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.
Nice work on the video applied.
ReplyDeleteStar Wars and Jaws were excellent blockbusters during this time period. Good job on that.
Be careful on those sequels, Clint. There are few that made it just as big, very rarely bigger, than the first ones. That is always one of the big drawbacks to series. One series that has been consistent is the Star Trek. They have been consistently strong up until recently.
I give your post an A. You did a good job, Clint.