Week Sixteen Q&A

Filmmaker Magazine/What I Meant to Say

2. Broadly speaking, what characteristics define mumblecore?
The criteria for mumblecore film are improvised dialouge, naturalistic performances (non-actors), handheld, cinema-verite digital camerawork, long takes. Plots often hinge on everyday events and the films obviously reflect on the filmakers' lives.

3. What have been the most common charges against mumblecore?
That the films are too intensely personal and pretentious.

4. How has the internet affected the DIY distribution of mumblecore films?
The internet has allowed the mumblecore filmmakers to operate without professional distributers; instead of selling the DVD rights for a flat rate, they can sell them through a website.

S.T. VanAirsdale “Mumblecore Inc.”

6. IFC Films picked up Hannah Takes the Stairs for “day-and-date” distribution. What does this mean?
 "Day-and-Date" distribution means that Hannah Takes the Stairs will open the IFC center series on June 29, and that the film would be available for download on IFC on Demand.

Amy Taubin, “All Talk?”

9. What are Taubin’s main objections to the work of Joe Swanberg.

Taubin objects to Swanberg's seeming disconnect with the world out large, outside the world of "my life and my friends' lives." She declares his films as smug and blatently lazy, and that his greatest talent is in convincing seemingly intelligent women to strip for his films.

Week Fifteen Q&A

Navigating the Digital Divide

6. What are the current platforms and delivery systems for digital distribution?
There are two platforms; PCs and living room devices. The main delivery systems are downloading and streaming. Down loatd can be either protected (DRM) or DRM-free. Streaming video is difficult to copy.

7. What were the advantages and disadvantages of releasing Ed Burns’s Purple Violets on i-Tunes?
The advantages were that the film's method of release garnered a lot of publicity, and thus was acutally viewed more than if the film had attempted a small theatrical releas.

8. What is a digital media aggregator, and what is its equivalent in the traditional home video chain between the filmmaker and the consumer?
A digital media aggregator assists with representation of films to larger distributions companies (itunes). The equivalent in the home video chain is a distributor.

9. What are the parallels between Radiohead’s In Rainbows experiment and the digital distribution of the documentary 10 MPH? Why did the 10 MPH filmmakers choose the .m4v format?
Both Radiohead and 10 MPH sold their media (digital downloads) for a price determined by the audience in the hopes that hard-copy sales of the same product would spike. 10 MPH chose the .m4v format because Apple would not put their product in iTunes, so the company released an iTunes compatible download.

10. Why did “giving it away for free” end up working better than a traditional $15,000 distribution offer for the filmmakers of Four Eyed Monsters?
Again, the 'new media distribution' concept garnered the project more attention. Thus, when the film debuted on YouTube/Myspace, distributers were ready to bid, based on both the media attention and the projected profits from the ancilliary materials the creators had sold (DVDs, iPod downloads, DVD downloads, t-shirts and donations).

Week Fourteen Q&A

Murphy, Me and You…: 25-45


1. What does Flo Liebowitz mean by “dialogue as behavior”?

Liebowitz is implying that the physicality of talking is sometimes more important than the actual dialogue a character is speaking. She discusses how it is possible to learn more from how and when a character talks than what they are talking about.

2. What are some of the connections between Stranger than Paradise with the New American Cinema, including Shadows?

Connections between Stranger than Paradise and New American Cinema include elements of unpredictability in the narrative (in Shadows, this is due to improvisation, in Paradise, they are due to character ambivalence), an openness in motivation and a lack of constraining character traits. Finally it is suggested that Stranger than Paradise is connected to the New American Cinema through a similarity in character centered  narratives that closely resemble real life.

3. In what specific ways does Jarmusch’s script deviate from standard scriptwriting structure and format?
The script (especially the 1982 script) is a 'blueprint' according to Jarmusch, many scenes contain only descriptions of action rather than dialog, the script is more of a treatment than a screenplay, and finally, the finished movie was funded after a 'short' comprised of the first section of the film was screened for financiers. The short was later added to the rest of the footage shot.

4. What is an "execution dependent" screenplay?

An "execution dependent" screenplay is a film that exists on a stylistic and visual level that may not be apparent upon viewing the script.

