1.Prologue
After the end of World War II, Hollywood films began flooding back into Western Europe both to bolster the industry and to stave off the spread of Communism. Audiences in countries like France, Italy, and the U.K. were taken aback by what they saw: the optimism of pre-war Hollywood fantasies was gone, now replaced by films embodying a darker, more cynical tone. European filmmakers were also enthralled by the new wave of films being produced by independent film studios in the U.S. They were inspired to explore its potential as a highbrow art form.
French auteurs like Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut rejected traditional filmmaking conventions, and instead took an experimental approach. They shot on location instead of in studio, used improvised equipment and improvised dialogue, and incorporated shots that broke the rules of filmmaking. That included techniques like the jump cut—where a single continuous shot of a subject is broken down, with pieces of the footage removed to give the effect of jumping forwards in time—and long takes—where a single continuous shot lasts much longer than conventional editing. These techniques served to break down the illusion of reality that Hollywood films up until that point had been so focused on maintaining; it instead drew attention to the artistry on display. These French filmmakers and their distinctive style came to be called the French New Wave.
This wave of auteurist filmmaking would sweep across Europe and then overseas to countries like Japan throughout the 50s and 60s. Italian neorealism, New German Cinema, the British New Wave, the Czech New Wave, and the Japanese New Wave are just some of the groups of filmmakers to come to prominence. (We will cover these movements in greater detail at a later date.)
These movements would in turn inspire a new crop of directors to rise in Hollywood during the second half of the 60s. This generation of filmmakers and their work is called New Hollywood, or in some countries like Japan, American New Cinema.
There are varying opinions as to what directors and what films are included under the umbrella of New Hollywood and American New Cinema. It’s also unclear when exactly the movement ended, although most agree on the films that started it. Nevertheless, there are a few commonalities that New Hollywood films share: they were made by a new generation of auteurist filmmakers, and dealt with major themes of the times, including the counterculture movement, youth culture, the Vietnam War, and the dark side of American society.
In this article I will go over the seminal films of New Hollywood while exploring the movement’s defining traits and lasting importance.
2.Hollywood Tries to Find Its Way
In the previous article in this series we looked at how the Paramount Decision in 1948 was the death knell of studio system and thus brought about the end of the Golden Age of Hollywood. In the ensuing years, American movie studios would struggle to find a path forward.
Under the studio system, producers were in charge of managing the production of a film under a tight schedule and a codified division of labor. The Paramount Decision forced studios to divest themselves of their main source of profit: their theater chains. As a result, they relied increasingly on star actors, popular directors, and proven screenwriters in order to ensure their films were financed and ultimately successful. In contrast to the peak years between the 1920s and 1940s when Hollywood was literally a “dream factory", now the industry was channeling their resources into a fewer number of films.
They also realized that they could save money by shooting on location instead of paying to have elaborate sets built in their studio lots. Part of this shift was to take advantage of subsidies studios could earn by shooting abroad; also, studios could make use of frozen funds (profits from Hollywood films that foreign governments had kept within their countries).
These circumstances played a large role in the production of biblical epics like The Ten Commandments (1956) and Ben-Hur (1959), and historical epics like Lawrence of Arabia (1962) and Cleopatra (1963). These productions featured massive budgets to realize their sweeping visions—truly a genre that could only be brought to life with Hollywood resources. The biblical epic in particular was a genre that spoke to America’s protestant majority.
Since the rise of Hollywood, religious groups and conservative groups throughout America saw tinseltown as a hotbed of moral depravity. Their fear of the damaging effect movies would have on the values and psyche of America’s youth would lead Hollywood to self-implement the Hays Code in the mid-1930s to remove questionable material from their films. However, in the postwar era the Hays Code gradually lost its influence, and was ultimately rendered obsolete with the introduction of the ratings system in 1968.
In a way, biblical epics were a loophole—a way to circumvent the Code while it was still in effect. While religious groups boasted moral superiority, the truth of the matter is that the Bible (especially the Old Testament) depicts plenty of cruel, violent tales and scandalous acts. Accordingly, biblical epics were able to depict infidels engaging in decadence, adultery, orgies, and more (albeit not as graphically as they would be today). The catch was that the infidels had to be shown paying for their sins, at the mercy of the power of God. In effect, the films were a way for Christian believers to experience the thrill of depravity vicariously, while ultimately being able to leave the theater with their beliefs having being confirmed.
