Block-Buster Films

In the 1970s the block-buster was born and that showed the studios new ways to make money, with related products and sequels. Also, the studios would release movies to all the theaters at once, a formula that met with great success, coupled with national advertising campaigns. Prior to 1975, films were released at different times of the year with no specific time line in place to guarantee a success. In my own personal opinion I feel that the block buster films have changed the art of film making for the worse. It seems that these big budget production films like Avatar for example have taken away the true form of film making. I just don't see how the audience can connect to a giant blue alien that is supposed to be a human. Since the 1970's most films seem to have the same characteristics being sex, violence, explosions, and special effects, not to say that the audiences during this time did not want theses in their films.
Films no longer had to be a success in the theater in order to gain a profit. With a Block Buster films can now sell Merchandise and soundtracks to gain extra revenue from the film. George Lucas had made so much money with the merchandise of Star Wars that it proved to the studios that they could exploit this success of a film in other ways. What the Block Buster created was films stripped of their art house attire and made dumber to make a profit. Computer generated graphics have risen to such a degree in the past few years that they have become the key character in some films. This has taken away of the "real" aspect in a film. Explosions are bigger, sex is more provocative and violence is a necessity for these films.
Another big aspect of the block-buster films is the use of sequels. Studios have overwhelmed audiences with sequels to big blockbuster hits, for example Jaws part one, two, and three. Although I hate sequels I have found some interesting economic information that can explain why studios press so hard to make sequels. According to The recent joint study by Binghamton University and Florida Atlantic University says that while sequels do not match the box office revenues of the parent films, week-by-week they do better than non-sequels – more so, when they quickly follow the original. Most can see the same effect taking place in foreign films especially in Japanese films like the grudge, although I don’t think it’s as bad as United States. Summer seems to be the ideal time for studios to release a Block buster for obvious reason kids are out of school with more time to go see a movie.
In conclusion I feel that although blockbuster films may help the economy with big spending they have been stripped of most artistic value and have been replaced with catch your eye entertainment. I think there is a part for these big budget films, but not every film in the theater need to be one. In my Blog I have included some of the most well known films that really created the block-buster.

Film making in the 1960's

“Post-classical” film making is a word used to describe the changing methods of how the story should be told, and refers to a time in cinema from roughly the mid-1960s. Post-classical film making is usually associated with the “New Hollywood” style of cinema. The new form of drama and characterization played a huge role in the making of this style of film. The characteristics that are associated with New Hollywood film making had an emphasis on realism of character and theme. The use of rock music was also a common practice and more overt sexuality than in previous films before this time. Shooting on location became a common practice in these types of films.

The main characters in this style may behave in a morally ambiguous fashion, and the lines between the antagonist and protagonist may be unclear to the audience (A short History of Film). By the by the late Sixties studios were faced with the fact that profits were not up and the audience was dwindling at an alarming rate. They had to come up with new ways to attract the crowds and what better way, than to appeal to the younger audiences. The old Hollywood styles of films were just not prevalent to the times. French new wave and Japanese cinema was attracting audiences but not American made films, hence the New Hollywood style of film making. What the film makers hoped to achieve with these types of films was to attract young audiences and create a connection between them and the characters. These types of films often used the idea of the disaffected youth to connect with the younger audience.

A few of the old masters of the trade were able to keep pace with the changing times. Alfred Hitchcock created Psycho in 1960 a film famous for its graphic violence and the manner in which it was shot, quickly and cheaply (A short history of film). Such directors of this time like Sidney Lumet, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Woody Allen, learned filmmaking in television and believed in the ideal of tense, low-budget, stark cinema is the key to attracting the audiences attention.  A new crop of film-school-trained cinematographers also contributed their talents in the era of new Hollywood film experimentation (AMC film site). One of the films that was shot during this time that fits perfectly into the category of New Hollowed style of films is Bonny and Clyde directed by Arthur Penn in 1967. One of the major themes recurring in this style of cinema was the depiction of the villain as a likable hero. Vietnam and had caused disenchantment with the government, and anyone who rebelled with authority was seen as the good-guy by the younger generation. The characters of Bonnie and Clyde were seen as good looking, humorous and great fun to be around people, even though they were thieves.In the clip I added you can clearly see the sexual tension between the two which was a deliberate act to in-trance the younger teen audience. The films that were created during the 60’s have sparked heated controversy over the perceived escalation of violence in cinema. In my blog I have included some trailers of films created during the time period including Bonny and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance kid and my personal favorite Dr. Strange Glove. Each of these films have the characteristics of the New Hollywood style of film making. In Bonny and Clyde its the sexuality and violence aspect of the film. In Butch Cassidy its the shock aspect with huge explosions to attract the attention of the audience and finally in Dr. Strange glove its the comedic aspects of making fun of the government all equally great films for there time.