What is meant by “New Hollywood” New Hollywood, also known as the American New Wave, refers to the innovative movement in American film history during the late 1960s to early 1980s where young filmmakers gained creative control, emphasizing narrative style, and realism.
The Hollywood studio system started declining when TVs became more prominent and popular in American households. The habit of going to the cinema once a week was being broken because of at home entertainment. The film Cleopatra was a big flop, 20th century fox lost a lot of profit because of this film, which weakened young people’s confidence in the current studios. Young people found entertainment in French NewWave cinema, which was on topic for their generation and more experimental.
1. The Graduate (director) mike Nichols, melodrama, romance 1967
2. Midnight Cowboy (director) John Schlesinger, drama 1969
3. The Wild Bunch (director) Sam Peckinpah, western adventure 1969
4. Easy Rider: (director) Dennis Hopper, road adventure 1969
He establishment had lost its audience and not addressed them, leading to films like the graduate and easy rider being made.
Disgraced politician RICHARD NIXON. Watergate revolved around members of a group associated with Nixon’s 1972 re-election campaign breaking into and planting listening devices in the Democratic National Committee headquarters at the Watergate Office Building in Washington, D.C., on June 17, 1972,
Vietnam war, proxy war America tried to stop the spread of communism through the Vietcong. Protests all over America rose which led to violence around the country.
In the ghettos black Americans started protesting because of racial discrimination.
RFK and MLK get shot weeks apart in the late 1960s
What is meant by the cinematic term French New Wave– The term French New Wave comes from the French film movement which was incredibly self-aware and rejected the traditional styles of classical filmmaking, leading to an experimental era of film, which notably influenced American filmmaking styles for years to come. 50s-60s. Working with a low budget because of post ww2 France.
•What specific stylistic and structural elements are present in French New Wave Films?
- Deemphasized plot & dialogue was often improvised
- Jump cuts rather than continuity editing
- Location shooting
- Handheld cameras- Gives a documentary style
- Long takes
- Direct sound & available light (live recordings, often didn’t adjust light)
•Which directors and films from the French New Wave influenced Arthur Penn as he was making Bonnie and Clyde? Why do you think this was the case? François Truffaut inspired Arthur Penn, particularly with his film Jules Et Jim which was a 1962 French new wave film- this film challenged the gender ideals of men and women which could also be seen in Bonnie and Clyde 1967 while also utilising voiceovers, snappy editing and fast pacing to show the newer European era of cinema.
•Identify at least 3 scenes from Bonnie and Clyde where stylistic links are created with French New Wave cinema and say why this was the case. In the opening scene of Bonnie and Clyde we can see an extreme close-up shot of Bonnie which breaks the traditional style of the classic establishing shot. The multiple jump cuts of Bonnie in the first scene creatively showcase the influence of snappy fast paced editing that French directors started to use in this era. The use of jump cuts speed up the pace of the film which was enjoyable for younger generations of America and Europe.
Another notable scene in Bonnie and Clyde which showcased the French new wave influence was the famous death scene. Penn ends this film with a cut to black to show that his characters were dead and gone. There was no tidying up the end of the story or hopeful resolutions which was a direct steer away from the traditional classical Hollywood style. There was an abundance of violence in this scene, it was bloody and chaotic. Penn’s use of violence shows the move away from the Hayes code which limited violence and crude acts. This showcase of violence was an allegory for the Vietnam war which acts were dutifully hidden from the Americans at home. The ending of Bonnie and Clyde ushered ideas that criminals might be loveable, adding to the idea that violence could be art.
Lastly, when bonnie meets her family, and then cuts to her running through the field this scene is another notable example of the break away from the classical Hollywood style which always made the effort to frame the characters. The handheld shaky camera shows the influence of a documentary style of filmmaking which made its way over from France during this era. A filter is used in this scene which creatives a dream-like atmosphere which connotes a life that Bonnie could have lived if her life was not corrupted by crime. This also subverts from the technical rules followed by directors in classical Hollywood who did not experiment with filters and colour (post 1927).
1.How did New Hollywood directors like Penn approach film narratives? Penn abandoned the traditional “prude” style of filmmaking commonly used by directors in the classical era who were under the Hayes code. Penn used brutal violence, sexual innuendos, and casual humour in Bonnie and Clyde specifically to show the change from traditional Hollywood to the new Hollywood.
2.What is discontinuity editing? discontinuity editing is an editing style that is the opposite of classical editing. In a discontinuous sequence, the filmmaker will deliberately use an arrangement of shots that seem out of place or confusing relative to a traditional narrative. There’s no smooth or logical flow to the shots as they are edited together. This can seem disorienting or ambiguous, but it is used to demand participation on the part of the audience to engage in the intention of the plot
A great example of discontinuity editing is the famous (and favourite of mine) ritual/killing of colonel Kurtz in Apocalypse Now. The disorientating cuts between Willard and the ritual show the morality and differences between the American soldiers compared to the Cambodian tribe, ultimately showing the death, killing, and violence takes shape in every culture, but is perceived differently as to reason of cause. To further explain this… Willard has been sent on a mission by the American government to kill Kurtz for his actions with the Cambodian tribe. Willard began his journey travelling up the Cambodian river from Vietnam, he starts with American ideals of patriotism which is paired with continuity editing. Slowly as he gets closer to Kurtz leading him to the ritual scene, discontinuity editing takes over showing Willard’s loss of morality as he begins to take the place of Kurtz, falling into ideals of animalistic killing shown through the water buffalo killing (which was a very real water Buffalo being killed)
3.Why is this time in film production sometimes referred to as “The Rise of the Auteurs” in Hollywood? in “Old Hollywood” many actors, producers and studios were credited as the main workers on a film and given the spotlight. Once the French new wave era started many thought that the directors or the “Auteurs” should be credited as the storytellers of the film. The directors started to be seen as the creative driving force.
4.What is the lasting impact of the New Hollywood style on modern films? We can see the lasting impact of the French new Wave era in films today, With projects like Francis Ford Coppola’s Megalopolis (2024) which used experimental editing with aspect ratio. Or we could go back to 1994 to see Quentin Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction which creatively used discontinuity editing to piece together multiple storylines into one. Martin Scorsese also used many French New Wave influences in his films like Casino which used snappy jump cuts to showcase the rise of Ace Goldstein’s casino.