Biblical and historical epics were largely successful in drawing audiences back to the theater between the 50s and early 60s. However, in Hollywood’s obsession with differentiating itself from TV through its production of epics, it forgot to keep making quality movies that appealed to its audiences. Meanwhile, it continued to experiment with different gimmicks like 3D and different widescreen formats, which only inflated budgets further and put studios further in the red.
This era of Hollywood excess culminated in the Elizabeth Taylor-starring epic Cleopatra. This film kicked off production with a budget of 2 million dollars, which ended up ballooning into 44 million (about 330 million dollars today). Taylor herself became the first actor to be paid a million dollar salary for her role. Although Cleopatra ended up becoming the number one grossing film of the year in terms of American box office, 20th Century Fox was almost driven to bankruptcy because of the production costs. It would not be until years later that the film earned back its cost through television licensing.
The other issue with epics was running time. The Ten Commandments is about 3 hours and 40 minutes, Ben-Hur is about 3-and-a-half hours, Lawrence of Arabia is about 3 hours and 50 minutes, and Cleopatra is about 4 hours. A two-hour running time would allow for much quicker audience turnover.
20th Century Fox was saved from bankruptcy by the worldwide success of 1965’s The Sound of Music. Musicals were Hollywood’s other favorite genre during this transitional period—a feel-good spectacle that the entire family could enjoy. 1961’s West Side Story is one such example. Musicals involved lavish sets and lots of movement, which was perfect for widescreen presentation; stereophonic sound was the ideal way to enjoy the music. At least that’s how the movie industry marketed the technology.
In 1964, My Fair Lady enchanted audiences around the world and was both a critical and commercial success. With a budget of 17 million dollars, it was the most expensive movie shot in the U.S. up until that point. Although most of star Audrey Hepburn’s singing was dubbed by singer Marni Dixon, her star value was undisputed, and she became the first actor to be paid a million dollars for a musical.
After The Sound of Music became a worldwide phenomenon in 1965, Hollywood studios scrambled to duplicate 20th Century Fox’s success with a string of musicals. Here, again, Hollywood became so obsessed with producing musicals, so convinced that simply throwing money at a production was the solution that it forgot to make good movies that appealed to audiences. Ballooning budgets for musicals would place a further financial strain on movie studios. What the industry failed to realize was that Broadway showtunes had only limited appeal in the rock ’n’ roll age of Bob Dylan and The Beatles.
3.The Birth of New Hollywood
Some critics saw the epics and gimmicks that Hollywood pursued during this era as the birth of a “New Hollywood", but with the benefit of hindsight it is clear that this era was more of a last hoorah—or the last gasp—of Hollywood’s Golden Age. It would take a few more years and several national tragedies before New Hollywood would truly arrive. Meanwhile, the industry’s strategy of throwing its money at spectacles allowed it to delay inevitable change, but movie studios increasingly found themselves in dire financial straits.
This disconnect between Hollywood’s obsession with epics and the mood of the general public was reflective of a demographic shift. The G.I. Bill had allowed World War II veterans to go back to school, which made them more intellectually curious and sensitive to art; furthermore, their experience on the front lines had exposed them to European culture. Many were no longer content with mere escapist fantasies. They had matured, and now it was Hollywood’s turn to adapt.
Even bigger than the maturation of the wartime generation was the growth of their children—the baby boomers. The baby boomers—especially whites—rebelled against their parents’ middle-class suburban values and materialism, and became hippies at the forefront of the counterculture movement. For them, old Hollywood was antiquated. For Hollywood, the young people were a puzzle that they could not seem to solve. While the industry struggled to draw their attention, they had already shifted their gaze to imported films from France, Italy, and Japan.
With nothing left to lose, Hollywood turned to a promising new generation of filmmakers, handing them the reins to the filmmaking process and their resources. That generation of filmmakers had been heavily influenced by the various new wave movements coming out of France, Italy, and beyond. They channeled the frustration and cynicism in the ether into artistically and culturally rich films. Their efforts were bolstered by the fact that the Hays Code was replaced by the rating system in 1968; they were now free to pursue their vision without compromise. The films these directors made between the late 60s and early 70s are collectively referred to as New Hollywood.
One of the first films to herald the arrival of New Hollywood was Mike Nichols’ 1967 coming-of-age film The Graduate. Nichols hired unknown stage actor Dustin Hoffman for the main role—a recent college graduate with no direction in life who moves back home, where he is seduced by an older woman, only to fall in love with her daughter. In the iconic last scene, the protagonist crashes a wedding and runs off with the bride in dramatic fashion. However, the final shot is of the two sitting at the back of a bus, the excitement of the moment wearing off, heading toward an uncertain future. The film signifies the end of the Hays Code, as well as the general malaise of America’s youth as the 60s was coming to a close.
