Whatever Happened to the New Hollywood?

ABSTRACT:
During the late 1960s and 1970s American cinema was dominated by a period known as the New Hollywood. After the collapse of the once dominant studio system of film production in the 1950s, the executives in Hollywood turned to a new generation of young, film school-educated directors (who came to be known as the 'movie brats') in an effort to get in touch with the youth market and rekindle the American film industry. Inspired by the auteurs of the European cinemas, these young directors were given an unprecedented level of creative control over their films and as a result lead a renaissance in the American cinema which has left us with what are widely regarded as some of the greatest films of all time. However in April 1977 the release of George Lucas's Star Wars heralded a new era of American film. The next decade and beyond of American cinema would be dominated by the 'high-concept' blockbuster film. In this thesis I intend to look at what happened to the New Hollywood cinema beyond the 'Star Wars moment'. While the critical consensus is that the New Hollywood finished somewhere between 1977 and 1980, the continued work of the key figures in the New Hollywood movement up until the present day, as well as the obvious influence that the films of the 1970s have had on the American film product that came after them, begs the question what was the place of the New Hollywood in post 1980 cinema. While it was clearly no longer the dominant movement in American cinema, is it fair to simply say it ended or has it evolved to become something else?

FEATURE FILMS:
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) – Arthur Penn
Graduate (1967) – Mike Nichols
Easy Rider (1969) – Dennis Hopper
M*A*S*H (1970) – Robert Altman
Duel (1971) – Steven Spielberg
French Connection (1971) – William Friedkin
THX 1138 (1971) – George Lucas
Godfather (1972) – Francis Ford Coppola
American Graffiti (1973) – George Lucas
Badlands (1973) – Terrence Malick
Exorcist (1973) – William Friedkin
Mean Streets (1973) – Martin Scorsese
Serpico (1973) – Sidney Lumet
Chinatown (1974) – Roman Polanski
Conversation (1974) – Francis Ford Coppola
Godfather Part 2 (1974) – Francis Ford Coppola
Dog Day Afternoon (1975) – Sidney Lumet
JAWS (1975) – Steven Spielberg
Nashville (1975) – Robert Altman
Taxi Driver (1976) – Martin Scorsese
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) – Steven Spielberg
New York, New York (1977) – Martin Scorsese
Star Wars (1977) – George Lucas
Deer Hunter (1978) – Michael Cimino
Apocalypse Now (1979) – Francis Ford Coppola
Heaven’s Gate (1980) – Michael Cimino
Raging Bull (1980) – Martin Scorsese
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) – Steven Spielberg
ET: The Extra Terrestrial (1982) – Steven Spielberg
One From the Heart (1982) – Francis Ford Coppola
The King of Comedy (1983) – Martin Scorsese
The Outsiders (1983) – Francis Ford Coppola
Rumble Fish (1983) – Francis Ford Coppola
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988) – Martin Scorsese
Goodfellas (1990) – Martin Scorsese
Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992) – Francis Ford Coppola
Jurassic Park (1993) – Steven Spielberg
Schindler’s List (1993) – Steven Spielberg
Saving Private Ryan (1998) – Steven Spielberg
Gosford Park (2001) – Robert Altman
Gangs of New York (2002) – Martin Scorsese
The Pianist (2002) – Roman Polanski
The Departed (2006) – Martin Scorsese

DOCUMENTARIES:
A Decade Under the Influence (2003) – Ted Demme & Richard LaGravenese
American Cinema (1995) – Alain Klarer
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003) – Kenneth Bowser
The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002) – Nanette Burstein & Brett Morgen
Roger Corman: Hollywoods Wild Angel (1978) – Christian Blackwood

BIBLIOGRAPHY:
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* Red indicates that I have already read/watched it. I understand that I probably won't have time to get through everything in my bibliography. I'm prioritising in working my way through it.