4. What are the similarities and differences between Stranger than Paradise and punk films?

Jarmusch deliberately disassociated his film from the New Wave music popular at the time, despite his familiarariy with the 'scene'. Jarmush had worked in the punk scene and Stranger than Paradise is vested in the spirit of the punk film scene without a slavish devotion to the iconography of the genre.

Week Thirteen Q&A

Hollywood and Independent Black Cinema

4. According to Ed Guerrero, what were the three phases of the black image in Hollywood?

The three phases were pre-blaxploitation (with a mainstream image of accomodationism and submissiveness on the part of blacks), then blaxploitation (characterized by resistance, co-option and reversal of mainstream portrayals in Hollywood) then new black cinema.

5. Why did the filmmakers of the "LA Rebellion / Los Angeles School" (including Charles Burnett) reject traditional Hollywood production values?

The filmmakers of the "LA Rebellion/Los Angeles School" rejected traditional Hollywood production values because they had studied the Third Cinema practices of groups in other countries struggling for recognition. Events such as the Civil Rights Movement and struggles for liberation in Africa, Asia and Latin America also helped shape the perspectives of the LA Rebellion filmmakers, who eventually allianced with the film styles of 'imperfect cinema'; producing politically challenging films that pushed themselves away from the self-conscious aesthetic codes of Hollywood.

6. What are the two distinct notions of "guerrilla cinema" exemplified by Spike Lee and Bill Gunn?

The two distinct notions of guerrilla cinema exemplified by Spike Lee and Bill Gunn are
that Spike Lee sees the independent sphere as a stairway to a successfull career in the Hollywood industry, while Bill Gunn used Hollywood funding to make two socially and racially conscious films (Ganja and Hess, Stop!) that were never released.

7. What are the two divergent readings of Spike Lee's films by Amiri Baraka and Houston Baker? 

Amiri Baraka's opinion is that Lee's work should be classified with the trend toward younger directors who trivialize the black political struggles in favor of recognizing black cultural or economic struggles (for example, the death of Radio Rahim in Do the Right Thing is brought about due to an argument regarding black representation in an Italian restaurant). Houston sees Lee's obsession with economics as political ideology.

Week Twelve Q&A

1.
What were the average shot lengths (ASLs) for the following periods?
1920s-4 to 6 seconds
1930-1960-8 to 11
Mid-1960s-6 to 8
1980s- 4 to 7
2000 (“by century’s end”)- 3 to 6

2.
How were wide angle (short) lenses used after 1970? To provide looming close-ups, expansive establishing shots, views inside cramped quarters, and medium shots with strong foreground/background interplay.

3.
How were telephoto (long) lenses used after 1970? They were employed for close-ups, rack focuses and to emphasize a wipe-by cut. (as in Jaws).

4.
Why did filmmakers start mixing long and short lenses within scenes? Filmmakers began mixing lens lengths because they appreciated the advantages of longer lenses but wanted to maintain the atmosphere of deep-space shooting.

5.
Why have filmmakers moved away from plan americain staging and lengthy two-shots? Filmmakers moved away from plan americain staging because using over the shoulder shots and singles allow the director to vary the pace during editing and to pick the best bits of an actor's performance.

Annotated Bibliography/Research Question

Annotated Bibliography

Anderson, John. "Dylan Movie to Open Like a Rolling Premiere." The New York Times. 21 Aug 2007. 29 Oct 2008 <http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/21/movies/21dyla.html/partner/rssnyt/?scp=9&sq=%22I'm%20Not%20There%22&st=cse>.
-Explains the efforts of the Weinstein company in regards to distribution of the film.

Hernandez, Eugene. "HanWay + Celluloid Dreams=Dreamachine; New Combined Company Launching in Cannes." IndieWIRE. 03 Apr 2007. 29 Oct 2008 .

-Discusses the sales/production/financing firm that produced I’m Not There.

Lyall, Sarah. "In Stetson or Wig, He's Hard to Pin Down." The New York Times. 04 Nov 2007. 29 Oct 2008 .

-Heath Ledger is interviewed and explains (what he speculates is) the meaning of I'm Not There.

Sullivan, Robert. "This is Not a Bob Dylan Movie". The New York Times. 07 Oct 2007. 

29 Oct 2008. 

-Illustrates Tod Haynes’s desire to make a film that shows what Dylan himself is all about and how he functions as a sort of metamorphic character.

