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American Film Institute Dinner 9/26/89 [OA 6269] [1]
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American Film Institute Dinner 9/26/89 [OA 6269] [1]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Speech Backup Chronological Files
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administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
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George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
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Speechwriting, White House Office of
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Folder Title:
American Film Institute Dinner 9/26/89 [OA 6269] [1]
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26
19
4
1
Heston to Hown
828-4015 -
To
Date
Time
WHILE YOU WERE OUT
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of
Phone
Area Code
Number
Extension
TELEPHONED
PLEASE CALL
CALLED TO SEE YOU
WILL CALL AGAIN
WANTS TO SEE YOU
URGENT
RETURNED YOUR CALL
Message
Aff diner
10:16 10:16-26 I 26
800 people
AMPAD EFFICIENCY® Pension B 23-021 Operator CARBONLESS
PUBLIC PAPERS OF THE PRESIDENTS
OF THE UNITED STATES
Lyndon B. Johnson
Containing the Public Messages, Speeches, and
Statements of the President
1965
(IN TWO BOOKS)
BOOK II-JUNE I TO DECEMBER 3I, 1965
UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON: I966
[533] Sept. 28
Public Papers of the Presidents
chief representative of the United States and
Eugenie Anderson, and Dr. James Nabrit.
his deputy could represent this country be-
In my experience we have never had a
fore the Security Council and certain other
stronger delegation to the United Nations
major agencies of the U.N. This has proved
than we have today. The outstanding men
unduly restrictive on the work of our dele-
and women who represent us there have
gation.
demonstrated that they possess those qual-
Under the new law, other members of our
ities of mind and spirit that will serve, not
U.N. team may represent this country before
only American interests in the U.N., but the
any organ or commission of the United Na-
interests of all mankind in its quest for peace.
tions. This will provide Ambassador Gold-
By this act we hope to make the fullest use of
berg with the flexibility he needs to make use
those qualities in every facet of the U.N.'s
of the rich and diverse talents of those who
work.
now serve on the American delegation-
NOTE: As enacted, the United Nations Participation
Representative James Roosevelt, Ambassador
Act Amendments (S. 1903) is Public Law 89-206
(79 Stat. 841).
534 Remarks at the Signing of the Arts and Humanities Bill.
September 29, 1965
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Senator
bers of that Council have worked very hard.
Mansfield, distinguished Members of the
They have worked creatively. They have
Congress:
dreamed dreams and they have developed
In the long history of man, countless em-
ideas.
pires and nations have come and gone.
This new bill, creating the National Foun-
Those which created no lasting works of art
dation for the Arts and the Humanities, gives
are reduced today to short footnotes in his-
us the power to turn some of those dreams
tory's catalog.
and ideas into reality.
Art is a nation's most precious heritage.
We would not have that bill but for the
For it is in our works of art that we reveal to
hard and the thorough and the dedicated
ourselves, and to others, the inner vision
work of some great legislators in both Houses
which guides us as a Nation. And where
of the Congress. All lovers of art are espe-
there is no vision, the people perish.
cially indebted to Congressman Adam Clay-
We in America have not always been kind
ton Powell of New York, to Congressman
to the artists and the scholars who are the
Frank Thompson of New Jersey, to Senator
creators and the keepers of our vision. Some-
Lister Hill of Alabama, to Senator Claiborne
how, the scientists always seem to get the
Pell of Rhode Island, to many Members of
penthouse, while the arts and the humanities
both the House and Senate who stand with
get the basement.
me on this platform today-too many names
Last year, for the first time in our history,
to mention.
we passed legislation to start changing that
But these men and women have worked
situation. We created the National Council
long and hard and effectively to give us this
on the Arts.
bill. And now we have it. Let me tell you
The talented and the distinguished mem-
what we are going to do with it. Working
I022
Lyndon B. Johnson, 1965
Sept. 29 [535]
and Dr. James Nabrit.
together with the State and the local govern-
But these actions, and others soon to fol-
e we have never had a
ments, and with many private organizations
low, cannot alone achieve our goals. To
to the United Nations
in the arts:
produce true and lasting results, our States
: The outstanding men
-We will create a National Theater to
and our municipalities, our schools and our
represent us there have
bring ancient and modern classics of the
great private foundations, must join forces
they possess those qual-
theater to audiences all over America.
with us.
pirit that will serve, not
-We will support a National Opera
It is in the neighborhoods of each com-
rests in the U.N., but the
Company and a National Ballet Company.
munity that a nation's art is born. In count-
ind in its quest for peace.
-We will create an American Film In-
less American towns there live thousands of
to make the fullest use of
stitute, bringing together leading artists of
obscure and unknown talents.
very facet of the U.N.'s
the film industry, outstanding educators,
What this bill really does is to bring active
and young men and women who wish to
support to this great national asset, to make
United Nations Participation
pursue the 20th century art form as their
fresher the winds of art in this great land of
1903) is Public Law 89-206
life's work.
ours.
-We will commission new works of
The arts and the humanities belong to the
music by American composers.
people, for it is, after all, the people who
nities Bill.
-We will support our symphony
create them.
orchestras.
NOTE: The President spoke at 9:50 a.m. in the Rose
-We will bring more great artists to our
Garden at the White House. In his opening words
schools and universities by creating grants
he referred to Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey,
1 have worked very hard.
for their time in residence.
Representative John W. McCormack of Massachu-
I creatively. They have
setts, Speaker of the House of Representatives, and
Well, those are only a small part of the pro-
Senator Mike Mansfield of Montana, majority
nd they have developed
grams that we are ready to begin. They will
leader of the Senate.
As enacted, the National Foundation on the Arts
have an unprecedented effect on the arts and
ating the National Foun-
and the Humanities Act of 1965 is Public Law 89-
the humanities of our great Nation.
209 (79 Stat. 845).
and the Humanities, gives
rn some of those dreams
y.
535 Special Message to the Senate Transmitting Income Tax
ave that bill but for the
ough and the dedicated
Protocol, U.S.-Germany. September 29, 1965
legislators in both Houses
To the Senate of the United States:
Modification of the 1954 convention in cer-
All lovers of art are espe-
With a view to receiving the advice and
tain respects has been made advisable by rea-
ongressman Adam Clay-
consent of the Senate to ratification, I trans-
son, not only of experience in the application
/ York, to Congressman
mit the protocol between the United States
of the convention since its entry into force,
f New Jersey, to Senator
of America and the Federal Republic of Ger-
but also of some relevant changes in the tax
ma, to Senator Claiborne
many, signed at Bonn on September 17, 1965,
system of the Federal Republic of Germany.
d, to many Members of
modifying the convention of July 22, 1954
The protocol to effect certain desirable
1 Senate who stand with
for the avoidance of double taxation with
modifications has been formulated as a result
today-too many names
respect to taxes on income.
of a long period of technical discussions be-
I transmit also for the information of the
tween officials of the two countries.
nd women have worked
Senate the report of the Secretary of State
Some of the modifications are designed to
effectively to give us this
with respect to the protocol. The protocol
effect improvements in the provisions of the
have it. Let me tell you
has the approval of the Department of State
convention and bring them more nearly into
to do with it. Working
and the Department of the Treasury.
line with corresponding provisions in the
718-624-5934
1023
5min
spreach by Valenti Heston Moribyn MACOO
Series 00 tilms
Introduced by Jancowski
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Five
September 21, 1989
moth
pft. pres. film by Esstmon Kodok
FILM
co-choirs
then sing Amer. the Beardi
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: FILM INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1989
EDisterent
Former
-A.FI
Chairman Tankowski, Director Stevens, Director Firstenberg,
A+I
Mr. Wolper, Mr. Valenti, Other Trustees of the American Film
Institute, Distinguished Guests, Friends and Fans of the American
Film.