That feeling of heading toward an uncertain future is also central to Dennis Hopper’s 1969 road movie Easy Rider. Hopper and Peter Fonda play two hippies who sit astride their motorcycles as if they were cowboys riding off into the sunset. The pair is depicted as tragic heroes who go up against the Establishment. The final scene, where they are suddenly and brutally blasted off of their motorcycles by rednecks, foreshadows a swing back towards conservatism.
Speaking of brutal depictions of violence, another seminal early New Hollywood film is Bonnie and Clyde, which was released in 1967, the same year as The Graduate. It follows Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow as they embark on a bank-robbing spree characterized by anti-establishment rebellion. The film is notable for many reasons: the fact that criminals are portrayed as heroes, its realistic depiction of people being shot and dying, and the air of sexual tension and innuendo.
The violence in Bonnie and Clyde can be interpreted as commentary on the escalating Vietnam War. In the final scene, the protagonists are ambushed by the police and riddled with bullets; the use of excessive force and firepower to capture two outlaws mirrors the U.S. government pouring men and resources into the conflict.
Another important early New Hollywood film is the 1969 western The Wild Bunch. Directed by Sam Peckinpah a.k.a. Bloody Sam, this film depicts a group of outlaw gunslingers attempting to come to terms with the end of the Wild West frontier era. The violence signifies the death of the conventional western and the lone hero stereotype; in its bloodiness it also questions the price of the Vietnam War.
4.Films About the Counterculture Movement and Youth Culture
These early New Hollywood films would resonate with young audiences across America, setting the stage for a new wave of visionary, culturally relevant auteuristic studio and independent films. Many of those films tackled the counterculture movement and youth culture head-on.
If The Graduate captured the uncertainty that lied just on the other side of college graduation, the 1970 film The Strawberry Statement captured the essence of college life at the time. Based on the nonfiction book by American author James Kunen, it is a first-person documentary of the Columbia University protests of 1968. The film is set at a fictional California university, where a student indifferent to the political upheaval around him is gradually pulled into the student protests. The title is a reference to a statement made by a vice dean at Columbia University: “Whether students vote ‘yes’ or ‘no’ on a given issue means as much to me as if they were to tell me they like strawberries."
Another film that captures the counterculture zeitgeist is Woodstock: The Director’s Cut – Three Days of Peace and Music. This 1970 concert film documents the Woodstock Festival, which took place on August 15th, 1969, and symbolized the peak of the hippie movement. In the months and years that followed, the movement would sink into disillusionment as the quagmire of the Vietnam War dragged on and on. The film won Best Documentary Feature at the Academy Awards, and set the tone for concert films to come. Martin Scorsese is credited as an editor on the film.
Other films, like The Graduate, captured the rudderlessness of young American men during the early 70s. Hal Ashby’s 1971 coming-of-age film Harold and Maude is one of the best. It follows a young man who stages elaborate suicide pranks in order to get his parents to see him as he befriends an elderly Holocaust survivor and learns about the joy of living.
Another seminal coming-of-age film from this era is George Lucas’s 1973 film American Graffiti. Based on his own adolescence, the film is set in Modesto, California in the early 60s, and depicts a night in the life of a group of recent high school graduates obsessed with girls, cars, and rock ’n’ roll. The nostalgia for the innocence of the early 60s is palpable.
Many of the films produced during this period that feature a female protagonist have strong horror elements—something that can be construed as a reflection of the women’s liberation movement that had emerged in the late 60s. Three famous examples are Roman Polansky’s Rosemary’s Baby (1968), William Friedkin’s The Exorcist (1973), and Brian De Palma’s Carrie (1976). These films depict young women being violated or possessed by an evil spirit, or being tormented by their human peers; in this way they portray women at the mercy of a male-dominated society, unable to exercise control over their own bodies. In the bloody climax of Carrie, she unleashes her telekinetic powers and kills her classmates and teachers. Some view the film as a tale of women’s empowerment, but more than anything the depiction of women as inhuman or monster-like speaks to deeply-rooted misogyny.
