AA310 Film and Television History

Tutorial 3: Hollywood Part Two

Structure for the Session

• Overview of general themes and considerations when analysing Hollywood directors

• Analysis of the relationship between Hollywood and radio

General Themes/Considerations

• The key ideological question, when discussing Hollywood directors, is to what extent can he or she be regarded as an auteur

• This question is related to issues of studio influence, personal background and contemporary social mores, and can be addressed via the four main approaches

Alfred Hitchcock - General Themes

• His British work has recently undergone a reevaluation and elements of his Hollywood productions are already evident in much of his British output - How important is his nationality?

• Hitchcock is often discussed in terms of how he represents women - consider Grace Kelly in Rear Window (USA, 1954) or Tippi Hedren in The Birds (USA, 1963)

Hitchcock & Auteurism

• Both Hitchcock and Shakespeare worked in a popular medium but enriched their works with a level of thematic complexity and maturity that raised generic entertainments to the level of high art’ - Robin Wood p.108

• In the early 1950s Hitchcock worked for Warner Bros, and had a string of box office hits (Strangers on a Train (1951) and Dial M for Murder (1954)), before Paramount signed him and gave him the final say over his films. At Paramount he made Rear Window (1954), To Catch a Thief (1955), The Trouble with Harry (1955), The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956), Vertigo (1958) and Psycho (1960). During this period he also further established his reputation (and fame) with Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955-62) on TV.

Hitchcock & Auteurism - Case Study of Rear Window (1954)

• Aesthetic approach– Watch the opening sequence on your course video and compare

how it relates to other Hitchcock productions/themes

– What other people contributed to Hitchcock’s aesthetic (Consider Robert Burks (Cinematography) and George Tomasini (Editing))?

– Consider the critical reaction - e.g. The Times review

• Social Approach - How does the film comment on or relate to contemporary social issues?

• Economic Approach - It was one of the highest grossing films in America that year (http://www.teako170.com/box50-59.html)

Steven Spielberg - General Themes

• Bear in mind that he has directed several films since the course book was published and these are perfectly reasonable for analysis

• The key consideration when discussing Speilberg is the traditional Marxist critique - does his commercial success negate the status of his films as ‘art’?

Spielberg - Auteur or Hack?The Aesthetic Approach

• Spielberg’s films roughly follow the pattern of more serious, adult oriented productions alternating with lighter, family oriented films

• Early period - Duel (1971), Jaws (1975), Close Encounters (1977), 1941 (1979)– These match the ‘New Hollywood’ and the rise of Coppola and

Scorsese

• First wave of family films - Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981), ET (1982), Temple of Doom (1984)– Matches the downturn in cinema ticket sales during the early 1980s

and the shift to family product

• Second wave of adult films - The Color Purple (1985), Empire of the Sun (1987), Always (1989)– Were possible once he was an established box office draw

Spielberg - Auteur or Hack?The Aesthetic Approach

• Second Wave of family films - The Last Crusade (1989), Hook (1991), Jurassic Park (1993), The Lost World (1997)– Realises long-cherished projects (Hook first optioned in 1985) and

the use of new developments in CGI

• Third Wave of adult films - Schindler’s List (1993), Amistad (1997), Saving Private Ryan (1998), AI (2001), Minority Report (2002), Catch Me If You Can (2002), The Terminal (2004), War of the Worlds (2005), Munich (2006)– Based on the critical reappraisal that followed Schindler’s List and

the increase in cinema attendances in the early 2000s, as well as increased independence via Dreamworks

• With Crystal Skull (2008) and Tintin (c.2011) he is back in family mode, although Lincoln is in pre-production for 2011

Spielberg - Auteur or Hack?

• By following exhibition trends Spielberg survived where others (such as Coppola) failed.

• This approach was no different to other supposedly ‘hack’ directors such as Hitchcock, who have now been critically reappraised.