Thank you for your warm reception. I've looked forward to
this night for quite awhile. ( (In fact, to put us in a movie
mode, we arranged to come over here in a special car. It was a
tight squeeze getting me, Barbara, the driver and three Secret
Service men into the Batmobile. )) ( (PAUSE) )
( (First, I'd like to say a word, in particular, about this
distinguished audience. I don't think I've seen so many well-
dressed people since the Beverly Hills Court began jury selection
for Zsa Zsa Gabor's trial. )) ( (PAUSE) )
Jeon Firstanbers
[scor SAY Eee]
I also appreciate that kind introduction. And let me say
Lear to
how pleased I am to see so many to notables in this evening's crowd.
L.
Lucos Artists from Spacek to Spielberg to Stallone. Surrounded by all
these household names, I wish I'd brought along my autograph
book.
Barbara and I are delighted to be here. ( (But I'm obliged to
extend regrets from what some have called the most charismatic
Norman Lear Norman Lear
Daglas Fadirbanks J.
Brooke Shrelds Dlexand
Chri Reieves Sutherlon
Georg Scortest Lucar
Drken
Travolto
Crankite
Grant
Tyson
(HADO
2
speaker in the Bush family. Yes, our springer spaniel, Millie. ))
( (PAUSE) ).
( (Nothing personal, you understand. It's just that Millie
doesn't often get the White House theatre to herself. Well,
tonight she's making up for lost time. Holding a private
screening of her own.
Now, make no mistake: I can't argue with Millie's
selection, For The Love of Benji. It's just that I'm afraid all
this good press is going to her head. Last night, we got to
talking about what Millie should serve her guests. Barbara
picked milk bones [PAUSE]
I chose Alpo [PAUSE]
Millie asked to see the wine list.) ) ( (PAUSE) )
Well, this evening, Millie, eat your heart out. For there's
no place that Barbara and I would rather be than here, with you.
( (We meet at the end of quite a summer for movies -- with
Ghostbusters Two, Karate Kid Three, Lethal Weapon Two, Indiana
Nexis
Jones Two, and Startrek Five. With all those numbers, I wasn't
sure if I was at a movie or a budget meeting. )) ( (PAUSE) )
( (And it was a summer, too, when as you may have read, I had
a rcugh vacation. The way things were going, it was starting to
look like A Fish Called Wanda was as close to a fish as I was
going to get.) ) ( (PAUSE) )
But thankfully, that's all behind me.
comins
And I'm pleased X to
join you at an event which salutes the 2#th anniversary of the
Sion-ses
American Film Institute. For almost a quarter-century, the AFI
signing of the hegislation.
3 HH
has nurtured and celebrated the art of the moving image. In
FAX from
doing so, it has nourished the mind and soul of America.
FAX
For the moving image is not merely entertainment -- in a
darkened theatre, or on a TV set. It is also a part of America's
rich inheritance. The American film is not only the mirror of
America. It is also the conscience of America.
Who can forget how Grapes of Wrath immortalized the dignity
of America's impoverished? Or how Gentleman's Agreement exposed
anti-Semitism? Or on a personal note, the courage amid
Movie Basinger list
adversity embodied in Knute Rockne All-American. Embodied by
a friend of ours. Yes, Ronald Reagan as the Gipper.
plmoo
Johnson
When President Foundation Johnson signed the bill 24 years ago to
create the National Endowment for the Arts, which created the
is
American Film Institute, he was talking about such works. And
those who make them, past and present.
of the film industry]
He was referring to actors and actresses. Producers and
writers, directors, craftsmen, artisans. And this Institute, he
p.1023
1023
said, would bring them "together
moding
P.
these artists, outstanding
educators, and young men and women, who wish to pursue the 20th
century art form as their life's work.
It did, and does today. Helping to spur the art form SO
uniquely American. The art form invented in America. And which,
in turn, America has expanded to the world -- allowing peoples on
every continent to freely see film's diversity. And to inspire
those peoples to build on what America has begun.
Viskenti
industry not steat b/c trade
Jenny
That is the ma or reason why this Administration has
:onveyed to the governments of the European community our
NSC
steadfast belief in mutual access to movie and TV program
markets. Quotas of any kind are unacceptable. Our government
Cown
does not intrude on private decisions and public choices in TV
programming. Neither should theirs. Consumer choice must be
expanded, not reduced.
Secretary of State Baker, Secretary of Commerce Mosbacher,
and U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills have made our position
quite clear. No enterprise achieves creativity when competitors
are locked out. Good trading partners have neighborly access to
each other's territory.
In short, let the consumer decide and prosper through
competition. We need more movies -- foreign and domestic -- like
many made since AFI was born. Movies for example, like Coal
Basinger
Miner's Daughter. Or Hoosiers, that brilliant portrayal of
small-town America. Or movies which assault the scourge of
drugs. Like Lean on Me, Clean and Sober, and I'm Dancing As Fast
As I Can. And let me thank you in the film industry who are
helping to stop this assassin of our kids.
These movies --- like thousands of others -- have been
America's Ambassador to the World. And by boosting the health of
the industry as a whole, AFI has helped make them possible.
First, AFI trains young filmmakers Allowing them to
apprentice under the tutelage of masters. Second, it has worked
5
to inspiring find -- and save -- historic and classic, films of yesteryear
leading countless Americans to a career in film
The third way AFI spurs the film is through advocacy.
Teaching our generation the beauty and value of the moving image.
And finally, AFI will teach future generations. About how we
lived. What we valued. Through the art of Michelangelo and da
Vinci, we see today the world of Renaissance Italy. The motion
picture can be our legacy.
Dort
In a sense, of course, it already is. Helping us smile
-- as Shirley Temple did in the depths of the Depression. Or
sing -- as Gene Kelly Gene, take a bow -- did in the immortal
Singing In the Rain. Or dream dreams that no longer seem
JashiPost
impossible. As the wondrous cast of The Wizard of Oz did in that
magical movie year of 1939.
Movies have made us laugh. They have made us think.
They've helped get us though the bad times. And made the good
times even better.
For the American moving picture is our mirror, and our
conscience. In the White House theatre, in theatres around the
world. So I ask you: Help AFI celebrate America. And this
magnificent inheritance. So that you and I can always say: To
feel the heart of America, just look at the American film.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. God bless you, and
God bless the United States of America.
#
#
#
#
LVE FAX
TO: Kim
FROM: Phylis Eisen
Date: 9/22
Time: 2:25
Number of attached pages: /
Fax Destination
Place:
Phone number:
Notes:
FAX Number: 202/395-3910
Voice Confirmation: 202/395-3971
-4532
-4500
-3262
CO
in partnership with the
Ford Foundation and the
3
member companies of the
has nurtured and celebrated the art of the moving image. In
motion picture Association OF
doing so, it has nourished the mind and soul of America.
America.
For the moving image is not merely entertainment -- in a
darkened theatre, or on a TV set. It is also a part of America's
rich inheritance. The American film is not only the mirror of
America. It is also the conscience of America.
Who can forget how Grapes of Wrath immortalized the dignity
of America's impoverished? Or how Gentleman's Agreement exposed
anti-Semitism? Or on a personal note, the courage amid
adversity embodied in Knute Rockne -- All-American. Embodied by
a friend of ours. Yes, Ronald Reagan as the Gipper.
When President Johnson signed the bill 24 years ago to
create the National Endowment for the Arts, which created the
American Film Institute he was talking about such works. And
those who make them, past and present.
He was referring to actors and actresses. Producers and
writers, directors, craftsmen, artisans. And this Institute, he
said, would bring them "together
these artists, outstanding
educators, and young men and women, who wish to pursue the 20th
century art form as their life's work." "
It did, and does today. Helping to spur the art form so
uniquely American. The art form invented in America. And which,
in turn, America has expanded to the world -- allowing peoples on
every continent to freely see film's diversity. And to inspire
those peoples to build on what America has begun.