Wisniewski, Chris. "An American Tale: Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There". IndieWIRE. 19 Nov 2007. 29 Oct 2008 .
-Review discussing the success that the film had in the execution of a fractured narrative

Research Question:

I would like to examine the methods used to market and distribute I'm Not There. As I understand it, the Weinstein Company faced a challenge of marketing an experimental art film filled with famous faces, and they chose to open on fewer screens in the hopes that critical acclaim would save the film.

Week Eleven Q&A

Reading Response Week Eleven: Due October 28 @ Noon

Answer at least one of the questions from TWHTI 104-114. Answer at least four of the remaining questions.


The Way Hollywood Tells It, 104-114
[Assigned in Week 10, but answer this week]

Summarize the answers Bordwell gives to the question, “Why do filmmakers bother with classical construction if ardent viewers consider it dispensable, even distracting?”

1. Classical plot construction seems unimportant to viewers, but it allows them to concentrate on other things.

2. Big-budget films layer their appeals; kids and intelligent adults.

3. There is no better way to satisfy a broad range of tastes than classical construction: a combination of star power, physical action and other appeals.

4. Spectacle is expensive; there is no better way to fill out the space between whammos than with Hollywood default (characters we care about).

5. Films aren't just made for audiences; they are made for other filmakers as well. Prowess in craft leads to prestige, professional satisfaction and better jobs.


The Way Hollywood Tells It, 51-72

What does Bordwell mean by “genre ecology,” and how does he characterize the current range of genres in Hollywood. 

By genre ecology Bordwell means the rise and fall in popularity and success of genres such as melodrama, action, science fiction and crime. Bordwell characterizes the current range of genres as the result of 'younger' directors (film school generations and back-lot rebels). This younger generation gravitated towards the genres that had not been prominent during the studio era.

What does Bordwell mean by “worldmaking,” and how does it affect the narrative design of individual films?

Worldmaking is explained as a rich, rully furnished ambience for the action of a film. It affects the narritive design because (such as in 2001: A Space Odessey) each element of set design and props is carefully researched. Kubrick carefully though about what astronaut meals would look like and how the technical elements would function.

What specific reasons does Bordwell propose for the rise and fall of contemporary genres?

One specific reason was the push towards multidemnsional story; this worked best in genres such as fantasy (ancillary material in Lord of the Rings) and science fiction (the multiple plot points spread between sections of The Matrix). 

What do Bordwell and Thompson mean by the claim that some films are “maximally classical”? What films do they have in mind?

The claim that some films are maximally classical refers to films that are 'more classical than they need to be.' The films they have in mind are Groundhog Day, Back to the Future, Hannah and Her Sisters and Die Hard.

Week Ten Q&A

#1: What are the five conditions that gave rise to the New Hollywood (here defined as post-1975)?

1. A  new generation of directors

2. New marketing strategies

3. New media ownership and management in the film industry

4. New technologies of sound and image reproduction

5. New delivery systems

#3: Elsaesser argues that unlike in Europe, where ruptures in realism were found in art-cinema, in Hollywood ruptures in realism were found in “minor genres and debased modes.” What genre in particular is he talking about? In what ways do you find ruptures in realism in this genre?

The genre in particular Elsaesser is referring to is horror. Horror films disrupt the cause and effect patterns of shot/reverse shot, continuity and reverse field editing to create a sense of mystery and to mislead the viewer by withholding information or keeping the monster offscreen.

#4: How is the sound/image relationship in horror films fundamentally different than other classical genres?

In classical cinema, the sound and image synchronization replicates the question and answer pattern of linear narrative (viewer ids sound by picturing source), while in horror the presence of sound is emphasized so that the absence of source becomes localized by the mind more vividly (consider the monster scores from Halloween or Nightmare on Elm Street).

#10: What is so important about the un-matched shot of Dracula looking up (without a matching point-of-view shot; we don’t see what he sees) in the opening sequence of the film? (p. 201) To what degree is this a break from classicism, and why?

