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Blockbuster vs independent movies
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The term Blockbuster was first defined as a significant audience response to a film, but later the term came to mean a high budgeted film that targeted mass markets with associated merchandising and the financial returns studios now depended on. Hollywood studios take a gamble each year relying on a small number of highly budgeted movie releases that can be extremely profitable or prove significant loss. Independent featured films are produced differently from the blockbuster because independent films are produced outside of the major film studio system and are distributed by independent entertainment agencies. The independent-movie began in the 1980s and 1990s, and some films were accidental as long as the movie stayed in toe with the blockbuster formula. Independent films in the 1990s had a significantly smaller budget with highly profiled directors (p. 389). The days of the Hollywood blockbuster versus the independent films have changed as both methods of filmmaking are owned and operated by various movie studios. …show more content…
Paramount studios was on the verge of liquidation in the 1970s (p. 284). Professionals that worked for or depended on the film studios for work found themselves out of work as unemployment for that time soared to over forty percent (p. 284) All of this changed however as a new generation of filmmakers began to take over the lead. Changes began with the adult-themed movie like Midnight Cowboy, Three in the Attic and Easy Rider. A bigger change came with the making of Mash set during the Vietnam war and balanced the realities of injured soldiers in the operating room with mild nudity and sex. These films and others appealed to a younger audience but were different from the normal film and could not be placed into any
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.
With the loss of its centralized structure, the film industry produced filmmakers with radical new ideas. The unique nature of these films was a product of the loss of unified identity.
Beginning the mid 1920s, Hollywood’s ostensibly all-powerful film studios controlled the American film industry, creating a period of film history now recognized as “Classical Hollywood”. Distinguished by a practical, workmanlike, “invisible” method of filmmaking- whose purpose was to demand as little attention to the camera as possible, Classical Hollywood cinema supported undeviating storylines (with the occasional flashback being an exception), an observance of a the three act structure, frontality, and visibly identified goals for the “hero” to work toward and well-defined conflict/story resolution, most commonly illustrated with the employment of the “happy ending”. Studios understood precisely what an audience desired, and accommodated their wants and needs, resulting in films that were generally all the same, starring similar (sometimes the same) actors, crafted in a similar manner. It became the principal style throughout the western world against which all other styles were judged. While there have been some deviations and experiments with the format in the past 50 plus ye...
During the mid and late 1970’s, the mood of American films shifted sharply. People needed to get away from such negative memories as the Vietnam War, long gas lines, the resignation of President Nixon, and ...
The change in the U.S. can be said to be a social revolution. People were growing sick of the same old movies, they wanted a change and Hollywood needed to deliver or else they would lose their audience to the TV. In the early 60's, the studios were still afraid of the blacklisting so the films were still very safe. An example of this is the film Sound of Music (1965). This was a film about a musical family that needed to escape the Nazi presence. Although the movie is based on a true story, they still follow the same old idea of a nice family, who must escape from the clutches of evil. Basically, the movie is saying good guys win and bad guys always lose. Sure this how most films are made but there is no sense of change, no differences in the style or way it was made. Since there was no change, the public was not interested. The TV was much more convenient and kept the publics interested.
In Hollywood today, most films can be categorized according to the genre system. There are action films, horror flicks, Westerns, comedies and the likes. On a broader scope, films are often separated into two categories: Hollywood films, and independent or foreign ‘art house’ films. Yet, this outlook, albeit superficial, was how many viewed films. Celebrity-packed blockbusters filled with action and drama, with the use of seamless top-of-the-line digital editing and special effects were considered ‘Hollywood films’. Films where unconventional themes like existentialism or paranoia, often with excessive violence or sex or a combination of both, with obvious attempts to displace its audiences from the film were often attributed with the generic label of ‘foreign’ or ‘art house’ cinema.
Largely influenced by the French New Wave and other international film movements, many American filmmakers in the late 1960s to 1970s sought to revolutionize Hollywood cinema in a similar way. The New Hollywood movement, also referred to as the “American New Wave” and the “Hollywood Renaissance,” defied traditional Hollywood standards and practices in countless ways, creating a more innovative and artistic style of filmmaking. Due to the advent and popularity of television, significant decrease in movie theater attendance, rising production costs, and changing tastes of American audiences, particularly in the younger generation, Hollywood studios were in a state of financial disaster. Many studios thus hired a host of young filmmakers to revitalize the business, and let them experiment and have almost complete creative control over their films. In addition, the abandonment of the restrictive Motion Picture Production Code in 1967 and the subsequent adoption of the MPAA’s rating system in 1968 opened the door to an era of increased artistic freedom and expression.
...e different types of movies but also the types of movies that Australia produce. As I have outlined in this essay many factors come into account when a film industry can be in crisis such as competition with similar industries, financial support to have the technology and equipment to create a movie. Although these factors may be true, globalisation has made it possible, through studios in Australian being more affordable for American directors. This then gives Australian’s the open doors that are needed to create a sophisticated film even if it is an American Australian film. Just like Rowley explains ‘in the last five years, it has been to more ‘local’ films, that aims at the Australian market and feature recognisable, everyday settings. The engagement of Hollywood genres often remains, but is no longer done in an attempt to emulate Hollywood slavishly’. (1998)
The 1930s was the beginning of the great film industry we have today. The 1930s (and some of the 1940s) was dubbed “The Golden Age of Hollywood”. This was the decade color and sound were introduced to film industry. Because of the Great Depression many families did not have any money and therefore wanted a cheap source of entertainment. Movies not only included a full length movie, but a cartoon, a newsreel and second movie called a “B-film”. This second film was not as good of quality as the main movie (A-film) and had lower quality. These films were allowed to experiment more with their topics than “A-films”. The prestigious films were expected to be about a topics that were popular and would then produce higher profits. The first drive-in
Thompson, K 2003, ‘The struggle for the expanding american film industry’, in Film history : an introduction, 2nd ed, McGraw-Hill, Boston, pp. 37-54
[2] Poggi, Jeanine. "Blockbuster's Rise and Fall: The Long, Rewinding Road." The Street. N.p., 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 11 Dec. 2013.
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.
film can make or break a movie. Marketing a film takes up a great deal of the money that is
... 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…”
The film industry has always been somewhat of a dichotomy. Grounded firmly in both the worlds of art and business the balance of artistic expression and commercialization has been an issue throughout the history of filmmaking. The distinction of these two differing goals and the fact that neither has truly won out over the other in the span of the industry's existence, demonstrates a lot of information about the nature of capitalism.