[according to NeA, AFI was created in 1967]
Motion Picture
VOLUME 19
Meyer to Nauvoo
THE ENCYCLOPEDIA
AMERICANA
INTERNATIONAL EDITION
COMPLETE IN THIRTY VOLUMES
FIRST PUBLISHED IN 1829
GROLIER INCORPORATED
International Headquarters: Danbury, Connecticut 06816
tion. Although motion
veryday life, it remained always for
the science of motion. He the
n the 17th century to lay
c laws of motion. These
appens when a force moves laws
hat a force is required to change
position to another. In particu
tion of a body. Newton's laws
o ideal motion because friction
wton's first law of motion
est will remain at rest unless states
y an unbalanced force. It also
dy in motion will continue
stant speed in a straight line in
1 upon by an unbalanced force
common to all objects-inertia
lewton's first law. Because
rst law of motion is sometimes of
f inertia.
Newton's second law- of motion
inbalanced force acts on a body,
ill be accelerated. It also states
ide of the acceleration is pro-
magnitude of the unbalanced
the direction of acceleration is
of the unbalanced force.
F is the unbalanced force that
and a is the acceleration pro-
rce, then the ratio of F to a is
[uation form,
F/a = m
(20)
mass of the body. Rewriting
ne obtains
F = ma
(21)
on form of Newton's second law
quation (21) the mass m of the
e of its inertia.
THE TIMES, LONDON PICTORIAL PARADE
wton's third law of motion states
Motion-picture artists and technicians combine their skills to bring any place and any era to the screen.
ody exerts a force on a second
cond body exerts a force on the
the force exerted by the second
magnitude and opposite in di-
MOTION PICTURE
rce exerted by the first body.
IW is sometimes called the law
action. The third law implies
While painting, music, dance, literature, the-
CONTENTS
mentum of a system of bodies
ater, poetry, and other arts have been present
Section
an external force will remain
since the earliest days of antiquity, the motion
Page
Section
Page
picture is perhaps the only new art form to have
1. Art and Technique
European Film
of the Motion
Movements
517
y of Relativity. Newton's three
been developed entirely within contemporary
Picture
506
3. American Motion-
long with his law of gravitation
times. And yet the newness of the motion picture
Preproduction
Picture History
524
stems partly from its incorporation of elements
Manipulation
506
American Film
provide a satisfactory basis for
Manipulation Dur-
524
from virtually all preexisting art forms. Like
Genres
otion of ordinary macroscopic
ing Filming
509
Experimental Films
536
painting, motion pictures present a two-dimen-
Postproduction
Documentary Films
537
rdinary conditions. However,
sional image within the confines of a frame. Like
Manipulation
514
4. The Motion-Picture
not hold when applied to er-
2. History of the
Industry
538
eds such as the speed of light.
music, they manipulate their material within the
Motion Picture
516
Production and
dimension of time. Like dance, films are choreo-
The Development
Distribution
538
at or near the speed of light-
00,000 km) per second-must
graphed to utilize space for aesthetic effect. Like
of Motion-Picture
Censorship
539
Style
516
5. Motion-Picture
Einstein's theory of relativity.
literature, many films are based on a narrative or
Technology
540
with Newton's laws in that the
story and develop characterization and mood.
I from the theory of relativity
Like theater, films for the most part use human
n's equations when the speed
actors who are engaged in a performance. Like
counts for a much larger quantity of filmed ma-
small (or ordinary) compared
Poetry, films can convey several levels of meaning
E light.
simultaneously. Added to these older arts are
terial. The nonfictional uses of film, however,
photography, film editing, camera movement,
are usually intended for specific purposes and for
ory of relativity also showed
relatively small, specialized audiences, whereas
n a state of absolute rest, such
special effects, and other elements that are unique
to the film, resulting in an art form that is more
fictional films are usually intended to reach a
al ether, was necessary in ex-
wide and varied audience.
Einstein showed that all mo-
complex than any other yet devised.
As a tool for research and education, the
eated as relative motion. See
Motion pictures have become as varied in
their application to contemporary civilization as
motion picture has unique capabilities. Films can
writing. While the fictional films exhibited in
record cultures, and they can treat social or po-
ual. See PERPETUAL MOTION;
movie theaters and on television are most familiar,
litical issues and other aspects of societies to
productions of films for science, industry, and
capture relationships difficult to communicate
education actually employs more people and ac-
by other means. Films allow the scientist
to see aspects of the world that are difficult or
505
TALE TO MOON
LE-VOYAGE DANS LUNE
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHITE
Voyage to the Moon (1902), by the French film pioneer Georges Méliès, humorously combines live actors and
animation in the motion picture that historians have called the first science-fiction film.
impossible to observe with the naked eye. The
Contemporary motion pictures consist of im-
motion-picture camera can record bacteria and
ages recorded sequentially and then projected on
other microscopic objects, as well as star systems
a flat surface, usually accompanied by sound and
whose light is too faint for normal viewing. The
music. However, filmmakers of the future will
camera can capture processes of nature such as
not be limited to the traditional forms of film.
the opening of flowers that are difficult to ob-
Electronic media, including tape recordings,
serve because they occur so slowly and processes
videodiscs, and holography may supplement or
of flight that are difficult to observe because
even replace the conventional forms of filmic re-
they occur so rapidly.
production. But the basic activities involved in
The influence of motion pictures has perme-
filmmaking and the ways in which the materials
ated all levels of contemporary life. The ideas
are manipulated to produce aesthetic effects
and images that people in different societies have
on audiences will probably continue with little
of one another are greatly influenced by the films
change.
they have seen. Fashions and mores are heavily
influenced by films. Even personal behavior may
1. Art and Technique of the Motion Picture
be influenced in important ways.
The materials of the motion picture are ma-
Motion pictures are both an art form and an
nipulated by the artist to achieve effects that
industry, and this combination has created ten-
are both consciously and unconsciously intended
sions and contradictions within the medium from
In film, the kinds of manipulation fall into three
its inception in the late 19th century. While
basic areas: (1) preproduction manipulation, (2)
8mm and 16mm cameras and inexpensive sound-
manipulation during filming, and (3) manipula-
recording equipment make it possible to create
tion of the exposed footage.
individual works at reasonable expense, the domi-
nant thrust of film history has been toward the
PREPRODUCTION MANIPULATION
feature-length fiction film.
Before filming begins, filmmakers have six basic
In the United States, the typical feature-
elements to select or prepare: script, actors, sets,
length film costs several million dollars, and
costumes, aspect ratio, and film stock.
budgets in the tens of millions are not uncom-
Script. Most films are based on written screen-
mon for major films. This expense, more than any
plays, which can be adapted from material from
other single fact, serves to separate the motion
other media, such as plays or novels, or can be
picture from the more traditional art forms.
written originally for the screen. From the 1930's
While painters and sculptors need only to find
to the 1960's in the United States, the majority
individual patrons, and composers, dancers, play-
of major films were based on material originally
wrights, authors, and poets do well if their work
created for other forms. A large proportion of
reaches thousands, the filmmaker must search for
U.S. films, however, are now created from scripts
audiences numbering in the millions.
written directly to be filmed.
