roman Polanski & Martin Scorsese

While the country was falling apart, the American cinema underwent a renaissance Film attendance began to rise Younger executives at studios were more receptive to new talent and ideas Young directors to relate to the youth market

The Seventies • • •

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Even though production costs increased 200% between 1968 and 1976, studios were making money Capital put into 6-8 large productions with broad appeal Offbeat/risky films were financed independently and distributed through studios so they weren’t risking too much money Tax shelters allowed financiers to write off failures easily

The Seventies • Tight plots of “Classical” cinema deemed old fashioned & massmarket • “Grand Hotel” formula – Ensemble casts with lots of characters (40 in Nashville) – Loose episodic structures – No clear resolution

Nashville, 1975

The Seventies • Genre & Revisionism • Reversed or undercut the classical idea

Cabaret, 1972

The Seventies • Heroes were no longer “heroic”

Chinatown, 1974

The Seventies • • • •

Loosening of production code led to the most explicit sex ever put on screen Porn was suddenly very popular Not a great period for love stories - sex often fused with violence Only top ten female star of the period was Barbra Streisand

The Seventies • • • A Woman Under the Influence, 1974

Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, 1974

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While movies became more masculine, the Feminist movement was on the rise Women, when they did get a starring, sympathetic part, were often helpless and dependant While female stars became less bankable, women lost power in Hollywood Were not welcomed into directing

The Seventies • Joan Micklin Silver’s Hester Street, 1975 • Elaine May’s The Heartbreak Kid, 1972

The Seventies • Men only needed other men • The rise of the “Buddy Film”

Midnight Cowboy & Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, 1969

The Seventies • Movies became much more technical and stylish • Scorsese, Lucas, Spielberg along with established directors like Peckinpah, Kubrick & Fosse Jaws, 1975 A Clockwork Orange, 1971

The Seventies •

Directors still coming from television – Robert Altman

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And from Europe – – – –

John Schlesinger Ridley Scott John Boorman Roman Polanski

The Seventies • Acting – – – – – – –

Peter Fonda Warren Beatty Elaine May Paul Newman John Cassavetes Mel Brooks Woody Allen

The Seventies • …and film school – Francis Ford Coppola – George Lucas – Brian DePalma and – Martin Scorsese

The Seventies • Dog Day Afternoon, 1975, dir. Sidney Lumet w/ Al Pacino, John Cazale • A real New York director • Based on a true story

The Seventies • Captures the zeitgeist (intellectual and cultural climate) of the 70’s • Lack of optimism • Anti-establishment values • Anti-hero – Gay – Bank robber - and a bad one at that – Kidnapper

The Seventies • Sidney Lumet (1924-) • Grew up in the performing arts • Worked up from assistant to director of LIVE television • Over 50 films • Only an Honorary Oscar • Currently in production on La Brava – 12 Angry Men, Fail Safe, The Fugitive Kind, The Pawnbroker, Serpico, Network, The Wiz, Murder on the Orient Express, Prince of the City, The Verdict, Running on Empty, Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead

The Seventies • Other Lumet movies from the 70’s – Network – Serpico – Equus

The Seventies • Al Pacino (1940-) • Method actor who studied under Lee Strasberg • Began on stage where he won an Obie & a Tony • The Godfather was his 3rd film • Only Oscar is for Scent of a Woman

The Seventies • John Cazale (19351978) • Coppola’s The Conversation, The Godfather 1 & 2, The Deer Hunter • 5 Features, all regarded as masterpieces & 1 short

The Seventies • Notable character actors: Carol Kane, Charles Durning & Chris Sarandon

The Seventies • “Attica! Attica!” • Line has become a pop culture reference