Major Developments in Hollywood Cinema - Essay Example

Running Header: Major Developments in Hollywood Cinema Student’s Name: Instructor’s Name: Course Code & name: Date of Submission: Major Developments in Hollywood Cinema Introduction According to King (2002), Hollywood cinema has undergone several transformations and major developments since it started in early 1910. It started with several studios which included Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and RKO. In 1920s, Hollywood received a lot of revenues from films comparing to other studios. It was a famous cinema studio in recruiting most talented actors and actress. Hollywood as well recruited most directors like Josef Von Sterberg and Ernst Lubitsch. Hollywood has undergone two major periods in its history which include Classical Hollywood cinemas and post-classical Hollywood or New Hollywood. Classical Hollywood saw the production of Jazz singers in 1927. Creation of Walt Disney’s animation was another major development in this era. Star system and Hollywood studio system were approaches that standardized the ways towards production of movies. Directors were also encouraged to think as actors themselves and not special employees. Traditional studio system was deteriorated by television advent and the Paramount Case. The use of Technicolor became even more repeatedly. Other developments and inventions were technical improvements like stereo sound; Cinemascope and 3-D. Other major developments in the Hollywood included hiring of young film makers who influenced the film market significantly. Realism was the greatest transformation in terms of technical aspects that brought by New Hollywood filmmakers. Major Developments Cecil B. DeMille in association with Jesse Lasky in 1913 let out a barn with studio facilities in Selma southeast corner from Revier and Burns Laboratory and studio which had been started. DeMille started production of The Squaw Man in 1914. It came to be known as Lasky-DeMille Barn and is Hollywood’s Heritage Museum current location. Five major Hollywood movie studios all over Los Angeles location since 1930 owned large grand theaters all over the country for their movies exhibition. These Hollywood studios included Warner Bros, 20th Century Fox, Paramount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer and RKO. From 1927 to 1948, this was considered as the Hollywood studio system age or Golden Age of Hollywood. By early 1920s, Hollywood was the world’s film capital. All the films shown in United States were produced by Hollywood studios. 80 percent of films revenues were received by Hollywood. Hollywood strengthened its position in 1920s as the world leader through recruitment of most talented actress and actors like Hedy Lamarr and Greta Garbo. It also recruited directors like Josef Von Sterberg and Ernst Lubitsch as well as camera operators, set designers, and lighting technicians. By the end of 1920s decade, Hollywood was nation’s fifth largest industry attracting over 83 percent of money spent in films and amusement. Answer.com (2010) maintains that Classical Hollywood cinemas were used in film history to designate both sound style and visual style for the making of motion pictures as well as a mode of production utilized in the American film industry. This is between 1920s and 1960s. Classical style is basically built on invisible style or continuity editing principle. The most notable era of Hollywood change was Golden Age of Hollywood. This period lasted from the end of American cinema silent era in the late 1920s to late 1950s when thousands of movies were issued from Hollywood studios. The beginning of Golden Age was debatably when The Jazz Singer was produced in 1927. This increased films box office profits as sound was initiated to feature films. Most pictures from Hollywood remained closely to a genre like musical, western, biopic or biographical picture, animated carton and slapstick. After the release of The Jazz Singer in 1927, Warner Brothers achieved a lot of success to an extent of being able to gain their own series of movie theaters. This was after the purchase of Stanley Theaters and First National Productions in 1928. RKO was another company which owned theatres and it was formed in 1924 from Radio Corporation of America merge and Keith-Orpheum Theaters merge. Western Electric’s EPRI which had monopoly over sound in films had led to formation of RKO. RKO started to use sound in films through a method of their own referred to as photo-phone. Paramount that had already acquired Katz and Balaban in 1926 answered the RKO and Warner Bros. It bought several theatres in late 1920s before making their purchase that was final in 1929. This was through acquiring all the individual theaters that belonged to Cooperative Box Office situated in Detroit and dominated Detroit theaters. Another major development was through the creation of Walt Disney’s animation. Disney produced most successful film in 1937 known as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Many film historians from this Hollywood era had remarked on the several great cinema works that emerged from this highly well-organized film-making era. The main reason behind this was due to several movies being made, and hence not every person had to be a huge hit. Hollywood released most classic movies like Gone with the wind, Wuthering Heights, midnight, Stagecoach, and The Wizard of OZ during 1930s. They were other films that