The unmatched shot of Dracula looking up is important because the corresponding point-of-view shot is not seen until the end of the film, Dracula's gaze is not returned (by the painted image of his reunion with Elzbieta) until the events of the narrative have come to pass. The point of view shot functions not as a reocurring theme or as resolution but as a relay of gazes taking place across the narrative. In classicism the matching of gazes would be part of repetition and resolution (in Citizen Kane, for example, rosebud serves this purpose) but in post-classicism it serves  as 'an elaborate relay of gazes' drawing the viewer's attention to the film as a medium rather than the film as a narrative.

#12: What is the key technical device (hint: in cinematography) that leads to the “decomposition” of the image as representation and the screen as a bounded frame in Bram Stoker’s Dracula? How is the use of this device a break from classical cinema, and why?

The key technical device that allows decompostion  of the image is superimposition. In classical cinema is is used to indicate a shift in time or space or internal monolouge. In Dracula, the superimposition does not function as a boundary marker.

Product Placement in Back to the Future

Klaw Kan (Dog food) (opening credits)

Nike (Marty's footwear)

Krylon (Multiple boxes in Doc Brown's lab)

Huey Lewis & The News/The Power of Love

Burger King (1985 Hill Valley)

Toys R Us (1985 Hill Valley)

Texco (appears in 1985 and 1955)

Jeep (Marty hitches a ride next to the logo)

Mountain Dew (driver of Jeep wears logo t-shirt and hat)

Toyota

Yamaha Drums (band audition)

Gibson Guitars (band audition)

Honda

Zales Diamonds (advertisement on bench)

Toyota 4x4 Jeep "That's hot" (Marty's dream car)

Miller Lite (Advertisement)

Diet Pepsi (McFly dinner table)

LIFE (game of) (next to television in McFly house

Bud Lite (McFly dinner table)

Diet Pepsi Free (Marty's bedroom)

Ross Stores (Twin Pines Mall)

JC Penny (most closeups in the Twin Pines scene)

Delorean 

GMC (General Motors?) (multiple vehicles)

JVC Cameras (used to record Doc Brown's time experiment)

Goodyear Tires (close up, on the Delorean)

Miller High Life (side of delivery truck)

Cattle Queens of Montana (playing in 1955 theatre) (1954, RKO pictures)

Sherwin Williams paint (logo painted on a brick wall)

TAB soda (Malt shop)

Pepsi Free (regular) (Malt shop)

Mounds candy bar (Malt shop)

Toblerone candy bar (Malt shop)

Calvin Klein (referred to in dialogue, Marty's underwear)

Milk-bone dog treats (in Doc Brown's garage)

Science Fiction Theatre (George mentions it as his favorite television program) (1955-1957, owned by United Artists Television in the 80's for syndication)

Fantastic Story Magazine (1950-1955) (George McFly's bedroom)

Van Halen (Marty impersonating an alien)

Pepsi-Cola (in the 1950's, displayed on crates, posters, as soda machines, and drunk by Marty)

Allstate Insurance(1955 billboard

Schwinn bike shop (1955 storefront)

California Raisins (Advertisement on bench)

Bank of America (1985 storefront)

Footlocker (Lone Pine Mall)

Panasonic (clock in Marty's bedroom)

BMW (McFly family car)

Adidas (Biff's track suit)

Week Nine Q&A

An action figure produced upon the cinematic release of The Thing. Couldn't you just picture some eager child opening his Christmas presents that year, to find....this?

Bordwell, p 19-50

How do films with multiple protagonists work within the model? 

In films with multiple protagonists, eventually the fate of one or two characters is likely to dominate. These ultimate protagonists get more screen time, and often the climax will depend on a decision or action they must take (such as Macready's decision to torch the camp in The Thing). With multiple protagonists, the four part structure will be built around their goals.

List and briefly describe the narrational tactics discussed in the section “Tightening the Plot” (starting on p. 43).

-Two plotlines (one involving heterosexual romance).
-Dangling cause; unresolved issues in a scene which are picked up later
-Dialouge hook; line at the end of the scene that relates to the action we see next
-Ticking clock/appointments/deadlines; upcoming date or deal will reassemble the characters, motivates a future scene, and builds suspense
-Appointments; used as forshadowing, a 'plant' that will be picked up later in the narrative.
-Repeated object or line of dialouge.

What does Bordwell mean by his claim that Hollywood narratives have “passages of overtness balanced with less self-conscious ones” (p. 50)?

