Table of Contents

acknowledgements introduction: 1967 and beyond 1 superhits of the new hollywood and the roadshow era 2 from the roadshow era to the new hollywood I 3 from the roadshow era to the new hollywood II conclusion: 1977 and beyond appendices bibliography index

About the Author

Peter Kramer is Senior Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of East Anglia. He is the co-editor of Screen Acting (1999) and The Silent Cinema Reader (2004).

Reviews

'Book of the Month' Sight and Sound, February 2006 'Published as part of Wallflower's ever-expanding and comprehensive Short Cuts series in which genres, critical concepts, film histories and technologies are discussed within an historical and cultural context, the imprint has systematically covered all the major areas of undergraduate Film Studies. However, the depth of knowledge, clarity of writing and concision of thought the books display ensure that beyond forming an indispensable tool for both lectures and students they possess a more general appeal to cinema enthusiasts. In this regard, Peter Kramer's rigorous and exhaustively researched overview of a decade celebrated as a golden age in American film history is certainly no exception. Described by Time magazine as representing 'The New Cinema: Violence...Sex...Art', 1967's Bonnie and Clyde, precipitated a period of fundamental change in American film history. A film that combined commercial success with innovations drawn from European filmmaking, Arthur Penn's lyrical outlaw movie helped open the doors to a group of film school graduates who revolutionised American cinema and American film going practices. Termed the 'New Hollywood', this period is popularly viewed as terminating with the 1977 release of George Lucas' Star Wars, a science-fiction extravaganza which established new patterns of success in terms of box office and marketing tie-ins. Generally avoiding an individualistic auteur approach, Kramer makes clear his interest in 'the period's biggest hits', and offers a systematic discussion of films including The Graduate (1967), The Exorcist (1973) and Jaws (1975), relating the distinctive features of these films to changes in the film industry, its audiences and American society at large. This approach, and the author makes clear that the study does not deal with formal or stylistic developments, sheds interesting new light on the shifting sands of race, sexuality and politics and how filmmakers and audiences generally became more progressive in this regard. The author's frankly daunting command of facts and figures is exemplary and the central examination of the changing patterns of cinema attendance, production, public opinion and film content is substantiated through the lucid comparison of fourteen breakaway hits of the 1967-76 period with both the fourteen highest grossing films of the Roadshow era of 1952-65 and the most commercially successful post Star Wars top fourteen. Entering a crowded marketplace and jostling for space alongside relatively recently published works by the likes of Peter Biskind and Ryan Gilbey, this thoughtful, intense and innovative book more than holds its own. It also appears at what is another interesting juncture for American film production and consumption. The failure of a succession of high profile, big budget would-be blockbusters such as The Island contrasts sharply with the relative successes of more modestly budgeted films by directors including Wes Anderson, Alexander Payne, Miranda July and David O' Russell. Let us hope that we are entering another period of change and regeneration.' ***** Jason Wood, Time Out 'Rigorous, thorough and lucid, this book sheds new light on the New Hollywood of the late 1960s and 1970s. By placing the films of the period in a wider historical perspective, and by drawing attention to changing patterns of cinema attendance, production, public opinion and film content, it invites us to reconsider this particular era in Hollywood's history and the approach to the study of its films.' Steve Neale, University of Exeter 'Plenty of people have been happy to wave generalisations about "the blockbuster" in contemporary Hollywood. I do wonder how well a lot of those will stand scrutiny from this mass of excellent and well-organised information about what really happened, and actually worked.' Martin Barker, University of Wales, Aberystwyth 'A scholarly yet accessible new take that draws on original archive research. Kramer's argument steers readers away from the individualistic landmarks towards the movies most people were watching - the offerings of Lucas, Spielberg and their ilk - to paint a clear picture of the rise of the blockbuster ... This is an important book that elegantly negotiates a difficult pathway between introductory overview and specialist analysis. It is recommended for beginners as well as for scholars and critics looking for a new perspective on a well-trodden cinematic highway' Linda Ruth Williams, Sight and Sound