Paul Brickman's Risky Business

In chapter two of The Cultures of American Film, the main focus is the establishment of studios. As demand for films rose in the early 1900’s, production companies needed to expand; this lead to the creation of large scale studios.

During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that,

This paper was prepared for Introduction to Film History, Module 1 Homework Assignment, taught by Professor Stephanie Sandifer.

The economical and societal conditions and their changes during the film had a dramatic affect on the story. The movie starts off with James J. Braddock, in the twenties which was a great economical time, and it shows when he comes home, with a

This further demonstrates how the affluence of that period enabled people to support this industry and help its enormous growth. It was during the roaring 20s that the first real celebrities began to appear, with the ever-increasing role of cinema having a huge role to play. Similarly their fame contributed to the growing status of Hollywood and the American film industry. (Source J). Charlie Chaplin is one example of an actor that gained worldwide recognition in the twenties; he was particularly famous for his ‘highly visual style of acting’ (Soucre J). The 1920s was often referred to as “The Golden Age of Hollywood” (Source G) emphasizing how this period represents the era of greatest output in the United States movie market [an average of 800 films were produced annually]. ‘The cinema came of age in the 1920s and Hollywood confirmed its position as the “dream factory” of the English- speaking world. It was there that fame and fortune could be found.’ (Source J) This also highlights the growing image of Hollywood ‘throughout the roaring 20s, which started to represent wealth and achievement. ‘The establishment of the Academy Awards showed the maturing cinema as an industry confident of its own technical and artistic standards.’ (Source J) This further shows how there were many other expansions and transformations from this industry that occurred during this period. Artists, directors and other personalities of the film making industry received acknowledgement and recognition of their work in this industry. ‘The awards soon acquired international status’ (Source J) showing how Hollywood’s film industry developed into a global sensation that was supported by people all over

     The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder and staring the main characters of Norma Desmond, Joe Gillis, and Max Von Mayerling is ideal example of how important film making techniques help depict a movie’s core theme intentions with vivid clarity. Classic Hollywood is the first thing that comes to mind when one speaks about this film’s style. This signature category combined with the visual style of realism and it’s continuity editing; detailed mise-en-scene and all of its characteristics; and lastly the use of reoccurring motifs with formalistic qualities make the audience grasp the central theme of just how vicious the actual motion industry can be to the

The film mirrors the change in American society post World War II as an unrecognizable city to previous generations. The economic

The film Sunset Boulevard directed by Billy Wilder and staring the main characters of Norma Desmond, Joe Gillis, and Max Von Mayerling is ideal example of how important film making techniques help depict a movie's core theme intentions with vivid clarity. Classic Hollywood is the first thing that comes to mind when one speaks about this film's style. This signature category combined with the visual style of realism and it's continuity editing; detailed mise-en-scene and all of its characteristics; and lastly the use of reoccurring motifs with formalistic qualities make the audience grasp the central theme of just how vicious the actual motion industry can be to the individuals that keep its

At the turn of the century, moving films were developed. It was slow at first. However, by the 1920’s the film industry really caught on in Hollywood California. This was because there was plenty of open space and three hundred sunny days a year was great for filming

What factors lay behind the "upscaling" of Hollywood film genres during the 1950s? Identify the significant genres of the postwar period, and explain how each was affected by enhanced production values and increased thematic complexity.

The Motion Picture changed everything. The very first movies were rather basic, showing everyday routines such as the arrival of a train or female workers leaving a factory. The very first “action” film was The Great Train Robbery (1905) which had a simple yet thrilling plot about cowboy bandits and their attempt to steal money from a moving train. Then several Westerns adapted the same basic plot, and some even moved it further. In the 1930’s the Noir and Gangster movies such as Little Caesar (1931), Scarface (1932), and The public Enemy (1931) became immensely popular, and these films normally had a rather violent story, many of them were inspired by real gangsters. Then Came the forties and the fifties, which were mostly passive eras on

What makes for a classic Hollywood film? Increasingly, films have evolved to the point where the standard by which one calls a “classic Hollywood film” has evolved over time. What one calls a classic film by yesterday’s standards is not the same as that of today’s standards. The film Casablanca is no exception to this. Although David Bordwell’s article, “Classical Hollywood Cinema” defines what the classical Hollywood film does, the film Casablanca does not exactly conform to the very definition that Bordwell provides the audience with in his article. It is true that the film capers closely to Bordwell’s definition, but in more ways than not, the film diverges from Bordwell’s definition of the typical Hollywood film.

These types of movies, where noticed by French critics and attributed the name “Film noir” to this filmmaking trend, which literally means, “Black cinema”. The following essay will describe the genre, and evaluate how the American Film Industry and the Production Code affect it. Film noir is one of the most well-known cinema styles in

We see the reflection of these things happening in the 60’s and 70 s movies too. “The guys came from the war and there was not much excitement going around so motorcycle gangs started so Hollywood always capitalizing on the motorcycle thing and rebellion” (Berman, Rebel Lecture ). The young rebels with the money have nothing to do started to look like hippies with long hair, dirty looking driving motorcycle around, using drugs, wearing eccentric clothes, and listening loud music. What I mention until now is how the films of 60’s and 70 were rebelling in pilot, story and subject matter and we also see the change in the way films were produced , casted and directed and distributed. “With that rise of baby boom culture you saw kids with money and they did not want to see lame big budget studio films” (Berman, Lecture). So it was too expensive to make a film in studio and people started shooting films outside the studios. “Independent films were much cheaper and to make a movie outside the studio one did not have to spend millions of dollars and also did not need the studio control”. One of the new terms I learned from this week’s lecture is “negative pickup”. Which means financing a film

Film Noir as a genre is set in a specific period of time. It is also a genre that is considered to be related to a specific society - that of America from 1940-1958. Film Noir as a genre is a term that French critic Nino Frank coined to describe the new “film movement” emerging from Hollywood in the 1940’s, which appeared to be black and white, crime and detective films. But these two prominent characteristics do not form the genre alone. Stylistic film features such as mood, style and tone are very eminent in Film Noir however it was not always considered as a film genre, but this is what makes the film genre so distinctive. Film Noir was a “new movement” or cycle of films as it consisted of expressionistic lighting techniques such as low