Bordwell means that Hollywood narratives used the narrative tricks mentioned the passage, such as narration and providing additional text information,with the intention of providing as clear a plot as possible. Other narrative tactics such as ticking clock/appointments/deadlines were used less self-conscously and served as a sort of insular shorthand to get the characters to move forward within the narrative.

American Cinema and the Entertainment Economy

Which genres flourished and which genres declined during the 1980s and 1990s?

Due to the increased power of the 12-29 age bracket at the theater (they made up 75% of the moviegoing public), the studios began catering to their preferences. Fantasy and science fiction, as well horror and low-brow comedy were the popular genres, as well as films featuring 'awesome special effects,' 'edgy violence or profanity', and throwaway references to other movies.

Week Eight Q&A

David Bordwell, The Way Hollywood Tells It

How does Bordwell refute the theory that ideas such as reflexivity and pastische in film  are a modern phenomenon? 

He provides examples of studio films that were self-reflexive at the alleged 'end' of the studio era; such as Singing in the Rain and Citizen Kane.

Name some sources of the 'classical cinematic expression' that came from outside the media of film.

Popular literature and drama: Psychological casualty, planting/payoff, rising action

Theater, painting, graphic arts: spatial vantage points, pictoral comparison

What is does Bordwell state is his ultimate goal for the book?

To emphasize the craft of storytelling by studying finished films and use them to understand the underlying plots and visual styles.

The Shark is Still Working: The Impact and Legacy of Jaws

The Shark is Still Working (TSISW) is a three-hour long retrospective on the impact and legacy of the 1975 Steven Spielberg blockbuster Jaws.
It features interviews with a range of cast and crew from the film. It is narrated by Roy Scheider and dedicated to Peter Benchley.

Trailer

The original cast is reunited for Jaws: in 30 Seconds.

M. Night Shyamalan explains what he 'stole' from Jaws and used in Signs

Steve and Bruce (the fake shark who never worked.) This picture makes me really, really happy.

Name three ways in which the publishers of the book and the producers of the film worked together to promote Jaws. How did they know that their logo for Jaws was successful? [Include names/companies in your answer.]

Doubleday books and the Zanuck/Brown team combined forces to promote Jaws in three ways:
1. Universal built up interest in the film as hardcover sales grew with casting releases, announcement of rights purchases, and interviews with the cast of Jaws.
2. Jaws was to be premiered in theatres six months after the Bantam paperback came out, in anticipation of the beach season.
3. Zanuck and Brown sent copies of the paperback all over the country to spread interest in the film adaptation.

Bantam Books, Universal and Zanuck/Brown knew their logo (an open mouthed shark rising from the depths, threatening a female swimmer) for the paperback of Jaws was a success when the desired audience saw both the violent and sexual elements in the design. This was confirmed when 2,ooo people stood in line for a sneak preview of the film that had been advertised only with the logo.

What is “blind bidding”? Why did exhibitors object to the proposed blind bidding for Jaws? Why was the blind bidding for Jaws called off?

Blind bidding is similar to block booking, in that a studio will sell their films as a lump group, with the most desirable films clustered with those that are untested. If a film was purchased sight unseen, it was a product of blind bidding.

Exhibitors objected to the proposed blind bidding because it was an escalation in Paramount's regular distribution terms. The exhibitors would be charged to run Jaws, had to contributed money to a national televised advertising campaign, and 

Paramount had the choice of getting a 90/10 split of the box office recipts or seventy percent of the box office gross for the first four weeks.

The blind bidding was called off after the preview screening  in Dallas. The Justice Dept (which only allows each distributor to blind-bid three films a year) decided that the exhibitors who had attended the private screening now had an unfair advantage over those who had not attended. Under the stipulation that no exhibitor could view a film if it was to be blind bid later, the Justice Department collapsed the blind bidding and voided all previous bids.

How was the saturation booking and marketing of Jaws different than other Universal films (or earlier blockbusters such as The Godfather)?

Jaws was given a large advertising campaign; print ads and a three-day television blitzkrieg leading up to the premiere. Paramount also forced exhibitors into a bidding deal that was unfairly stacked against them, Paramount was so confident in the success of the film that they were willing to step all over their theatres to ensure a hit. Finally, Jaws followed the Godfather model; a wide-release opening (400 theatres!!) that differed from previous New York-LA releases. 

