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.