American cinema at the end of the 1960s was causing Hollywood to face a financial slump and it entered the 1970s on a severe downfall. However, the rise of the young film school director aided the industry to overcome these harsh few years as they brought a new and exciting style to audiences. Directors such as Martin Scorsese were taking greater risks in breaking the rules, which led to rating restrictions being lifted, which all resulted in the 1970s being a benchmark decade in the development of cinema. After the huge success of The Sound of Music there were numerous attempts to recreate its victory, which subsequently killed the genre. Very few directors achieved this, possibly the only two being Carol Reed for Oliver! and Ken Hughes for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang as they were two of the highest grossing films of 1969. Despite the musical entering “the 1970s with the onerous distinction of having helped more than any other genre to create the financial crisis of 69-71” it was still a new found trend which ended up creating some of the highest grossing films of the decade.
The Sound of Music (Wise, Robert 1965) was the first highly successful musical and was a basis for directors trying to emulate the success it had. Casting Julie Andrews as the lead for Frau Maria was helpful towards the films success, but there were many more factors. Just for being set and filmed on location in Austria brought a new culture into Hollywood and the political aspect made it appealing to older audiences. The film’s opening sequence takes the audience through the vast landscape of Austria, eventually finding Julie Andrews and creating the classic still always seen from the film.
The film “represented the last gasp of family entertainment, and in the half decade that followed, the war in Vietnam grew from a blip on the map somewhere in South East Asia to a reality that might easily claim the life of the boy next door.”
This had a huge effect on the finance of many industries, including Hollywood and the movies. By the end of the 1960’s things weren’t going so well, however in the early 1970’s there were certain films that managed to start pulling the industry out of a horrible downfall.
Fiddler on the Roof, directed by Norman Jewison and released in 1971 was a contradiction to the financial trouble musicals were causing Hollywood; the film was a huge success, earning $38.2 million which caused it to be the most popular film of the year. It is hard to say what exactly caused the film to be so influential and actually get somewhere in the genre unlike so many other musicals that had gotten nowhere after the success of The Sound of Music. “The strength of the script is universality of its themes --- homelessness and suffering, religious faith and doubt, the struggle to hold on to tradition in times of change.” This description could tell us something about its popularity, what causes audiences to relate to characters is what exactly it is that they are going through or what issues are being dealt with throughout the film by more than one person.
Cabaret (Fosse, Bob 1972) was the film that “most dramatically changed public perception of what a musical could be by appropriating it as a vehicle for serious social criticism.” The film differs from its genre as instead of the musical numbers being integrated into a scene and aesthetic they are all a performance at the Kit Kat Club, changing the audience’s perception of the performer.
Rocky Horror Picture Show (Sharman, Jim 1975) was a British import and is said to have taken “generic hybridization to new heights by combining a rock musical with a horror film and parodying both forms.” The film was a version of a long running stage show in London and very quickly became a cult phenomenon, including being one of the most popular films for midnight screenings (which were especially common during the 1970s), many of which still run today. The film itself has a very strange setting; it follows a couple into an old house, that is occupied by a group of “transvestites from transsexual Transylvania”, who perform a number of songs and rituals
Saturday Night Fever (Badham, John 1977) was the “first post 60s youth film with a contempory setting.” Opening in 726 theatres, the film broke The Deep’s grossing record by earning $9.3 millions during the first three days. John Travolta said of the film “When you talk to kids who’ve seen it many times, you discover they don’t even like the story… to them, the movie is a concert.”
It could be said that with musicals it is not the story that actually interest’s audiences, it is the performances and the feeling of being able to join in, dance and sing along; much like you would do at a concert. Saturday Night Fever was probably the first film to have this appeal to the younger generation; the first baby boom generation. Musicals made previous to Saturday Night Fever such as Fiddler on the Roof (Jewison, Norman 1971) and Rocky Horror Picture Show (Sharman, Jim 1975) were clearly aimed at a slightly older audience, either due to content (Rocky Horror was rated R due to explicit content) or its political aspect, as with Fiddler on the Roof. A study carried out in 1977 by the MPAA (Motion Picture Association of America) led them to discover that 57% of American movie goers were aged 12 -24.
Grease (Kleiser, Randal 1978) was the highest grossing musical of the 1970s, earning over $96.3 million. Like most other musicals the film was adapted from a Broadway show, which had been running for a mere six years. The songs were specifically written for the film, bringing a unique post 50s rock element to it. By casting John Travolta as the lead Danny Zuko the film was destined for success. Saturday Night Fever (Badham, John 1977), released a year prior to Grease, shot Travolta into total stardom. Olivia Newton-John was not particularly well known before her role as Sandy Olssen but Grease did for her what Saturday Night Fever did for Travolta. Grease “tapped into the post-sixties youth and nostalgia market with a vengeance.” The film’s soundtrack and aesthetic were no doubt high factors in its huge success. Aimed at the youth, audiences were able to understand how Sandy felt when singing “Hopelessly devoted to you”, everyone willed Danny to get his act together and of course a happy ending was destined for all.
As with the majority of films, it has been passed down the generation and is still as popular today as it was during the year of its release.
It was not only musicals which were becoming popular in the 1970s, films made by the new generation of filmmakers were being released and to capture their youthful target audience they incorporated popular culture. Music of the decade was one aspect which in particular stands out. Easy Rider is one example of a film which started this trend. Directed by Dennis Hopper and released in 1969 it was one of the first films to start this trend of using popular music, in particular ‘new age rock’, the soundtrack boasting music from Jimi Hendrix and Steppenwolf. This was the music that the youth of the 70s were listening to so for the film to incorporate it made them even more appealing to audiences. It was also a time when people were being more adventurous and trying new things, so the sequence in the film in which the two main characters are on acid was possibly an experience many movie goers had recently been through. In Easy Rider the use of music is extensive and it often feels like it is being used in place of dialogue. The opening credit is a sequence in which this is particularly apparent. Although it is natural for there to be music accompanying the scene, the whole of Steppenwolf’s ‘Born to be Wild’ is played, continuing for much longer than it would do in a film being previsouly made.
Mean Streets (Scorsese, Martin 1973) is another film from the 1970s which incorporates music more than others of the era. Although some of the music in the film is from a different decade, it still has an impact and affects the audiences viewing of certain scenes. The film is considered a youth-cult film mainly due to Robert De Niro playing one of the lead characters John Civello and the fact that the Scorsese was classed under the film school generation of filmmakers. The soundtrack featuring music from The Ronettes and The Rolling Stones made sure it appealed to the younger generation. There is one scene in particular that always strikes me as well thought out in choice of background music. This is the scene in which there is a fight in the pool room of the club, and over the top the song playing is ‘Please Mr Postman’ sung by The Marvelettes. The choice of song is not usual for a Hollywood film, as during a fight scene there would traditionally be no music, so the sound was more intense or it would be it would be a harsh soundtrack. With the use of The Marvelettes’ cheery sound it makes what is visually happening not seem as bad as it should do.
The popularity of musicals during the 1970s did help to save the financial problems Hollywood was having along with the growing success of new generation films. Many of these films created during the 1970s are still hugely popular today, due to re-releases and special edition DVDs being made. With the help of well known cast members, a catchy - sometimes well known - soundtrack and/or new directors these films were able to provide audiences with an insight into different worlds and a new exciting way of filmmaking.
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1 comment:
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