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Movies in the 1940s, like everything else at the time, were dominated by the war. However, instead of facing shortages like most people, the industry was well supported by the government thanks to its morale boosting qualities. The 1940's brought about new advancements in the film industry. Film makers introduced new ideas such as sound recording, special effects, color use, and lighting, that made movies more popular and enjoyable to watch. Horror films used techniques such as fog and stop motion to capture their audience and pull them into the terror. In order for the film producers to successfully do stop motion, the actor would have to sit still for hours, upon hours while the makeup was gradually applied. They used this in films such as
During the Great Depression, people went to the movies to get their mind off things and to forget about things temporarily. Life was portrayed a few different ways during the Great Depression. Different genres of film gave different perspectives on what life was like. The three genres compared are comedy, gangster, and musical films. Room Service and Modern Times are two films in the comedy genre and they portrayed a worry-free lifestyle. The Public Enemy is a gangster film and it had a dangerous lifestyle. Last, but not least, is Gold Diggers of 1933 and it is a pretty happy film. These films all had one thing in common though; the characters all had problems with money, which greatly relates to the Great Depression.
Slowly she asked "Is anyone there?" as she walked down the dark deserted road. When she heard a loud sound she turned abruptly trying again "Hello?" Met with only silence she picked up here pace almost running down the dirt road. Her nerves had just began to calm when she heard "WRRRREEENNNNNRRRRRRR" as a chainsaw started behind her. Running she started looking behind her hoping that whoever it was, wouldn’t catch her. With her lack of concentration she tripped over her high heels and face plants into the dirt, giving the murderer a chance to catch up. Slowly he lowered the chainsaw and began cutting --CUT -- This is a common plot used in horror movies today. Movies have changed over the years. They were different five years ago, fifty years ago, and even a almost a century ago. Technologies have unthinkable things possible. They have allowed us to re-sink "the unsinkable ship." They have allowed us to see dinosaurs in all their brutal glory. We have seen imaginary creatures, only ever mentioned in stories brought to life. Movies have moved so far from the 1920's and 1930's. They have developed ideals, rules and even standards; but where did they begin? Did movies just fall out of the sky? Did they just come into being? No they began slowly, silently moving towards a new era, the era we today call "Pre-code Hollywood"
German cinema was greatly affected during the Nazi movement between 1933 and 1945. Once appointed Chancellor of Germany on January 30, 1933 Hitler wasted no time and almost immediately began working on his propaganda strategy. Typically “propaganda targets a mass audience and relies on mass media to persuade. Propaganda is aimed at large numbers of people and, as such, relies on mass communication to reach its audience” (Gass, 14). The Nazi party used film propaganda to brainwash the German people, distract them from the harsh reality of the Nazi party, and attempt to intimidate the enemy. Hitler knew propaganda entailed mass persuasion and he knew just how to get his message out there; film. It was through the use of propaganda, largely film that made the Nazi party so powerful as they redefined propaganda.
Beginning roughly with the release of Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove: Or How I Stopped Worrying and Loved the Bomb in 1964, and continuing for about the next decade, the “Sixties” era of filmmaking made many lasting impressions on the motion picture industry. Although editing and pacing styles varied greatly from Martin Scorcesse’s hyperactive pace, to Kubrick’s slow methodical pace, there were many uniform contributions made by some of the era’s seminal directors. In particular, the “Sixties” saw the return of the auteur, as people like Francis Ford Coppola and Stanley Kubrick wrote and directed their own screenplays, while Woody Allen wrote, directed and starred in his own films. Kubrick, Coppola and Allen each experimented with characterization, narrative and editing techniques. By examining the major works of these important directors, their contributions become more apparent.
In the early 1930’s entertainment started to become popular. The reason for that was due to the Great Depression. Entertainment took people’s minds off of the struggles that were being faced. Country and blues were forms of music that were introduced during this time, but the 1930’s was mainly a time of jazz. Broadway and movies became more advanced and more popular then too. “Movies, music, and Broadway all combined to provide as an escape from the dreary life of the depression.”(Walker n.pag.) Throughout the 1930's people would turn to entertainment to forget about the hard times.