Two consequences flow from the expense of
The well-written screenplay is carefully struc-
the studio-made film. First, the films made must
tured so that scenes, dialogue, bits of action, and
reach a more generalized level of the public than
events are carefully ordered to produce the in-
the other arts, and they must contain universal
tended effects. Few screenplays include descrip-
elements that will appeal to a wide spectrum of
tions of specific details of shots, angles, lighting,
the public. Second, film production has tended
and so on. The decisions about these matters are
to be controlled by businessmen who are as
the province of the director, who is generally in
much concerned with questions of profits as with
charge of creating the artistic product. Most sim-
questions of artistic merit.
screenplays are written in "master scenes,
506
MOTION PICTURE: 1. Art and Technique of the Motion Picture
507
to the script of a play. The well-written
nical effects can combine the two, using images
nplay should permit the reader to visualize
of mountains, deserts, oceans, or vast spaces as
foximately how the scene will look on film,
the background to the action on the sound stage
characters, "props," or settings on which the
or, conversely, placing images of buildings or
tor may choose to focus, and what the final
other structures of civilization in an untouched
will be like on the screen. These will al-
wilderness. Because the contemporary filmmaker
be approximate, but the important thing is
can skillfully create any illusions desired, the
the screenplay is not simply a written work
decision to shoot "on location" or on the studio
a written work that can be filmed.
sound stage is often made on the basis of con-
In addition to structure and a concrete sense
venience, expense, time, and the personal habits
the visual material that might appear in the
or philosophy of the filmmaker.
the screenplay provides information the
In general, filmmakers choose to go on loca-
dience will need to know about the characters.
tion in search of authenticity, feeling that the
The audience receives information about the
actual city, desert, mountain, or prairie will
cople in the film in three basic ways: (1) by
convey the emotional tone of their film more con-
that other people say about characters, (2) by
vincingly than sound stages, special effects, or
hat the characters themselves say, and (3) by what
miniatures could. But in choosing to shoot on
characters do. Films with richly developed
location, the filmmaker generally loses the ability
aracterization often have contradictions and
to manipulate certain aspects of the film. Re-
imbiguities among the three sources of informa-
flectors and "fill" lighting may be used on lo-
bon. A character may be seen in a certain way
cation, but it is difficult to model the lights
by the other characters in the film, and their
outdoors with as much precision and range as
opinions about his motivations and actions may
on an indoor set, where all light sources are
-E.-DANS LUNE
lead the audience to perceive that way until,
within the filmmaker's control. In addition,
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
later in the film, the character's own actions
sound recording is much more troublesome on
umorously combines live actors and
force a reevaluation. Or the way in which the
location, and natural noises, ranging from ani-
st science-fiction film.
film is directed may visually contradict what
mals and the wind to passing airplanes and
the characters are saying.
traffic, may require that part or all of certain
Because the screenplay is only a blueprint
scenes be dubbed or rerecorded in the studio.
motion pictures consist of im-
for the finished film, it cannot completely com-
Increasingly, contemporary directors are expand-
[uentially and then projected on
municate on its own terms-which is why screen-
ing their ability to manipulate nature. Michel-
ally accompanied by sound and
plays are seldom as satisfying to read as other
angelo Antonioni, for example, has spray-painted
filmmakers of the future will
literary forms. A 500-page novel can achieve
trees and bushes that did not have the color he
) the traditional forms of film.
richness and depth of characterization and plot-
wanted, and Francis Ford Coppola totally altered
1, including tape recordings,
ting. The screenwriter, in only a fraction of
a New York City street for The Godfather (1971).
holography may supplement or
that space, must provide dialogue, descriptions
Costumes. On the screen, as in real life, the
conventional forms of filmic re-
of actions, locales, motivations, and the overall
clothes people wear reveal much about them.
the basic activities involved in
tone of each scene. Above all, he must provide
Clothes indicate social, economic, and occupa-
he ways in which the materials
1 structure appropriate to the nature of the
tional status and express individual personality.
to produce aesthetic effects
film medium.
In motion pictures, as in theater, costumes are
I probably continue with little
Actors. Casting is one of the most crucial
also used symbolically, shaping unconscious audi-
steps in preparing a film for production. Film
acting differs from stage acting in a number of
que of the Motion Picture
ways. On the stage, for example, the actor may
Birth of a Nation (1915), D. W. Griffith's early master-
of the motion picture are ma-
have to communicate to the back rows of a large
piece, helped establish film as a new art form. Lillian
artist to achieve effects that
auditorium, which requires strong vocal projec-
Gish (right) was one of the new medium's first stars.
sly and unconsciously intended.
tion and somewhat exaggerated bodily move-
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
of manipulation fall into three
ments if he is to be effective.
reproduction manipulation, (2)
The film actor, however, is usually magnified
ng filming, and (3) manipula-
in size many times on the theater's screen and
d footage.
his or her voice is sufficiently amplified so that
audibility is seldom a problem. The large ges-
ICTION MANIPULATION
ture, broad facial expression, or booming vocal
begins, filmmakers have six basic
projection sometimes required in the theater
or prepare: script, actors, sets,
therefore would be inappropriate for film, where
atio, and film stock.
a raised eyebrow and a soft-spoken whisper may
ns are based on written screen-
carry more effect and emotional power.
be adapted from material from
Theatrical acting generally requires the pro-
as plays or novels, or can be
fessional performer to play a wide variety of
for the screen. From the 1930's
roles in which the actor's own personality is
he United States, the majority
often submerged. A good actor for the stage has
re based on material originally
versatility and range. The "good" actor for film,
forms. A large proportion of
however, may have a very limited range and ver-
er, are now created from scripts
satility. Some of the most successful, such as
be filmed.
Greta Garbo, Gary Cooper, Rudolph Valentino,
en screenplay is carefully struc-
Clark Gable, Humphrey Bogart, and Marilyn
s, dialogue, bits of action, and
Monroe, often played themselves over and over
ly ordered to produce the in-
again.
W screenplays include descrip-
Sets. The two basic kinds of sets are the
etails of shots, angles, lighting,
natural and the studio-constructed. Most mem-
cisions about these matters are
bers of the audience are not able to differentiate
e director, who is generally in
between a real location and one constructed on
g the artistic product. Most
the studio stage. In contemporary filmmaking,
ritten in "master scenes, sim-
ᵃr-screen projection and other special tech-
sho
But
(col
ma
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
end
(Above) Mack Sennett's Keystone Kops started
tic
many silent-film comedians on important careers,
col
including Fatty Arbuckle (far right) and Charlie
rer
Chaplin (below, left). Chaplin, shown in the short
film The Vagabond (1916), used the "little tramp"
character from 1914 until The Great Dictator (1940).
Aspect Ratio. The terms aspect ratio and
format refer to proportions of the film frame.
pc
du
The decision by Thomas Edison to make the for-
mat of the motion-picture image follow a 4:3
ratio (four units wide for every three units high)
had enormous impact on filmmaking. This for-
mat, or "aspect ratio"-usually expressed as
1.33:1-means that for 60 years, with some minor
ser
variations brought on by the addition of sound,
the proportions of the motion-picture image were
standardized. But with the introduction of vari-
ous new film formats in the 1950's, the choice of
aspect ratio became an artistic one for the film-
maker. Cinerama has a ratio of 2.66:1, twice the
convention. Cinemascope standardized at 2.55:1,
Vision at 1.85:1, Todd-AO at 2.2:1, and
PO
Ultra-Panavision at 2.7:1.
Edison also had standardized the width of
ence attitudes toward the wearer. A character is
film stock at 35mm. With the introduction of
of
conspicuous if he wears black when everyone
the wide-screen processes of the 1950's, 70mm
else is wearing white. Or the costume can be so
film became an option, especially for stereo-
unusual that it makes the character stand out
phonic prints intended for large screens. While
in the scene, as Audrey Hepburn does in her
the contemporary filmmaker continues to have
appearance at the races in My Fair Lady (1964).
some choice of aspect ratios, the majority of
Costumes in films are often anachronistic,
prints shown in commercial theaters today are on
designed to suggest the historical period of the
35mm and carry an aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
action but not necessarily accurately reproduce
The choice of aspect ratio is crucial to the
the costumes of the day. This is seen most clear-
final "look" of the film. A story set in the open
ly in women's costumes in film Westerns, in
expanse of the desert or the sea, for example,
which the style of the dress, such as the cut of
will have more power if the aspect ratio makes
the neckline, has as much to do with contem-
it possible to capture that expanse visually. But
porary film fashions and censorship requirements
if a wide-screen format is used for dialogue
as it does with the clothes actually worn in the
scenes, in which one looks at first one character
Old West. "Costume" does not merely refer to
in close-up and then another, half the screen
historically defined clothing. All clothes are, to
may be empty or composed awkwardly.
