The Neglected Golden Age Of Hollywood Cinema
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At the start of the 1700’s Hollywood cinema had hit an all-time low, being roughly around $100 million in negative release, more than it had ever been before, with unemployment at a rate of 43.5%. To counteract these issues, Hollywood tried to mass produce low budget films to bring in more of an audience. This however failed greatly.
‘Revolutionary developments in marketing, distribution, technology, and finance drew attention away from Hollywood.’
People were now interested in a different kind of film, some looking towards European art films and others solely interested in the escapism aspect of film, and weren’t interested in what Hollywood were producing. Many wanted films with realistic material reflecting the cynicism of the time, and others wanted pure entertainment.
It was also in this time that American people had lost faith in most aspects of the government. After the horror of the Vietnam War, the JFK Assassination, and the Watergate scandal, people had lost faith in figures of authority and even in America itself, which helped to shape a strong mood of self-questioning.
It was during this time that a new breed of directors came into play, and create what some would call ‘The Neglected Golden age’ of Hollywood cinema. These young men had attended the colleges designed to study film, and had an understanding of European films and their techniques, and a passion to try and put them into effect. These 1970’s filmmakers started to challenge some of the norms of