were to be classic at this period and they included Citizen Kane, All about Eve, Duck Soup, North by Northwest, Sabrina, Double Indemnity, and Casablanca among others. The production mode came to be referred to as the star system and Hollywood studio system. The production mode standardized the ways in which movies were produced. All actors and movie directors among other film workers were employees of specific film studio. This eventually resulted to certain film style uniformity. This led to directors being encouraged to think of themselves not as artists but as employees. This made auteur not be able to flourish as film creators. Flashback was the only permissible time manipulation in this format. It was used to introduce a character memory sequence like in the case of Casablanca. Classic Hollywood space treatment attempted to overcome the film’s two-dimensionality like invisible style and was strongly centered on human body. Most of the shots in classical Hollywood focused on facial or gestures expressions. The approach of production came to be referred as the Star system and Hollywood studio system. This approach was a major development that standardized the ways towards production of movies. Some of the major developments in Hollywood cinema that can be associated with this Classical era were the release of Jazz Singer. Others were popularity in the growth of auteurism among the directors. Hollywood influenced greatly the foreign films as well as independent filmmaking. Other major developments took place during post-classical Hollywood or New Hollywood. This period is also referred as American New Wave. It is the period between mid-1960s to early 19870s. This is when a new young filmmaker’s generation became prominence in America. They influenced films types produced, their production and also their marketing. There also impacted how major studios approached film making. Films made by this young generation were part of the studio system. These persons were not independent although they introduced subject styles and theme. This separated them from traditions of the studio. New Hollywood has as well been defined as a filmmaking movement that is influenced a lot by this period. Following the television advent and the Paramount Case which deteriorated the traditional studio system, Hollywood studios utilized spectacle in order to retain profitability. The use of Technicolor became even more repeatedly. Technical improvements like stereo sound, Cinemascope and 3-D were some of the inventions and developments. Others were widescreen processes that were invented to compete with television and retain dwindling audience. However, there were not triumphant in profits increment. Hollywood in 1950s and 1960s was dominated by historical epics, musicals as well as other films which benefited from larger screens, improved and wire framing. Richard (2003) argues that, in 1960s, old Hollywood was losing money rapidly as studios were not sure on how to react to changing demographics of the audience. The major change during this period was change of audience who changed from middle aged audience who were high school educated in mid 1960s to younger, college educated by the mid 1970s. 64 percent of movie goers had gone to college with 76 percent being less than 30 years. Economic downturn of 1970s and losses from movie flops that were expensive eventually led to risk taking as well as new innovations through letting young producers and directors control the Hollywood studios. Other major developments in the Hollywood included hiring of young film makers who were mentored by Roger Corman. They were allowed to make their own films with extremely little studio control. This was a strategy to capture back the audience who had found a connection to Europe’s art films. This process and production code breakdown in 1966 as well as new systems of ratings in 1968 set new Hollywood scenes. The new young generations of Hollywood filmmakers were counterculture bred, young, and film school educated. This was extremely vital as they were able to reach the audience mainly youth people who they were losing. This generation of young filmmakers that included writers, directors, and actors stormed the film market. There were referred to as new Hollywood by the press. They transformed the business from its Hollywood past system form of being producer-driven. They introduced movies that were energetic, with jolt freshness, films with sexuality as well as those with passion for the artistic value of the film itself. The greatest transformation in terms of technical aspects that New Hollywood filmmakers brought was realism. Introduction of film rating system of Motion Picture Association of American made it possible for this change to take place as location shooting became even more viable. Film technology breakthroughs made it possible for the new filmmakers in Hollywood capable of shooting with ease 35mm camera film in exterior. New Hollywood filmmakers quickly developed location shooting taste because shooting location was less expensive. This heightened the realism and films immersion particularly when compared previous spectacles and musicals artificiality. The artistic effect by the use of editing was also a vital aspect in the new Hollywood cinema. Use of editing was used to edit in order to foreshadow the movie climax especially in Easy Rider which was a good example of editing. Another one was the use of subtler like the