of
an extent, costume. Humphrey Bogart's trench-
The choice of one aspect ratio over another
coat and Marlene Dietrich's hats are examples
also has consequences in the ultimate viewing
of costumes that add to characterization.
situation. Most American commercial films even-
508
MOTION PICTURE: 1. Art and Technique of the Motion Picture
509
tually are shown on television, which has a for-
of a face filling the screen may be obtained by
Emat of 5:4. Thus, while no films fit into the
placing the camera at a distance and using a
frame correctly, the presentation of wide-
telephoto lens. Or the camera may be moved in
screen prints presents an especially difficult prob-
close and a regular lens used. While both meth-
Tem, requiring either "scanning" or "cropping"
ods can produce an image of the face that fills
many original prints. The scanned print involves
the screen, they will have quite different charac-
constantly panning over the image to keep the
teristics. The telephoto lens compresses the vis-
central action in the center of the television
ual planes of the image so that things seem closer
screen, thereby introducing apparent camera
together than they really are from the front to
movements not intended by the film's director.
the back. The image also has a shorter "depth
Cropping involves cutting off the sides of the
of field"-that is, fewer objects are in focus
picture and using whatever happens to be in the
going from front to back than is the case with
central portion of the print. Because of the lack
a regular lens.
of complete standardization and compatability
With all the resources at his command, the
emong theaters that show films and between film
filmmaker bases his choice of lens on the "look"
and television, the decisions made by filmmakers
he wants for a specific shot., The director may
with regard to aspect ratio are always tempered
choose to use an extreme telephoto lens if he
by the realities of the marketplace.
wants his subject to be running from the back-
Film Stock. Similarly, the decisions made re-
ground to the foreground but not seem to make
garding the film stock to be used are based on
much progress, as when Dustin Hoffman chases
combination of artistic desires and economic
after his girlfriend in The Graduate (1967). If,
or practical necessities. In contemporary film-
on the other hand, the filmmaker wants to keep
making, for example, the creators can choose to
in focus not only the subject but other people
shoot their film in black and white or in color.
around him as well, he will use a normal or wide-
But television networks much prefer films in
angle lens, which has a greater depth of field.
color, and the decision not to make a film with it
Camera Distance and Position. The distance of
may jeopardize a source of considerable revenue.
the camera from the subject greatly influences
SEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
Many filmmakers and members of the audi-
the effect of a scene. When the camera frames
tt's Keystone Kops started
ence regard black-and-white film as more "realis-
a subject in a tight close-up and a line of dia-
dians on important careers,
tic" than color, even though real life is always in
logue is spoken, it has one kind of effect. A
kle (far right) and Charlie
color, and black and white is an artificial way of
quite different effect is achieved by a medium
Chaplin, shown in the short
rendering it. The association made by earlier
shot (from the waist to the head) or a long shot
'16), used the "little tramp"
audiences between black-and-white and newsreel
(from the feet to the head).
til The Great Dictator (1940).
film may have helped create the notion that
The height of the camera is also important.
black and white is inherently more realistic.
The Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu kept his
Black-and-white film stocks, while more or
camera just a few feet off the floor, where the
'he terms aspect ratio and
less standardized within a country at a specific
eyes of a viewer of traditional Japanese drama
portions of the film frame.
period in history, have varied considerably, pro-
would be. The look of Ozu's films contrasts
omas Edison to make the for-
ducing different "looks." The Orthochromatic film
sharply with those of directors who position their
-picture image follow a 4:3
used during the silent era until 1926 was sensi-
cameras at other heights. At the other extreme,
le for every three units high)
tive only to blue and green light and was in-
Orson Welles often positioned his camera at high
ct on filmmaking. This for-
sensitive to red, causing faces to look unnatural
elevations to look down on his characters. The
ratio"-usually expressed as
in comparison with today's film stock. It was re-
opening sequence of his Touch of Evil (1958)
or 60 years, with some minor
placed by panchromatic film stock, which was
in by the addition of sound,
sensitive to all three primary colors but was
le motion-picture image were
"slower"-that is, less sensitive to light-and
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), directed by Robert
with the introduction of vari-
therefore produced an image that was softer and
Wiene, is probably the best-known German expression-
S in the 1950's, the choice of
somewhat less crisp.
ist film. Conrad Veidt (center) was one of its stars.
an artistic one for the film-
Color film also has undergone considerable
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
IS a ratio of 2:66:1, twice the
development. The original Technicolor process,
scope standardized at 2.55:1,
utilizing three strips of film, produced a stable
:1, Todd-AO at 2.2:1, and
color image, but the Technicolor company im-
2.7:1.
posed its own standards on what was appropri-
standardized the width of
ate" color, generally forcing filmmakers to stay
With the introduction of
close to a "realistic" rendition. The introduction
cesses of the 1950's, 70mm
of commercial Eastman Color film in the 1950's
tion, especially for stereo-
provided a much cheaper color stock and util-
led for large screens. While
ized one strip of film rather than three. In addi-
Immaker continues to have
tion, technical developments and changing atti-
ect ratios, the majority of
tudes have allowed the filmmaker freedom to
mercial theaters today are on
manipulate color as he would any other element
aspect ratio of 1.85:1.
of the medium. Colors can be removed, given
spect ratio is crucial to the
special qualities, filtered, or otherwise changed.
Im. A story set in the open
Unfortunately. the Eastman Color film used in
ert or the sea, for example,
the United States has impermanent dyes, and the
er if the aspect ratio makes
color begins to fade within a few years, with the
e that expanse visually. But
result that often there is no permanent record of
rmat is used for dialogue
the colors originally intended by the filmmaker.
looks at first one character
n another, half the screen
MANIPULATION DURING FILMING
mposed awkwardly.
e aspect ratio over another
of one lens over another is based not only on the
Lenses. In professional filmmaking, the choice
es in the ultimate viewing
practical requirement of obtaining an image, but
rican commercial films even-
also on the desired artistic effect. A close-up
begins with a close-up of a person setting a
bomb, and then the camera is quickly elevated time
above the rooftops so that it can take in a whole
section of a town.
Closely allied with the height of the
is the angle used. If the camera is placed camera low
in front of a character and tilted up at him, the
character will appear to take on stature and
power, perhaps even become ominous or terrify.
ing, depending in part on the lighting. On the
other hand, if the director wishes to diminish
character, he may elevate his camera and tilt a
down at a sharp angle. When the filmmaker
wishes to communicate a sense of unbalance or
danger, he may film with his camera tilted off
center or at an unnatural angle.
Composition. In film, the frame (picture area)
is used to produce an image that has aesthetic
and artistic dimensions. Even in cinéma-vérité
documentaries in which the filmmaker attempts
to interfere as little as possible with real life.
presenting things "as they are," the mere act of
pointing a camera constitutes an act of selection
that transforms the people or things filmed into
objects of aesthetic contemplation.
Rendering people and objects of the real.
three-dimensional world in the two-dimensional
world of film requires that the film artist care-
fully compose his material, not merely so that
everything of importance can be seen, but so that
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
the feeling, mood, and effect intended by the
Nanook of the North (1923), by Robert Flaherty, the
filmmaker are conveyed. In covering a simple
acknowledged father of documentary films, vividly de-
conversation among three people, for example,
scribes an Eskimo and his family's struggle for survival.
the filmmaker has many compositional options
open to him. He may follow some of the con-
ventions of the theater, as Orson Welles did in
Rudolph Valentino was the silent screen's most romantic
Citizen Kane (1941), and work with triangular
lover. Usually cast as an exotic Latin type, he played
compositions, so that the eye of the spectator
an Arab in The Sheik (1921) and its 1926 sequel.
is constantly led along the two diagonals of a
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
triangle to the central figure, who is usually
placed "upstage" of the other two actors. Or, the
director may compose his characters so that they
tend to stretch along the horizon lines of the
frame, as John Ford liked to do in his Westerns.
