The Films of the 1970s
The Most Important and Memorable Era in Film History
The films of the 1970's were attempts to explore the mindsets of a society undergoing tremendous change through honest portrayals of real people
Films are not what they used to be. Today, films are concerned about profits, merchandising and exploitation of success. There is no art in film, unless one ventures into the world of independent filmmaking. In Hollywood, there is no such thing as ‘films’ but rather ‘movies’. The vision and dreams of an artist/director are corrupted for the sake of a guaranteed success. Where that may be true today was definitely not true in the late 1960s and 1970s. This was an unprecedented era which saw the rise of the artist. Writers, directors and actors took center stage; not the studios. In retrospect, for as short of period as it did last, these few years epitomized the greatest era of filmmaking ever.
During the 1960s, film studios had lost control of their audiences. With the Civil Rights and Feminist movements, the Sexual Revolution and the Vietnam War, society was undergoing tremendous change. In regards to film, society no longer wanted to voyeuristically partake in the false, homogenized, happy images presented to them. They wanted realism and stories about people they could relate to. These were not happy times and, as a result, the studios were unaware of how to proceed. Was this the end of entertainment? They needed to find a way to once again capture the hearts of the mainstream.
With so much turmoil present, this time of change became a paranoid and frightening experience for some. For others, it was a chance to emerge and stand out as difference makers. In regards to film, writers, directors and actors (not under the control of the studio system and fresh out of film school), did something that had never been done before. They overtook the film world with their realistic, unflinching portraits of real people. Films were no longer concerned about a story but rather rich characterizations of the everyman/woman that society could relate to at the time. These films were not trying to sell the mainstream but were actually undermining it. They were attempting to be everything that Hollywood was not.
This was a time where artists were under no stress to produce a financial hit. Minor studios willing to take a chance on the artist allowed a tremendous amount of creative freedom and, as a result, there was to be no contamination of the artist’s vision.
Soon however, Hollywood slowly began to comprehend the movement that was occurring and wisely moved in on this “independent and innovative way” of making films. They began to move away from the mega-costing epics (which were not guaranteed to make a profit) and focus more on smaller films, that cost little to produce, which audiences seemed to enjoy at this time. Films such as The Graduate (1967), Easy Rider (1969), Five Easy Pieces (1970) Mean Streets (1973), Jaws (1975) and so on were all tremendous successes and garnered much critical acclaim and awards.
What is truly upsetting however is that this type of filmmaking eventually came to an end. Bloated egos, inflated budget costs for outlandish visions and the rise of the summer blockbuster (Jaws and Star Wars (1977) all but put an end to this style of filmmaking. The studios once again gained control.
This was the greatest era of filmmaking, in regards to being understood as an art-form, and it is perfectly captured in the book (in tremendous detail), Easy Riders and Raging Bulls (1998) written by Peter Biskind. It is definitely ironic that what began this all important era (dedication to vision and character) became a parody of itself by the end. They had the power and they blew it. What a shame.
*Some of the directors (known as ‘movie brats’) that emerged during this time were Hal Ashby, Peter Bogdanovich, Brian De Palma, Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg. Actors such as Warren Beatty, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and Robert De Niro were also significant members of this era of filmmaking as well.
