The Sixties: 1960-1969 / Edition 1

by Paul Monaco

Overview

Amid the turbulence of political assassinations, the civil rights struggle, and antiwar protests, American society was experiencing growing affluence and profound cultural change during the 1960s. The film industry gradually redirected its energies, resulting in a distinctive break from traditional business and stylistic practice and emergence of a new "cinema of sensation." Feature films became faster-paced and more graphic, the antihero took his place alongside the classic Hollywood hero, and "downer" films like Midnight Cowboy proved as popular as those with upbeat fare. Paul Monaco gives a sweeping view of this exhilarating decade, ranging from the visceral sensation of Bonnie and Clyde, to the comic-book satire of Dr. Strangelove, to the youthful alienation of The Graduate.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780520238046
Publisher:	University of California Press
Publication date:	06/01/2003
Series:	History of the American Cinema , #8
Edition description:	First Edition
Pages:	359
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Paul Monaco is Professor of Cinema/Video at Montana State University, Bozeman. Among his books are Understanding Society, Culture, and Television (1998) and Ribbons in Time: Movies and Society since 1945 (1987). He has twice received Fulbright fellowships to Germany.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments
Contributors
Introduction

1 Hollywood Faces New Challenges
2 Changing Patterns of Production and the Arrival of the Conglomerates
3 The Runaway Audience and the Changing World of Movie Exhibition
4 The Waning Production Code and the Rise of the Ratings System
5 The Camera Eye
6 The Cutter's Room
7 Sound and Music
8 The Twilight of the Goddesses: Hollywood Actresses in the 1960s
9 Male Domination of the Hollywood Screen
10 The Establishment Judges: Academy Awards for Best Picture
11 Landmark Movies of the 196os and the Cinema of Sensation
12 The Nonfiction Film
    Richard M. Barsam
13 "What Went Wrong?": The American Avant-Garde Cinema of the 196os
    Walter Metz
    
Conclusion
Appendixes

APPENDIX 1 NUMBER OF FEATURE FILMS RELEASED BY THE SEVEN
           MAJOR DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES, 1960-1968, 1970
APPENDIX 2 NUMBER AND FREQUENCY OF THEATRICAL AND MADE-FOR-TV
           FEATURE FILMS ON U.S. NETWORK TELEVISION, 1961/62-1970/71
APPENDIX 3 NUMBER OF MOTION PICTURE THEATERS IN THE UNITED STATES
APPENDIX 4 CONSTRUCTION OF NEW MOTION PICTURE THEATERS
           IN THE UNITED STATES, BY TYPE
APPENDIX 5 MOTION PICTURE BOX OFFICE RECEIPTS IN THE UNITED STATES
APPENDIX 6 RELEASES IN WIDESCREEN PROCESSES, 1960-1968
APPENDIX 7 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS AND WINNERS (IN BOLD) FOR
           BEST PICTURE, 1960-1969
APPENDIX 8 SELECTED AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE FILMS OF THE SIXTIES, BY YEAR

Notes
Bibliography
Picture Sources
General Index
Index of Films

Editorial Reviews

Nowhere was the cultural upheaval of the 1960s more dramatically expressed than in the motion picture industry. Groundbreaking films such as The Wild Bunch, Dr. Strangelove, and Easy Rider marked a sharp contrast to the predominately tame, conventional fare of the previous decade. Monaco (cinema and video, Montana State Univ.) skillfully delineates this transformation. While the big studio system faded, the old downtown movie theaters and outdoor drive-ins were gradually replaced by a proliferation of multiplexes owned by corporate conglomerates. Adherence to the time-honored Hollywood "Production Code" significantly relaxed, resulting in more sexually frank films, such as Blow-Up and I Am Curious (Yellow), and an increase in screen violence, exemplified by Bonnie and Clyde. The author provides detailed analyses of the technical aspects of filmmaking innovations and advances in editing, such as the jump-cuts and fast/slow motion so effectively used in A Hard Day's Night. He also explores the changes in soundtrack music, caused by the termination of studios' in-house orchestras, and the disappointments of the avant-garde film genre. Highly recommended for cinema collections. Richard W. Grefrath, Univ. of Nevada Lib., Reno Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Library Journal

Monaco (cinema/video, Montana State U., Bozeman) examines the over- arching issues of this tumultuous period, such as competition with other leisure activities, transformation of the theater, changes in production, the arrival of conglomerates, as well as the transformations of elements standard to the media: camera shots, screen size, editing techniques, production codes, and popular types in actors and actresses. The book includes chapters by Richard Barsam (film studies, Hunter College CUNY) and Walter Metz (motion pictures, MSU, Bozeman) on non-fiction and avant-garde, respectively. Illustrated with many b&w photos. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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