The director may alternate compositions so
that one first sees a "master scene," encompass-
ing all the actors in one shot, and then close-ups
of first one and then another of the actors. The
director may place his characters so that they
appear very small in relation to buildings, ma-
chinery, or other urban structures, Antonionis
method in many of his films. The director may
place both actors and camera so that the horizon
line is tilted and the actors are stooped, giving
the impression that they are struggling against
great odds, as Sergei Eisenstein sometimes did.
Or the camera may be placed so that it points
directly down from the ceiling, giving a bird's-
eye view, Busby Berkeley's technique in a host
his shot SO that relationships are
of musicals. Finally, the director may comphased,
with a symbolic or laden object such
as a gun looming foreground and and
characters appearing smaller
Camera Movement. The earliest films generally
utilized a stationary camera mounted on a tripod
But filmmakers discovered that the could
go virtually anywhere the creative person wanted
it to. In fact, it could go where human beings
could not safely venture.
As the camera moves, composition constantly
changes. This altering of perspective differen-
tiates film from painting, which since the Renais- Film
sance generally has had a fixed perspective.
510
lose-up of a person setting a
1 the camera is quickly elevated time
ps /n. so that it can take in a whole
d with the height of the
ed. If the camera is placed camera low
aracter and tilted up at him, the
appear to take on stature and
even become ominous or terrify.
he director wishes to diminish
in part on the lighting. On the
ay elevate his camera and tilt a
rp angle. When the filmmaker
unicate a sense of unbalance
film with his camera tilted off- or
unnatural angle.
In film, the frame (picture area)
uce an image that has aesthetic
ensions. Even in cinéma-vérité
a which the filmmaker attempts
little as possible with real life.
S "as they are," the mere act of
ra constitutes an act of selection
the people or things filmed into
etic contemplation.
eople and objects of the real,
1 world in the two-dimensional
quires that the film artist care-,
is material, not merely so that
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
portance can be seen, but so that
,d, and effect intended by the
(Above) Harold Lloyd, a Mack Sennett graduate, made
onveyed. In covering a simple
Safety Last in 1923. Lloyd was his own "stuntman,"
ong three people, for example,
performing without a double or using camera tricks.
as many compositional options
(Right) Buster Keaton in The General (1925) captures a
e may follow some of the con-
locomotive from Union forces in the Civil War. He was
theater, as Orson Welles did in
at his best as an individual struggling with a machine.
941), and work with triangular
that the eye of the spectator
I along the two diagonals of 8
has the ability constantly to shift and alter its
central figure, who is usually
shape, presenting an ever-changing view of its
of the other two actors. Or, the
material.
pose his characters so that they
The simplest kind of camera movement is the
along the horizon lines of the
pan, in which the camera pivots horizontally on
'ord liked to do in his Westerns.
its tripod or in the hands of the camera operator.
may alternate compositions so
Pans can be used simply to follow a character
S a "master scene," encompass-
through a room or other location, or they can be
in one shot, and then close-ups
used to focus attention on objects, characters, or
then another of the actors. The
spaces that play a part in the dramatic action.
ice his characters so that they
The camera can also "tilt," or pivot upward or
11 in relation to buildings, ma-
downward, for similar purposes.
r urban structures, Antonioni's
When the camera is mounted on a tripod or
of his films. The director may
other apparatus so that the entire machinery has
and camera so that the horizon
the ability to move backward or forward, it is
the actors are stooped, giving
said to be able to dolly in or dolly out. When
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
hat they are struggling against
the camera is to follow an extended action in
ergei Eisenstein sometimes did.
which the same character or characters are to be
almost as much a part of the choreography as the
hay be placed so that it points
kept approximately the same size in the frame
dancers.
om the ceiling, giving a bird's-
as they move around, a tracking shot is used.
Along with the development of the camera's
Berkeley's technique in a host
Rails or tracks are laid over the terrain to enable
technical ability to move came an insistence that
ally, the director
relationships are may comphased,
the camera to move smoothly along a precisely
its movement be smooth. Nevertheless, as more
planned path. Such a movement can lend a
portable documentary and newsreel cameras
or laden object such
sense of vitality and drive to an otherwise static
evolved in the late 1950's and 1960's, the hand-
action, as in the newsroom scenes in Alan Paku-
la's All the President's Men (1976), in which the
held camera was used more frequently. It allows
ting smaller
the camera operator simply to walk behind, in
ent. The earliest films generally
Woodward and Bernstein.
camera tracks back and forth with reporters
front of, beside, or ahead of the action, and the
try camera mounted on a tripod
result, even with the most skilled camera person,
iscovered that the could
tions, a crane will be used. This machine on
Sometimes, especially in large-budget produc-
is a picture that constantly jiggles, betraying
here the creative person wanted
wheels, with an extension arm, permits the cam-
the presence of a human being holding it. Pro-
could go where human beings
fessionals at first considered the hand-held cam-
era to move in all directions. The camera may
era amateurish, but it is another expressive tool
1 venture. moves, composition constantly
parallel the action, then move away from it, then
at the filmmaker's disposal. It can heighten the
Itering of perspective differen-
sweep for up for a high-angle view, then come in
sense of realism in a scene or an entire film, as
as had a fixed perspective. Film
ainting, which since the Renais-
entire as in several musicals of Vincente
a close-up, and finally return to a view of the
it does in Haskell Wexler's Medium Cool (1969).
Minnelliene, Gene Kelly in which the camera is
Cameras have been mounted on balloons and
floated in and out of the action. They have been
511
to
syl
pro
the
of
9
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
The chariot race in Ben-Hur (1925) was brilliantly directed by the second-unit director,
B. Reeves Eason. This exciting sequence gives the film its place in motion-picture history.
placed in helicopters, which have then been used
not only the actor but also the doorway appear
larger. A dolly-in, however, will make the actor
tar.
as if they were enormous cranes, as in Funny
Girl (1968), in which Barbra Streisand is seen
appear bigger in the frame as the camera comes
in close-up and, as the helicopter moves away,
closer, but will not necessarily bring the door-
against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty
way into the frame at the same time, or will
The
and then against all of New York harbor.
cause the doorway to go out of focus as the cam-
The speed at which camera movements take
era gets closer to the actor. Once again, the
place is also important to the effect produced. If
choice of technique depends on the effect desired.
the camera dollies in on an actor suddenly, the
Lighting. All photography depends on the ex-
character may seem to be under attack, threat-
posure of silver halide or other sensitive crystals
ened, or overcome. If the camera is suddenly
to light. It follows, therefore, that lighting in
pulled back, the actor may seem to be deserted
film will make use of the techniques that have
or isolated. Conversely, a slow tracking move-
been developed in still photography. Motion-
ment behind an actor may create an ominous
picture lighting has the added advantage of being
feeling, as if the audience or other characters in
able to be altered during the actual filming.
the film were stalking him.
Lighting in film is generally manipulated as
At least two fundamental kinds of movement
to amount, contrast, angle, and kind. Filmmakers
or apparent movement are possible in film. The
talk about two kinds of key lighting: high key
first stems from the physical relocation of the
and low key. and
camera, or sometimes of the actor in relation to
the camera. The second grows out of alterations
high-key lighting, which generally are shot wrable generally are shot derble
forms of entertainment generally are shot wible
of the focal length of the lens during filming.
relatively few dark or shadowed areas. The laws
light is used all over the set or location, leaving
A lens can be focused on one character or
object, with the background or foreground out
of photography state that the more light there
of focus. While the camera is recording, the lens
is on a subject at a given lens opening and shut-
can be refocused so that a different object comes
into clear view. This is called pulling focus.
