About This Course
This is a video instructional series on film history for
college and high school classrooms and adult learners. There are 10 one-hour and 3
half-hour video programs
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Acknowledgements
Video for American Cinema and the individual lesson
descriptions are provided courtesy of Annenberg/CPB.
This site is not affiliated with nor endorsed by
Annenberg/CPB |
Programs
(Select One)
- 1. The Hollywood Style
- In the classical Hollywood film, the story is primary. Filmmakers rely on style —
structure, narrative, and visual elements — to effectively tell their story. Martin
Scorsese and Sydney Pollack are among the premier directors who discuss how classical
Hollywood style, evolving and yet enduring over time, informs their work.
- 2. The Studio System
- This program surveys Hollywood's industrial past during the era of contract players and
directors, studio police forces, and colorful movie moguls. It also looks at the
filmmaking environment of today with studio heads Michael Eisner, Howard Koch, and others.
Paramount Pictures, one of the oldest and most successful of the Hollywood studios, serves
as a case study.
- 3. The Star
- Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, Dustin Hoffman — these among many others are names
synonymous with Hollywood. Early on, Hollywood saw that recognizable talent could minimize
the financial risks of film production. Critics, film scholars, and studio publicists view
the stars from many angles: as marketing tools, cultural icons, and products of the
industry. Joan Crawford headlines as a case study of the cultural phenomenon of stardom.
- 4. The Western
- The western is an American myth that has been translated by other cultures and
reinterpreted time and again, but never dies. With clips and critical commentary on
westerns from John Ford's Stagecoach through the work of Arthur Penn, Sam
Peckinpah, and Clint Eastwood, the program traces the aesthetic evolution of the genre as
well as its sociological importance.
- 5. Romantic Comedy
- Breezy and silly to witty and intelligent, romantic comedies have been with us since the
1930s. But the surface humor has often just barely masked issues of gender and sexuality.
This program looks back on screwball comedies including It Happened One Night and His
Girl Friday. Directors James Brooks and Nora Ephron present interpretations of the
genre that reveal the underlying social and psychological messages.
- 6. The Combat Film
- Beginning with World War II combat films — produced under directives from the
federal government — this program examines the role of the combat film in filling a
social and political need. Critics and directors describe the evolution of these films,
the rise of the Vietnam film, and the influence of the newsreel documentaries and TV news
on the genre.
- 7. Film Noir
- These cynical and pessimistic films from the 1930s and '40s touched a nerve in
Americans. Historians link the genre's overriding paranoia to Cold War-related angst over
the nuclear threat and the Hollywood blacklist. In addition, a cinematographer
demonstrates the creation of noir lighting, which gave films their peculiar look and
emphasized the themes of corruption and urban decay.
- 8. Film in the Television Age
- Television first arrived in American homes just as the Hollywood studio system was
collapsing. As the new medium took hold, so did a new era of motion picture entertainment.
Top directors, actors, and film scholars trace the influence of each medium on the other,
from the live and fresh dramas of the Golden Age of Television and the growth of Hollywood
spectacles to the megalithic entertainment industry of today.
- 9. The Film School Generation
- Maverick filmmakers of the 1960s and '70s, including Brian DePalma, Martin Scorsese, and
Steven Spielberg, capitalized on new technology and borrowed from classical Hollywood and
French New Wave as they reinvented the American film. The financial and cultural forces
that contributed to their success and commercial clout are explored.
- 10. The Edge of Hollywood
- While many of the old rules are still in force, independent filmmakers today often add
their dissenting voices to the forum. This program looks at some alternative visions from
new talents including Spike Lee, Joel and Ethan Coen, Jim Jarmusch, and Quentin Tarantino.
With limited budgets, they are challenging the stylistic status quo of the Hollywood film.
- 11. Film Language
- "Film Language" illustrates basic terms such as tracking shots and zooms and
also provides a primer on editing technique.
- 12. Writing and Thinking About Film
- "Writing and Thinking About Film" provides a formal and cultural analysis of a
classical film sequence. It serves as a critical how-to guide for those new to film
critique.
- 13. Classical Hollywood Today
- "Classical Hollywood Today" offers interviews with contemporary directors,
European filmmakers, scholars, and critics, as well as studio-era veterans who probe
Hollywood's influence on both American and world culture.
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