use of editing in order to reflect the frustration feeling in Bonnie & Clyde as well as protagonist subjectivity in the Graduate. Anti-establishment political themes also featured in the new Hollywood films. Bonnie & Clyde was the most noteworthy film for the New Hollywood generation in 1967. It was produced by Warren Beatty who was also the starring. It had humor, graphic violence and humor as well as glamorous theme disaffected youth. It received Academy Awards for Best Cinematography. The initial successes gave way for the studio to gain full control of young innovative filmmakers. Idiosyncratic startling films that were original like Chinatown, Taxi Driver, Paper Moon and Dog Day Afternoon gained commercial as well as critical accomplishment. The New Hollywood members’ successes led each one of them to come up with more demands that were extravagant in studio as well as on the audience. The end of the New Hollywood era was marked by Star War (1977) and Jaws (1975). George Hollywood’s blockbuster was jumpstarted by Lucas’s and Steven Spielberg’s films. This gave studio a new example on how to create money in the commercial landscape that is changing. These were considered as unprecedented successes and major developments in box-office. The ultimate demise of New Hollywood came after failures of box office string that was viewed by many critics as extreme and self-indulgent. There was a considerable transfer or change towards separately inventive and produced works by a fresh wave of directors. The mood of Hollywood films during mid and late 1970s shifted drastically. There was development of highly popular films of late 1970s as well as 1980s. They included blockbusters like Star Wars (1977), superman (1978), and Raiders of the Lost Ark of 1981. They featured special action and effects as well as evil and good simplistic conflicts. Bonnie and Clyde which were alluring outlaws were replaced by law and order retaliators like Robocop and Dirty Harry. Sports which were referred to as sure box officer loser came to be turned out as a most important obsession in the Hollywood. Movies like the mighty Ducks, Hoosiers, Karate kids, and Chariots of fire celebrated success as well as competitiveness. These were some of the recent developments in the Hollywood that have occurred currently. Comedies and upbeat films have replaced movies which gave a subversive and awful perspective on the people of America. Some of the comedy actors who have brought about these developments include Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Chevy Chase, and Dan Ackroyd. Digital-history (2006) argues that in late 1980s, Hollywood movies started depicting the society expressing issues like racism, neglect, and urban issues among others. Some such movies and developments included Grand Canyon, Jungle Fever, and the Boys in the hood among others. First Blood of 1982 by John Rambo captured the pain that returning Vietnam war veterans received. These were some developments that occurred as Hollywood continued to develop with developing society. Hollywood cinemas have taken another major development in recent years. Hollywood cinema has become big donator for the presidential campaigns which has attracted many politicians. It has attracted several politicians while transforming its actors to become presidents and governors. Ronald Regan was a former actor who became California governor and later president of United States. Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2003 became California governor. In 2007 February, Barrack Obama had 2300 dollars a plate of Hollywood gala. Conclusion There have been major transformations in the history of Hollywood cinemas. Several developments have occurred from change of old generations as directors to young generations who have played a great role in ensuring that they get back the glory of Hollywood. Several individuals like Josef Von Sterberg and Ernst Lubitsch have also transformed greatly the face of Hollywood with time. Other aspects like production of Jazz singers in 1927, Creation of Walt Disney’s animation, Star system and Hollywood studio system were some of the approaches and major developments that have changed significantly the face of Hollywood cinema. Realism was seen as a technical transformation and development in the Hollywood cinema. The mood of Hollywood films has shifted drastically with development of classic movies in 1980s which included blockbusters like Star Wars (1977), superman (1978), and Raiders of the Lost Ark of 1981. These are some of the major transformations that have led Hollywood develop even in the current time. Hollywood has in the current years become a major interest of politicians including Obama. Several actors like Arnold Schwarzenegger and Ronald Regan who were actors have become governors and even president in the United States. Hollywood has undergone several transformations due to significant notable development changes it has encountered with time. References Answer.com 2010, Classical Hollywood cinema, answers corporation, viewed 30 April 2010, http://www.answers.com/topic/classical-hollywood-cinema Digital-history 2006, Hollywood as History, viewed 30 April 2010, http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/historyonline/hollywood_history.cfm#top King, G. 2002, New Hollywood Cinema: An introduction, Columbia University Press, New York. Richard, M 2003, Hollywood Cinema, Blackwell publishing, Oxford, UK. Read More