A more recent development is the zoom lens,
of field. Thus high-key lighting tends to bring of
speed is relatively fixed), the greater the depth
ter speed (and in motion pictures the shutter
introduced into commercial films during the
objects in the background or different planes
mid-1950's, which constitutes one of the few
action into relatively sharp focus.
new major resources of filmmaking. The un-
trained spectator often confuses a zoom shot with
shadow or darkness. Sources of light illuminate
Low-key lighting leaves much of the set in
a movement of the camera, and vice versa, but
the effects are quite different. In the zoom-in,
light there is at a given lens opening and shutter
pavement as in a detective or gangster
specific areas without seeming to touch-others
when a street light reflects off
everything in focus at the start of the zoom will
remain in focus throughout it. If an actor is
standing in a doorway, the zoom-in will make
speed, the less depth of focus there will be. Thus
512
MOTION PICTURE: 1. Art and Technique of the Motion Picture
513
key lighting generally requires the use of
ones produce very different effects. In color
from several sources rather than from a
films, the hue and color of the light source can
single major source, such as the sun. The ex-
express a wide range of effects. For example,
ception to this is day-for-night photography in
firelight, which is heavily saturated with reds
aterior locations, in which the overall effect of
and oranges, is commonly used for love scenes,
low-key nighttime scene is achieved during the
while blue moonlight or a kind of sulfuric green-
day by using the sun as the major source of
ish yellow is often used for horror effects.
Jumination but severely underexposing the film
The kind of light produced depends not only
to produce the effect of moonlight.
on the source of illumination but also on the
Contrast is important to the effect of lighting.
medium through which it travels. Mist and fog
Generally, the higher the contrast, the more
will disperse the light, giving it a softness that
vivid the emotional tone and three-dimensional
may suggest either spirituality or forlornness,
effect of the image will be.
depending on such other elements as the quan-
To increase the range of lighting possibilities,
tity, contrast, and angle of the light. The misty,
Almmakers often use light that has no possible
high-key lighting in Elvira Madigan (1967), for
source in the film. For example, baby spotlights
example, creates a lush, romantic effect, while
can be pointed directly at a female star's eyes,
the misty, low-key lighting at the end of Casa-
making them glisten and suggest love, mirth, or
blanca (1943) creates a sense of dramatic ten-
desire. An actor's personality can be expressed
sion and foreboding. Similarly, the reflection of
symbolically by putting the upper part of his
light off the rain in Singin' in the Rain (1952),
face in shadow and the lower part in light.
which is done in high key, is quite different from
Shadows of bars across an actor's face may sug-
the muted, dismal effect of the lower-key light-
gest his fate.
ing used in the scenes in the rain in The Story
The angle from which light emanates helps
of G. I. Joe (1954).
produce expressive results. A light coming from
Sound. While the manipulation of the visual
below onto a face causes shadows to be thrown
material may be very complex and extensive both
back into the eyes-the most expressive parts of
in the prefilming phase and during filming, the
the human anatomy. Because light in real life
manipulation of the sound track is much less
seldom comes primarily from below to above, this
open to artistic control during these two phases
angle creates unnatural shadows, giving a sense
of filmmaking. With some exceptions, the basic
of disorientation, foreboding, or evil. Light from
tasks for creative people in these two stages are
a 90° angle off to the side illuminates one half
to record intelligible sound, especially dialogue,
of a character's face but leaves the other half
as accurately as possible and to keep out extra-
it director,
in shadow suggesting contradiction or inner con-
neous sound.
ire history.
flict. Depending on contrast and intensity, light
The changes that have been made in sound
from directly overhead may create either an ethe-
recording over the years have nearly all been tied
real or a menacing effect.
to the search for greater realism. The evolution
r but also the doorway appear
The kind and quality of light are also impor-
of sound from the disc recording of the late
however, will make the actor
tant. Clear, intense spotlights and heavily filtered
1920's, through monaural sound on film, to high
the frame as the camera comes
ot necessarily bring the door-
me at the same time, or will
The "Odessa steps" sequence from the Russian filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein's The Battle-
to go out of focus as the cam-
ship Potemkin (1925) is still studied as a masterly example of film composition and editing.
) the actor. Once again, the
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
e depends on the effect desired.
notography depends on the ex-
alide or other sensitive crystals
VS, therefore, that lighting in
e of the techniques that have
n still photography. Motion-
S the added advantage of being
during the actual filming.
n is generally manipulated as
t, angle, and kind. Filmmakers
nds of key lighting: high key
medies, musicals, and similar
ment generally are shot with
which means that considerable
er the set or location, leaving
or shadowed areas. The laws
ate that the more light there
1 given lens opening and shut-
I motion pictures the shutter
fixed), the greater the depth
h-key lighting tends to bring
:ground or different planes of
ly sharp focus.
ng leaves much of the set in
S. Sources of light illuminate
out seeming to touch others,
ight reflects off a rain-soaked
ctive or gangster film. The less
given lens opening and shutter
:h of focus there will be. Thus
Processing and Printing.
ment, or processing, of the
to the duplicate negatives and prints. For
do several things to the or
saturation of hues and colors is diminished the
ample, color films can be treated so that
create a more pastel effect, or the contrast can to
be increased to make the colors bolder and more
saturated. Exposure can be corrected to make the
different shots match one another better, or the
film can be "pushed" to compensate for under
exposure or to make it deliberately "grainy."
Editing. Most of the manipulation of the
ex-
posed film occurs in the editing stage, which
often can require several months of work. Some
of the earliest discoveries about the nature of
the film as an artistic and expressive medium
involved the editing experiments of the Ameri-
cans Edwin S. Porter and D.W. Griffith and the
Soviet filmmakers Lev Kuleshov and Sergei
Eisenstein. When two shots are combined, the
result is not merely the cumulative effect or
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
shot "A" and shot "B." What is created is some-
The Jazz Singer (1927), starring Al Jolson, was the first
thing often entirely different-shot "C." Thus if
major motion picture with sound. Although only partly
a shot of someone walking up the stairs of the
a "talkie," it revolutionized the motion-picture industry.
Capitol building in Washington, D.C., is cut
together with a shot of the same individual enter-
ing a room in Los Angeles, a sense of continuous
action and constant space will be created, and
the viewer will assume that the person has
entered a room in the Capitol. Similarly, if a
man is shown looking offscreen and a shot of
a beautiful woman follows, the viewer will as-
Marle
sume that the man is looking at the woman.
The B
Furthermore, if the original shot is then repeated,
the audience will read into the man's image a
reaction to what he has just "seen."
motic
Through the editing process, disconnected
mov
events and people are interrelated. In D.W.
I
Griffith's Birth of a Nation (1915), action taking
creas
place in a cabin is alternated with the ride of
whic
Ku Klux Klansmen across the countryside. This
the
kind of "parallel editing" has been much used to
secor
create tension and a mounting sense of excite-
make
ment. In Griffith's Intolerance (1916), four sto-
is W:
ries separated by several centuries are edited
fuse
together in such a way that they seem to con-
T
nect across time, drawing for the viewer the in-
shots
tended parallels among them.
A m
Editing can create not only parallels but also
the
conflict, as Eisenstein demonstrated in his films
whic
and theoretical writings. A sense of conflict can
indiv
be obtained from the contrast of shots containing
tion
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
different kinds of composition or screen direction.
effec
Diagonally composed shots in which some people
S
In Little Caesar (1930), Edward G. Robinson (left) played
a character based on gang leader Al Capone. Gangster
march uphill can be intercut with opposing shots
is or
films took their plots from the newspaper headlines.
of people marching downhill. In a battle se-
tion
quence, forces coming from the left side of the
tion
screen can be intercut with forces coming from
pi
the right. On a more abstract level, shots can be
elab
fidelity, stereophonic, and other multichanneled
cut together to create metaphors, similes, and
mate
sound largely has been confined to this search.
It is in the postproduction stage that most of the
other forms of poetic expression. In October
artistic manipulation of the sound track occurs.