Week Six Q&A

Roy Sawhill

Which of Altman's stylistic techniques does Sawhill associate with 'inclusiveness?'

Altman's technique of combining fiction with fact invites the audience to believe what they choose; including them in the lie. Altman's screenwriter encouraged improvisation and the cast of Nashville also combined elements of their personal lives with their character histories. Altman skillfully blends what we know to be true with what the narrative tells us; allowing his audience active participation (inclusion) in the fact-is-fiction charade of cinema.

What does Sawhill suggest are the functions of the recurring “wires, phones, intercoms, cameras, mikes, speakers” throughout the film? 

The functions of the recording and communication devices are to comment on the ideas of fame that the characters in Nashville are pursuing. Altman shoots in studios, stages and sound booths; he casts amateur actors, and he layers the soundtrack and audio all as a metacritical commentary on the dichotomy between Nashville's gaudy exterior and gritty interior.

Noel Carroll

Carroll writes, “The number of recent films in the style-as-symbol category that revive film noir as a means of commenting on their dramatic material is legion: Night Moves ('75), Elephant Man ('80), All the President's Men (76), Taxi Driver, Hardcore, and Body Heat.” How might this also relate to stylistic choices in The Godfather, Part II? 

Certain stylistic choices in The Godfather, Part II that echo noir are; the hyper saturated brown-and-black palate (echoing the chiaroscuro of classic noir), the 'death opera' in the third act (a revenge plot that echos both the original Godfather and gangster films of the 20's and 30's), and the loss of innocence (of the Corleone family) portrayed by cross-cutting between Vito's warm, sun-drenched experiences in turn of the century New York and Michael's cold, sterile Nevada homestead. Michael is also often framed alone and aloof, a classic trope of noir films. This choice also echos the contrast between Vito's experience and Michael's-Vito has lieutenants who he is close to, while Michael has only the aging infrastructure his father left him.

Week Five Q&A

Auteur Cinema, the Film Generation, Godfather II

Martin Scorsese as a fish. Yay.

Coppola's Zoetrope Studios was similar to Roger Corman's AIP only in that Zoetrope was modelled after Corman's example. In creative output, in budget and in ultimate critical success the two studios had little in common. American International Pictures made low budget youth oriented films, as well as exploitation films. Zoetrope studios was also charged (by Warner Bros. ) to make films catering to the youth market, but instead Coppola fostered protege relationships with others of the film school generation within the studio, producing and co-scripting their films. Ultimately Zoetrope became known for expensive critical hits, such as The Godfather, American Graffiti, and Apocalypse Now.

Martin Scorsese, when contrasted with others of his generation, such as George Lucas and Steven Spielburg, certainly seems to get the short end of the stick. Scorsese flip-flopped between narrative commercial films and the world of documentaries while Lucas and Spielburg were building media empires. Despite this, Scorsese has consistently been the author behind his own films; Lucas mostly abandoned directing after the first Star Wars film, and Spielburg has struggled throughout his career to gain critical, rather than commercial praise. Scorsese also has largely been free from compromising 'his art for commercial liability.' Even his commercial studio films share common elements; the immigrant experience, violence, religious guilt. Cook suggests that in the early eighties Scorsese 'was not longer a player in the New Hollywood' because his films  opened against the gigantic blockbusters of his peers; New York, New York opened against Star Wars ( a pattern to be repeated in 1993 with  The Age of Innocence and Jurassic Park); and because the 'sadomasochistic violence' in some of his films alienated audience.

Week Four Q&A

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway in the 1967 film, Hillary Duff in Allure Magazine, April 2008

Each sexualizing violence for a brand new generation!

Modernism

Kramer "Post Classical Hollywood" p69-75

-The bulk of Hollywood centered film criticism concentrated on the systematic critical reevaluation and close analysis of the work of a small group of Hollywood directors (for example, Hitchcock); most of whom had received training and directed many of their important films during the studio era of the 30's and 40's, working mainly in well-established groups such as westerns. This would be comparable to ignoring the 'Back-lot Amateurs' such as Tarentino and Jonez in the 90's in favor of critiquing the work of Spielberg and Coppola (Francis, not Sophia).

