The Godfather: Part II, Chinatown, And The Conversations

The New Hollywood era occurred in the seventies that, “…signified generational change as well as a nod toward the influence and artistic ambitions of the ‘New’ European cinemas of the 1950s and 1960s” (Kirshner, 2). This era, also referred to as the American New Wave, thrived on films that represented, “…the political, social, and cultural concerns of its day” (Kirshner, 3). The Godfather: Part II, Chinatown, and The Conversation are three films made in the New Hollywood era that represent those certain characteristics.
The Godfather: Part II is a well-known film that serves as a prequel and a sequel to the first movie. This movie is considered a product of the New Hollywood era because it consisted of juxtaposition and transition. With juxtaposition,

the film presents itself, “…in the simultaneous presentation of the two time periods…” (Hess). An example of juxtaposition in the movie is in the beginning. When young Vito sits in a cell on Ellis Island, there is an instance of juxtaposition between Vito singing in his cell and then to when he is attending a church service where he is part of a wealthy family. This indicates hope but the scene then quickly deteriorates when business starts to overpower everything at the lawn party in Lake Tahoe. There are also instances of transition. There is an instance where Vito bids his son farewell on his bed while in the following sequence, the opposite event happens. He makes friends, gets involved in crime, and starts a family. This shows that Vito tends to become more deceptive as the movie progresses.
The Conversation is a film that involves a man named Harry Caul whose occupation is to eavesdrop on conversations.

He is in a situation where he listens to a couple’s conversation where they are aware that they will be murdered by somebody. This movie symbolizes the effects of disturbing other people’s lives and the decision whether to be involved or not. This film is involved in the New Hollywood era because it has themes of privacy, guilt, and alienation. With the theme of privacy, Harry Caul’s job allows him to invade other people’s lives and to listen to their conversations. Harry is haunted by his guilty conscience when he realizes the couple he is eavesdropping on is going to be murdered and he struggles with his efforts to attempt to stop the murder. Although the film centers on Harry Caul, he is mostly alienated. Even though his job is to listen to other people’s conversations, he is seen living alone and becomes withdrawn in social situations. This film is also characterized in the New Hollywood era because the point-of-view is based on perception. Although there are signs of secrecy and mystery, the audience only sees what Harry Caul sees. For instance, when Harry is frantically searching through his apartment to find the bug that was hidden, he was unable to find it and the audience did not know either. There is also a situation where the murder happened in the hotel room. Harry is not completely sure who killed whom and the audience also does not get the pleasure

of knowing what actually happened. There is another sign of symbolism that involves Harry’s appearance. He is constantly wearing a translucent rain jacket which is implied as a, “metaphor of seeing through things…” (Kirshner, 148). It is suggested to the audience that he is weak and is always hiding behind something transparent because he doesn’t have the confidence to fully expose himself.
Chinatown is a film that centers on a private detective who is struggling to find the truth behind a murder.

It is a product of the New Hollywood era because, “…the film is not at all trying to imitate the past; rather, in both style and substance, it revisits the period from the vantage points of the 1970s” (Kirshner, 179). The director, Roman Polanski, was not trying to recreate the past, but to relive it. There is an explicit use of historical references that are deeply involved in the plot, such as the drought. Along with this film being a part of the New Hollywood era, it has many themes that center around mystery, incest, murder, and corruption. The movie symbolizes the dark aspect of money and power defeating good and innocence. For the mystery aspect, Jake Gilles, the private detective, is trying to see who murdered Evelyn Mulwray’s husband, Hollis Mulwray. It is later revealed in the film that Hollis Mulwray was having an affair with Evelyn’s sister and daughter. Evelyn allegedly had her child with her father, Noah Cross. Murder occurs when Noah Cross admits that he had killed Hollis over an argument about building a new water dam in Los Angeles. Lastly, for corruption, Jake Gilles finds out that the police won’t believe him that Cross murdered Hollis. There is also an instance in the beginning of the movie where a woman named Ida Sessions claims to be Evelyn Mulwray. Later in the movie, she is murdered and the police believe that it was the actual Evelyn Mulwray

who did it. Chinatown was a movie that caught the attention of film critics because, “It does not have an assertive New Hollywood look: about two-thirds of the film was shot on sets, source lighting was not emphasized, and the compositions and camera movement are…traditional” (Kirshner, 179). The film had a very prominent visual quality. There is also another instance of symbolism throughout the film. The scene that involved Evelyn Mulwray being shot in the eye was symbolized throughout. The scenes that related to her death were the crushed pocket watch, the fish’s dead eye, the sunglasses lens punched out, the crushed taillight of Evelyn’s car, Curly’s wife’s black eye, Cross’ cracked bifocal lens, and Evelyn’s flaw in her eye, that was coincidentally shot when she tried to escape (Kirshner 179, 180). This movie is considered distinctive from other movies in the seventies because the movie ends differently than normal. In the end, Evelyn Mulwray is killed with the witness of her own daughter and sister, Jake Gilles is taken away by the police, and Noah Cross leaves with his daughter and granddaughter. It seemed that evil won over good.
Overall, these three films are products of the New Hollywood era. Even though they have different themes, they still represent a new edition of the seventies because they presented situations in which they were involved politically, socially, and culturally.