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The golden age of Hollywood
The golden age of Hollywood
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Although Hollywood's golden age, roughly between the 1930s and 1950s, can be called the age of the movie star (Barsam and Monahan, 2011, p. 299), it was dominated by the studio system. Let's look at the studio system's organization, along with factors which contributed to the it decline. The studio system's structure helped executives maintain total control of the movies produced and distributed (Classic, 2011, para. 1). At the same time, mechanics, technicians, set decorators, writers, directors, and even movie's largest stars were signed to exclusive contracts dictated by the studios (Lewis, 2008, p. 103). Among the four types of production companies--majors, minors, "B" studios, and independent producers--the majors' executives and boards
of directors of controlled film production, distribution, and exhibition via ownership of exchanges and theater chains (Barsam and Monahan, 2011, p. 498). Nevertheless, the studio system began to decline. According to Barsam and Monahan (2011), three factors contributed to the reduction of power of major movie studios which, by the mid-1930s, were losing steam, resulting in a 25% reduction in Hollywood production by 1951 (p. 500). First, studio heads had created movie-making machines that were so efficient, the executives became almost superfluous (pp. 500, 501). Second, Uncle Sam intervened. Between 1933, when Franklin D. Roosevelt strengthened unions by signing the National Industrial Recovery Act, and 1948, when the government separated the studios' sole ownership of production, distribution, and exhibition, the studio system continued to trend downward (p. 501). Third, movie studios' adoption of the producer-unit led to a rise in the quality of movies and the transition from the faltering studio system to the independent producer (p. 501). In summary, the movie studio era helped turn the film industry into a giant. Production, distribution, and exhibition were occurring rapidly. But while studio heads were ecstatic, the directors, actors, and industry employees, who were locked into contracts, didn't share the joy. Gladly for them, the studio era, aided by the federal government, weakened as independent producers emerged.
Eckstein, Arthur. “The Hollywood Ten in History & Memory.” Film History. 2004. Web. 16 Jan.
...ons as to why the studio system collapsed and how Hollywood tried to prevent this from happening. The Hollywood we see today is a reformed version of the old studio system, yet is still seen as the most dominant film industry in the world, despite its earlier collapse.
In Hollywood political conflict was also paving the way for what would later occur in Hollywood as the HUAC would attack the industry. Big business controlled the lucrative industry and the companies that controlled the market were eight major studios in Hollywood. The Metro-Goldw...
Hollywood is not simply a point on a map; it is a representation of the human experience. As with any other location, though, Hollywood’s history can be traced and analyzed up to present day. In 1887, Harvey Henderson Wilcox established a 120-acre ranch in an area northwest of Los Angeles, naming it “Hollywood” (Basinger 15). From then on, Hollywood grew from one man’s family to over 5,000 people in 1910. By then, residents around the ranch incorporated it as a municipality, using the name Hollywood for their village. While they voted to become part of the Los Angeles district, their village was also attracting motion-picture companies drawn in by the diverse geography of the mountains and oceanside (15). The Los Angeles area continues to flourish, now containing over nine million people, an overwhelming statistic compared to Wilcox’s original, family unit (U.S. Census Bureau 1). However, these facts only s...
Movies today are extremely expensive to make and are typically financed through either film studio contracts or from investors willing to take a risk. In order to be successful, movies need to be marketed and distributed either under contract by the film studios or by companies that specialize in such services. The aspects of financing, marketing and distribution of films have changed between the studio and independent systems over the years as the evolution of the film industry took place.
A new edition to the course lineup, this week's film classic, Sunset Boulevard. This film will focus on the culture and environment of the Hollywood studio system that produces the kind of motion pictures that the whole world recognizes as "Hollywood movies." There have been many movies from the silent era to the present that either glamorize or vilify the culture of Hollywood, typically focusing on the celebrities (both in front of and behind the camera) who populate the "dream factories" of Hollywood. But we cannot completely understand the culture of Hollywood unless we recognize that motion pictures are big business as well as entertainment, and that Hollywood necessarily includes both creative and commercial
The roaring twenties would be nothing without the roar of the MGM Lion. “If Hollywood had no other studio than Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the town still would have been the movie capital of the world” (Fricke para 1). MGM enchanted audiences with its high-budgeted films and glamorous list of stars (Hanson para 1). Three failing movie companies came together in 1924 in hopes to make it big in the motion picture industry, and it did (Fricke para 3). Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer created spectacles of movies after its merging which made MGM one of the most prosperous motion picture companies in the 1920’s (Hanson para 2).
... middle of paper ... ... Larry Ceplair and Englund stated in the book The Inquisition in Hollywood, “The destruction of the motion picture Left not only transformed the political atmosphere in Hollywood, but also adversely affected the kind of product which the studios turned out. “ In the early 20th century Hollywood reframed from producing politically controversial films in fear of becoming a target of McCarthy or the HUAC.
Schatz, Thomas. Hollywood Genres: Formulas, Filmmaking, and the Studio System. Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1981.
Thompson, K 2003, ‘The struggle for the expanding american film industry’, in Film history : an introduction, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp. 37-54
Hollywood in the 30’s and 40’s was the golden-age of a new era of filmmaking. The films of that period went beyond the silent films being produced in the past. Diagetic sounds like dialogue and more advanced filmic techniques would push cinema to a new mode of filmmaking, that being classicism. The classical Hollywood structure was being developed in the past with silent films but it came to full fruition in the 30’s, where many filmmakers would produce feature-length films with fully developed storylines and the use of glamorous lighting and larger-than life characterizations to give audiences a more cinematic experience. Genre films like: the gangster, comedy, western, horror, and other various genres of the era, provided large revenue for studios and the creative means for filmmakers to manipulate the mise-en-scene to make each genre films slightly different from the rest. Classicism would provide audiences with clear-cut characterizations, simple storylines, non-intrusive directing, and simple but entertaining conclusions that neatly wrap up the story.
Rocco, Serge. "The Decline of the Hollywood Studio System or a End of the Magic
The ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ era came about from around the 1960’s when cinema and film making began to change. Big film studios were going out of their comfort zone to produce different, creative and artistic movies. At the time, it was all the public wanted to see. People were astonished at the way these films were put together, the narration, the editing, the shots, and everything in between. No more were the films in similar arrangement and structure. The ‘New Hollywood era’ took the classic Hollywood period and turned it around so that rules were broken and people left stunned.
... ed (BFI, 1990) we read … “contrary to all trendy journalism about the ‘New Hollywood’ and the imagined rise of artistic freedom in American films, the ‘New Hollywood’ remains as crass and commercial as the old…”
For decades, Hong Kong film industry was dominating but those golden days cease to exist. Within a year, Hong Kong once produced approximately 400 films in the early 1990s, but that figure has dropped drastically to roughly 60 currently (Chen, 2017). To regain the fame that was once held back in the 1960s, it is crucial for all the stakeholders in the Hong Kong film industry to understand the properties of the industry and how it relates to the economy. One element can not determine the success or failure of a film, but the above properties