During the Great Depression, everyone was looking for a distraction from the terrible times around them. One way to put their mind at ease was to go to the theater and watch movies. Even during this era of distress, 60 to 80 million people a week still managed to go to the movies. Comedies were a great way to look at the bright side of situations and to put off the stress. In contrast, gangster films showed the fear that maybe what you are doing is not enough to get by and it would be nearly impossible to survive this economic crisis. Never the less, films of the Great Depression provided people hope and reassurance in that this too shall pass.
This increased attention caused change in the industry, allowing the experience of the movie goer to massively change for the better. Many new genres, ideas and technologies emerged in the 1920s that would later dominate the industry. The 1920s saw massive changes happening in the movie industry that would help it to get one step closer to what it is today. The decade was largely dominated by silent films, but the creation of movies with sound followed afterwards. These innovations greatly improved the movies and made them more immersive and exciting for the viewer.
In fact, 1946 is one of Hollywood’s most successful years. This was due to the massive influx of people returning from World War II, that had ended in 1945. There was a shift from manufacturing items needed for the war towards common household items. During this time period, the Great Depression and wartime air were slowly fading out (Quart and Auster 17). “The film industry changed radically after World War II, and this change altered the style and content of the films made in Hollywood” (“Post-War Hollywood”). Filmmakers started entertaining the technique of using more color and sound in their films to attract more people. At the time, American films embodied the themes of victory and national triumph. Within a time span of two years, 1942-1944, Hollywood produced 440 films in total (Quart and Auster 17). Although there was a positive boom of Hollywood and films, there would be a time of decline that followed
It is true that movies have a certain connection to the time period in which they were created. For example, during the Depression, movies like The Wizard of Oz (1939), Gone with the Wind (1939), and Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) were a way for people to escape worry from everyday life surrounding the economy. In this way, silent films in
Before the Second World War began Hollywood’s purpose lied within entertainment for the American people. After the war started, the main focus shifted to wartime propaganda. Film was used to display the war in a way that did not show its true colors—including the censorship of soldier causalities and other negative connotations that are a simple fact of war. There was even a time in which some actors became better known to America than politians. Through films, Hollywood began to make a statement of their anti-Nazi beliefs. They began to make motion pictures for American recruitment into the Army as well as many that supported the war effort, and intended to make other Americans more aware of the war’s effect on the United States, and how people can get involved. Many European countries banned these Hollywood films, as they began to affect not only America but many other countries that were involved in the war as well.
The idea of moving the camera as a spectacular embellishment probably began in the Lumiere Films like Leaving A Station by Rail in which the cameraman set up his equipment on the train rather than by the side of the tracks. Audiences were amazed by the feeling of motion that this provided (a technique that returned in early CinemaScope films like Viva Las Vegas). But with the rise of the feature, camera movement took on storytelling functions. In a film like DeMille’s The Cheat, the camera remains static until it needs to reveal something important to the plot, like when it tracks past the jurors in the courtroom scene. This is not spectacular but informational. By the end of the 1920s, under the influence of German Expressionism, ornate c...
It is no doubt that Martin Scorsese has heavily influenced the emulating of American film making from European influences. He is a prime example of a ‘New Hollywood Cinema’ director, not only from his ethnicity and background, but from his sheer interest in this form
As time and people are continually changing, so is knowledge and information; and in the film industry there are inevitable technological advances necessary to keep the attraction of the public. It is through graphic effects, sounds and visual recordings that all individuals see how we have evolved to present day digital technology; and it is because of the efforts and ideas of the first and latest great innovators of the twentieth century that we have advanced in film and computers.
In the history of film-making, films underwent an abundant of transformation in order to appeal to a wide variety of audiences, whether it was through codes of conduct, or the further development of the movie category. The influence of modern Hollywood films would have not been possible without the elements of the pre-code film. The pre-code era commence around the 1929, where sound started to become popularized, and ended on the first of July in the year of 1934. During this era, there was no limitation of how a director should portray the story in the film, which allow the film to strengthen the story through its creative and well developed performances, and settings. The pre-code films were not only raw in their creativity, and individuality, but also included controversial issues faced during the Jazz Age and the Great Depression.
The film industry has always been somewhat of a dichotomy. Grounded firmly in both the worlds of art and business the balance of artistic expression and commercialization has been an issue throughout the history of filmmaking. The distinction of these two differing goals and the fact that neither has truly won out over the other in the span of the industry's existence, demonstrates a lot of information about the nature of capitalism.