Other New Hollywood films reflect the changing attitudes towards love and sexuality. The era produced a number of romantic comedies that explore the anxiety and the trials and tribulations of young Jewish men in love. Elaine May’s 1972 film The Heartbreak Kid is one such film, and was directed, produced, written by Jewish-Americans. It is the story of a nebbish, self-absorbed Jewish man who has just gone through a traditional Jewish wedding; while on his honeymoon, he meets and pursues a blonde Midwestern college girl, and impulsively ends his marriage in order to pursue his ideal woman. Among Jewish communities, tradition was sacred—meaning that families frowned on marrying outside of the religion. In other words, the idea of a Jewish man being charmed by a non-Jewish woman was a fantasy of rebellion.
Speaking of nebbish Jewish men, Woody Allen is another director that is frequently associated with New Hollywood. Allen made his debut in the 60s as a comedy writer for television, and started writing and directing movies in the second half of the 60s. It’s arguable whether his 1977 film Annie Hall belongs on the list of New Hollywood movies—it’s arguable whether Allen himself can be labeled as “Hollywood"—but it is the culmination of romantic comedy centered on the neurotic Jewish man. The film is about one such man, played by Allen, who tries to figure out why his relationship with the titular non-Jewish woman, played by Diane Keaton, has failed.
Another important New Hollywood film in the way it tackles sexual topics is John Schlesinger’s 1969 drama Midnight Cowboy. It follows a young Texan who moves to New York City and becomes a male prostitute, and befriends a con man with limp who dreams of moving to the carefree beaches of Miami. It is the only X-rated film ever to win Best Picture at the Academy Awards.
William Friedkin’s 1970s drama The Boys in the Band is notable for being one of the first major Hollywood pictures to center on gay characters. It is the story of a group of gay men in New York City who gather together one evening for a birthday celebration. This film also features a “Cowboy” who is a male prostitute; the portrayal of cowboys in these two last films reflects a shift away from the stereotypical depiction of Western machismo.
5.Films About War, Politics, and the Darkside of American Society
The aforementioned Bonnie and Clyde and The Wild Bunch address in an indirect way the fragile state of the world at the time, with the spectre of nuclear war looming and the Vietnam War devolving into a quagmire.
Other films of the era addressed these issues in a much more overt way. The zombie apocalypse depicted in George A. Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (1968), for example, is a clear metaphor for the Cold War. The shocking last scene, where the Black protagonist survives the zombie hoard only to be shot by a posse of white men mistaking him for a zombie, reflects the racial tensions and upheaval of the times—but it continues to resonate today.
1968’s Planet of the Apes is one of the most essential science fiction movies to come out of this era. Based upon a sci-fi novel of the same name, it centers on three astronauts who crash land on an unknown planet and find themselves on the run from talking apes astride on horses. In the famous final shot, Charlton Heston discovers that the planet they have been on was Earth all along, only thousands of years in the future after civilization has been destroyed in nuclear war.
This era also produced films that directly commented on the Vietnam War. Peter Bogdanovich’s 1968 film Targets is notable for its depiction of a Vietnam War veteran who suddenly goes on a killing spree; the story was partly inspired by the University of Texas tower shooting in 1966.
Speaking of veterans, Martin Scorsese’s Taxi Driver (1976) is a cinematic masterpiece that deals with the aftermath of the Vietnam War on the domestic front. Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a lonely taxi driver struggling with insomnia that views the dysfunction and prostitution that he witnesses throughout New York City with disgust. This film is one of the last great movies to come out of the New Hollywood movement.
Then there’s Robert Altman’s M*A*S*H, a black comedy war film that is set during the Korean War but is clearly about the Vietnam War going on at the time it was made. It depicts the daily lives of a unit of medical personnel stationed at a Mobile Army Surgical Hospital. The film won grand prize at the 1970 Cannes Film Festival (later named the Palme d’Or), and proved to be such a hit that a TV show by the same name ran between 1972 and 1983, becoming one of the highest-rated TV shows in U.S. history.
Francis Ford Coppola’s The Conversation (1974) and Alan J. Pakula All the President’s Men (1976) are two important films that deal with the paranoia and mistrust that people had in American government at the time. The former is a mystery thriller about a surveillance expert that realizes his recordings reveal a potential murder, while the latter is a political thriller about the 1972 Watergate Scandal that brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon. It follows Woodward and Bernstein, two journalists investigating the scandal, played by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman, respectively.
All of these films were gritty portrayals of what society was like (or could be like in the future), based not in Hollywood fantasy but in reality. Instead of averting their eyes from society’s problems, these filmmakers decided to address things head-on. In the process they completely changed the face of Hollywood.
