The Seventies

Divided into two distinct periods as far as film history goes

Saturday Night Fever, 1977

The Seventies
The VietnamWatergate years 1970-1977

The Seventies
And after Star Wars

The Seventies
Vietnam continues Invasion of Cambodia by Nixon sparked more numerous and more violent protests on college campuses Finally exited the most unpopular war in history in history in 1975

The Seventies
Social gains eroded by economic recession Foreign competition led to first ever trade deficit OPEC oil embargo in 1973 lowered production & raised prices - to $3.65 a barrel! (now its $78)

The Seventies
The Civil Rights movement became more radicalized Rise of AfricanAmerican cinema Positive images like Sounder

The Seventies
Blaxploitation
Employed a large number of African Americans in front of and behind the camera Attacked by NAACP for negative images

The Seventies
Paranoia and disillusionment were prominent as cinematic themes

The Seventies
Watergate - Break-in at Democratic National Committee in the Watergate Hotel -1972 Spiro Agnew, Vice president, resigns in 1973 because of bribery charges Resignation of Richard Nixon in 1974 Gerald Ford becomes the only president who was never elected

The Seventies
Watergate Casualties and Convictions
one presidential resignation one vice-presidential resignation 40 government officials indicted or jailed

The Seventies
While the country was falling apart, the American cinema underwent a renaissance Film attendance began to rise Younger executives at studios were more receptive to new talent and ideas Young directors to relate to the youth market

Francis Ford Coppola, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Roman Polanski & Martin Scorsese

The Seventies
Even though production costs increased 200% between 1968 and 1976, studios were making money Capital put into 6-8 large productions with broad appeal Offbeat/risky films were financed independently and distributed through studios so they werent risking too much money Tax shelters allowed financiers to write off failures easily

The Seventies
Tight plots of Classical cinema deemed old fashioned & massmarket Grand Hotel formula
Ensemble casts with lots of characters (40 in Nashville) Loose episodic structures No clear resolution

Nashville, 1975

The Seventies
Genre & Revisionism
Reverses or undercut the classical idea

Cabaret, 1972

The Seventies
Heroes were no longer heroic

Chinatown, 1974

The Seventies
Loosening of production code led to the most explicit sex ever put on screen Porn was suddenly very popular Not a great period for love stories - sex often fused with violence Only top ten female star of the period was Barbra Streisand

The Seventies
While movies became more masculine, the Feminist movement was on the rise Women, when they did get a starring, sympathetic part, were often helpless and dependant While female stars became less bankable, women lost power in Hollywood Were not welcomed into directing

A Woman Under the Influence, 1974

Alice Doesnt Live Here Anymore, 1974

The Seventies
Joan Micklin Silvers Hester Street, 1975 Elaine Mays The Heartbreak Kid, 1972

The Seventies
The rise of the Buddy Film Men only needed other men

Midnight Cowboy & Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid, 1969

The Seventies
Movies became much more technical and stylish
Scorsese, Lucas, Spielberg along with established directors like Peckinpah, Kubrick & Fosse

Jaws, 1975 A Clockwork Orange, 1971

The Seventies
Directors still coming from television
Robert Altman

And from Europe

John Schlesinger Ridley Scott John Boorman Roman Polanski

The Seventies
Acting
Peter Fonda Warren Beatty Elaine May Paul Newman John Cassavetes Mel Brooks Woody Allen

The Seventies
and film school
Francis Ford Coppola George Lucas Brian DePalma and Martin Scorsese

The Seventies
The Landlord, 1970 Dir. By Hal Ashby
With Beau Bridges, Lee Grant, Diana Sands, Louis Gossett Jr., Pearl Bailey Shot by Gordon Willis(The Godfather films, Annie Hall)

The Seventies
Anti-establishment values Not optimistic Deals with
Race relations Gentrification Class Youth vs Age

The Seventies
Hal Ashby (1928-1988)
Grew up Mormon Began as an editor (Best Editing Oscar in 1967 for In the Heat of the Night) Edited for Norman Jewison who recommended him to direct The Landlord, his first film His films are hard to classify Use of music, biting humor & unusual camera placement

The Seventies
After a string of offbeat hits, his career and personal life went into decline after the Jaws/Star Wars years no one wanted quirky, thoughtful films Always difficult to work with, he made a string of questionable films after Being There before he died of cancer at 59 Cited by Judd Apatow & Wes Anderson as a major influence

The Seventies
Beau Bridges (1941-)
Son of Lloyd, brother of Jeff Numerous film & television from Norma Rae to My Name is Earl

Lee Grant, (1927-)

Acting since childhood, first Oscar nomination in 1952 Blacklisted in the 1950s Nominated for The Landlord, she won for another Ashby film, Shampoo 1976 Now a director (Directors Guild Award for Nobodys Child & Oscar for Down & Out in America)

The Seventies
Louis Gossett Jr., (1936-)
Career spans 50 years Oscar for An Officer & A Gentleman although you may know him from Stargate SG-1

Diana Sands, (1934 -1973)

Influential in breaking down race barriers on stage Most famous for the original production & film of A Raisin in the Sun

The Seventies
Pearl Bailey, 1918-1990
Dancer & singer in Vaudeville although never formally trained Numerous film & stage roles, most famously, the all-African American version of Hello Dolly Graduated from Georgetown University at age 67 A Republican, she campaigned for both the Nixon and Ford as well as attending UN sessions as Fords special ambassador A Met fan, she also sand the national anthem in the 69 World Series