Spielberg - Other Considerations

• Consistent Themes– The majority of his later productions deal with Father/Son

relationships and mirror his own difficult relationship with his father after his parents separated

– The last wave of adult productions demonstrated a consistent visual style of dark shadows punctuated with bright shafts of light - certainly the influence of his regular cinematographer since Schindler’s List, Janusz Kaminski

– His relationship with John Williams lasts even longer

• Audience– ‘He was in effect the consumate filmmaker for the Reagan era,

idealizing an America of small towns and white picket fences.’ - p. 125

– While generally seen to make films in ‘male’ genres, their financial success questions this assumption

Spielberg - Case Study of Jaws

• The outtakes included at the end of the supplied video are instructive of the representation of men in the film

• Also, it is interesting to consider what else did not make the final cut - http://www.jawsmovie.com/?page_id=537

• http://moviebarcode.tumblr.com/

The Coen Brothers - General Themes

• Like Hitchcock, the nationality of the Coen Brothers’ productions is not entirely American– They are co-funded by Working Title Films, a British film company

responsible for Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) and Love Actually (2003)

• The nature of sole authorship is also challenged, although Joel was nominally the director until The Ladykillers (2004) - they now share a joint credit

The Coen Brothers - General Themes

• Blood Simple (1984)• Raising Arizona (1987)• Miller’s Crossing (1990)• Barton Fink (1991) - Start of the Working Title period• The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)• Fargo (1996)• The Big Lebowski (1998)• O Brother, Where art Thou? (2000)• The Man who Wasn’t There (2001)• Intolerable Cruelty (2003) - Universal Pictures• The Ladykillers (2004) - Touchstone/Mike Zoss• No Country for Old Men (2007) - Paramount/Miramax• Burn After Reading (2008) - Working Title• A Serious Man (2009) - Working Title• True Grit (2010) - Paramount

The Coen Brothers - Commercial Success?

• Refer to the sight and sound article for evidence of the Coen Brothers’ commercial successes and consider what has made some of their productions more successful than others

Coen Brothers Box Office Success

Fargo Case Study

• Watch the opening of Fargo (1996) and consider how it relates to a consistent Coen ‘world view’

• Arguably, the Coens have been remaking Blood Simple (1984) for the majority of their careers, with Burn After Reading (2008) the latest example

Hollywood and Radio

• P. 159 - American radio was from the first a commercial operation

• ‘There was an extraordinary symbiosis that existed between Hollywood and network radio in the heyday of both media’ - p. 188

Lux Radio Theatre

• The relationship between Lux and Hollywood was crucial to the studios’ promotional activity

• Track 17 - There were 936 Lux Radio Theatre productions, including 1 horror, 16 gangster and 23 Westerns

• Track 19 - Fred Astaire appeared once, and there were relatively few musicals performed

• http://www.otrsite.com/logs/logl1008.htm - Details of every Lux radio show

Hollywood and Radio: Key Themes

• The main themes covered were marriage and family; romantic and motherly love; duty/service/self-sacrifice

• Because of this these productions are most closely aligned with the melodrama genre, and the audience falls into this stereotype

• Here is an example from the film version of Mrs Miniver to compare with the radio production

• The 134min film was condensed into a 60min radio show, and consider what is different about it and why

Hollywood and Radio - Case Study of My Favorite Husband (1948-51)

• Listen to the episode included on your course CD• P.166 ‘Liz is conforming to the stereotype of the scheming

female’- Does this matter? Remember this is a comedy• P. 182 - MacDonald argues that radio created consensus…

Hilmes believes that this consensus was constructed and imposed, but that there remained pockets of resistance and subversion. What evidence is there to support Hilmes’ assertion when discussing gender?

Final Thoughts

• Hollywood film directors work within a commercial industry and you must decide to what extent this impacts on their work

• Your decision will influence how you approach the ‘auteur’ question, but consider the various nuances of the theory and the phrasing of the assignment question

• Consider the ‘cultural conditions’ that influenced radio adaptations - This includes class, gender and censorship, among others.

Details of the Next Tutorial

• At the Aldwych (LSE) Campus, from 7-9pm• 4 May - TMA03 Deadline 26 May• Covers the entire British Cinema unit

Good Luck!

• Any further questions?• P.moody@open.ac.uk• If you have not already done so, add your name to my e-mail

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