Murray "Hollywood, Nihilism and Youth Culture of the 1960s"

-Murray draws the following parallels between the 1930's underworld (as portrayed by the 1967 film Bonnie and Clyde) and the 1960's youth culture: an alienation of the young from the standard social conventions, the protagonists are ultimately empathetic because they are rebelling against the system, an 'unmistakable affinity between the euphoria of LSD and the kicks Bonnie and Clyde get from robbing  banks', and the image of the duo as 'rebels without a cause.'

Contemporary Hollywood Cinema p32-34

-Some of the causes of the shift from production code to ratings system were: 

      The late 60's over production cycle (too much money spent on production to turn a profit), the halt in television purchase of film (leaving the theatrical market oversupplied), a fall in exhibition profits, Supreme Court rulings declaring the rights of local governments to uphold viewing standards for motion pictures.

-The consequences of the shift from production code to ratings system were:

       Independent distributors briefly gained wider access to the domestic exhibition market (47% in 1970), the stigma of 'X' ratings (in 1960, 47% of exhibitors refused to play them), the redefinition of an 'R' rating as the age was raised from 16 to 17 so more material could be encompassed within the rating, 1970's exploitation films, the film industry moved from a 'one size fits all' audience to specific audiences and demographics based on rating.

Week Three Q&A

Warhol and the Underground

Andy Warhol says it's okay to get your friends high and then film them. 

Why was the Charles Theatre important for the development of underground film?

The Charles offered an eclectic program of mainstream musicals, foreign films, B-movies and classics. The Charles also capitalized on a 'neighborhood' feel by exhibiting local artists, concerts and late-night screenings.

What were some of the characteristics of Baudelarian Cinema?

According to Mekas' manifesto, 'opening up sensibilities and experiences never before recorded in American Arts',  contemporary reflection of the influences of Baudelaire and the Marquis de Sade, a kind of revelry in sordid prettiness. 

Which underground films encountered legal problems in 1964 and why?

Flaming Creatures-rape scenes and orgies

Un Chant d'Amour-screened as a benefit for Flaming Creatures defense fund, homosexual themes.

Scorpio Rising-The film's Halloween party sequence featured male full-frontal nudity.

Warhol's Filmmaking Career

Vinyl-Edie Sedgwick's first performance in a Warhol film

The Chelsea Girls-Warhol's biggest commercial success, played in first-run theatres

Warhol's work on Chelsea Girls;

Warhol v. Bunuel: the explosive elements of Chelsea Girls can be compared to  Bunuel's epic L'Age D'Or.

Warhol v. Hitchcock: Warhol's audience is not being manipulated to a specific conclusion,  the audience is left with an open-ended narrative

Warhol v. Godard: Warhol's direct approach may be a less sophisticated adaptation of Godard's attempts toward improvisation

Week One Q&A

Aka the End of Hollywood

Anne Baxter and Bette Davis know that only one of them will get out of the studio system alive.

Week One Questions

1. Why did Bazin declare that the classical period in Hollywood ended in 1939?

By 1939 Bazin declared that the cinema had reached a level of classical perfection, but was then verging on revolution. The studio system began to acknowledge directors such as Orson Welles and William Wyler who desired a synthesis between things occurring in 'real time' and the duration of an actor's action. In classical editing, these concepts are represented by 'mental and abstract time.'

2. What was Seldes' main critique of Hollywood in The Great Audience?

Selde's main critique of Hollywood in The Great Audience was that Hollywood catered only to a sizable minority which they 'pretended was the mass of the people.'

3. Why did Kael predict that Hollywood would lose favor with audiences?

Kael predicted that Hollywood would lose favor with audiences because 'spectacles would cease to be events, and audiences can be more comfortably bored at home.'  She surmised that the constant over stimulation of epics and event films saturating the public would lower the mystique of film-going and encourage burned-out audiences to find their entertainment elsewhere.

4. Why did Goodman declare that Hollywood ended in 1961?

Goodman declared the end of Hollywood in 1961 due to the burgeoning use of television as the primary source of audiovisual entertainment.

5. Why was Richard Dyer McCann optimistic about the future of American cinema in 1962?

McCann was optimistic about the future of American cinema because he said that theatrically released films had been liberated from the studio production of the past.

Week Two will arrive shortly.

Annie