(1927; also titled Ten Days That Shook the
age
World), Eisenstein cut in a shot of Kerensky, the
carr
POSTPRODUCTION MANIPULATION
leader of the Menshevik revolution, and then cut of
anot
to a statue of a peacock, creating the sense
the
Once the film has been shot, the postproduc-
tion process begins. As in the preproduction and
the Russian leader as a vain and pompous man.
in o
In most American fiction films, editing is ex-
loca
actual filming phases, the tools the filmmaker can
employ to exert artistic control are varied and
pected to be "invisible" that is, audiences are
in t
complex. Among the areas in which creativity
not expected to notice the cuts between shots.
time
can be expressed are: (1) processing and print-
For example, the audience may see a long shot
whi
of a person pulling a gun and then a cut to a
lapp
ing, (2) editing, (3) special effects, (4) music,
close-up of the gun firing at someone. To make
mo
(5) sound effects, and (6) postsynchronization
the two images appear to have one continuous
the
or dubbing.
514
g, of the During the develop
Printing.
to the original negative can
negatives and prints. For or
can be treated so that ex.
tel effect, or the contrast to
and colors is diminished the
ke the colors bolder and can
e can be corrected to make more
ed" to compensate for under
ch one another better, or the the
it deliberately "grainy."
E the manipulation of the
in the editing stage, which ex
everal months of work. Some
coveries about the nature of
istic and expressive medium
g experiments of the Ameri
er and D. W. Griffith and the
Lev Kuleshov and Sergel
two shots are combined the
ly the cumulative effect or
B." What is created is some-
different-shot "C." Thus if
walking up the stairs of the
Washington, D. C., is cut
of the same individual enter-
ngeles, a sense of continuous
space will be created, and
sume that the person has
the Capitol. Similarly, if a
ng offscreen and a shot of
MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
follows, the viewer will as-
Marlene Dietrich became a star overnight when she appeared as Lola in the German film
is looking at the woman.
The Blue Angel (1930). The top hat, black stockings, and garters became a Dietrich symbol.
riginal shot is then repeated,
ad into the man's image a
has just "seen."
motion, the film editor will generally cut on the
Music. Most film viewers know that contem-
iting process, disconnected
movement of the hand.
porary films use music in various ways, but few
are interrelated. In D.W.
In many contemporary films, however, in-
are aware of the extent of this use. Because it
Jation (1915), action taking
creasing use has been made of jump cuts, in
alternated with the ride of
tends to produce its effects emotionally and
which the editor deliberately draws attention to
usually "blends in," film music is often not con-
tcross the countryside. This
the disparities between the first shot and the
sciously noted.
ing" has been much used to
second. The object of the jump cut is often to
Musical usage can range from a stinger-a
mounting sense of excite-
make the viewer conscious of the fact that he
sharp, usually loud chord that accentuates sur-
tolerance (1916), four sto-
is watching a film and that it is not to be con-
prise, revulsion, or terror-to a lush string sec-
:veral centuries are edited
fused with reality.
tion playing during a tender or passionate love
ay that they seem to con-
The average feature film has several hundred
scene to convey the emotions of two people.
wing for the viewer the in-
shots edited together to produce a finished work.
Music can totally change the mood of a scene,
g them.
A major part of the excitement and enjoyment
rendering it comic, serious, or deeply disturbing,
not only parallels but also
the filmgoer experiences stems from the ways in
demonstrated in his films
depending on the filmmaker's intent.
which visual materials are treated-as though the
Sound Effects. Even in the days of silent films,
gs. A sense of conflict can
individual shots were musical notes, their dura-
music and sound effects were often added to
contrast of shots containing
tion, rhythm, and tempo creating an aesthetic
increase the emotional impact of major produc-
position or screen direction.
shots in which some people
effect peculiarly their own.
tions. Live performers worked behind the screen
Special Effects Special-effects cinematography
ntercut with opposing shots
during the presentation of the film. Sheets of
is one of the most complex elements in the crea-
tin were rattled to suggest thunder or simply to
downhill. In a battle se-
; from the left side of the
tion of a film. It ranges from rear-screen projec-
underscore a frightening moment. Coconuts were
tion, in which previously photographed material
t with forces coming from
clumped together to suggest horses' hooves. Guns
is projected in back of the actors, to the use of
were fired off at climactic confrontations.
abstract level, shots can be
e metaphors, similes, and
elaborate optical benches in which photographed
Sound effects involve not only noises that are
2 expression. In October
material is reshot to produce entirely new results.
directly related to what is seen on the screen,
en Days That Shook the
The simplest optical manipulation of the im-
such as gunfire, storms, water, and wind. They
in a shot of Kerensky, the
age is the familiar fade-out/fade-in which first
also can be used to add to the mood and tone
ik revolution, and then cut
carries one image into darkness and then brings
of scenes without being directly motivated by
bck, creating the sense of
another into view from the darkness. Through
the action. In Citizen Kane, for example, train
the conventions of filmmaking, the fade-out/fade-
whistles, foghorns. automobile horns, and other
a vain and pompous man.
in conveys a passage of time, a major change of
noises are used to bridge shots, not only tying
fiction films, editing is ex-
location, or the beginning of a new "movement"
e"-that is, audiences are
them together but also suggesting a sense of
the cuts between shots.
in the film. Other ways to express the passage of
loss, or of foreboding, or of the past. With the
ence may see a long shot
time or a change of place are the dissolve, in
increasing development of electronic music and
which the fade-out and the fade-in are over-
gun and then a cut to a
varieties of amplified sound, the lines between
ing at someone. To make
apped; and the wipe, in which the image is re-
naturalistic sound effects, music, and electron-
r to have one continuous
moved in a sweeping horizontal movement across
the screen.
ically generated sound used purely for emotional
impact have blurred.
515
516
MOTION PICTURE: 2. History of the Motion Picture
Postsynchronization or Dubbing. Because sound
and images are usually recorded on two different
George Eastman and his Kodak company.
use
reels, with sound being recorded magnetically,
viewer peered through a magnifying lens The
I
the filmmaker is free to use the sound he has
images illuminated with an electric light.
at
tale tale,
Edison had little interest in
acquired during the actual filming, add to or
alter it, or acquire entirely new sound.
motion picture to large gatherings projecting. the
this Siry 11901), film: I
Sometimes the dialogue recorded is unintel-
was convinced that it was an amusement He
ligible or is ruined by actors' mistakes, passing
would quickly lose its appeal and that that
gener t]
work
on
automobile or air traffic, other voices, or the
money could be made by having only one viewer more
at a time experience the new fad.
The L
like. It is a simple matter for the filmmaker to
"dub," or rerecord, the same lines in the stu-
Edison had his workmen develop Kinetoscope
To produce the pictures for his
that
in
dio, having the actor repeat the lines in syn-
graph, a motion-picture camera. Bulky
place various tr
chronization with the lip movements on the
very heavy, the Kinetograph had to be operated and
effects, S¹
screen. Federico Fellini and other Italian film-
inside a studio, where people and objects were
actor,
makers do not even bother to record a usable
brought to be filmed.
"magica
sound track while filming, preferring instead to
The French brothers Auguste and Louis
mbjects
dub all dialogue after filming. This allows the
director the freedom to cast other voices that
mière saw Edison's Kinetograph in 1894. They Lu-
phot
were determined to develop a machine that would
bowed to
may provide the desired qualities better than the
both photograph and project celluloid film and
and
wait
original actor, to prepare a foreign-language ver-
In th
sion without difficulty, and even to compose en-
would cost and weigh a fraction of the Edison
machine. They succeeded and in December 1895
also
disc
tirely new dialogue.
held their first screening for a paying audience.
tire to
In the United States, where audiences are
The Lumière device, called the Cinémato-
time be
more sensitive to the problem of having the
an An
voices "in synch" with the lip movements, this
graphe, gave the medium the name by which it
kind of dubbing is not used with as much free-
is known in much of the world: the cinema. The
experime
dom. But in U.S. films, professional singers often
portability and cheapness of the Cinématographe
fel editir
made it possible for motion pictures to be shown
chiefs p
dub the songs for popular actors and actresses.
throughout the world. Edison realized he had
to a ma
Train R
2. History of the Motion Picture
made a mistake in limiting the medium to a
peep-show attraction and in 1896 lent his name
Porter C
No one person "invented" the motion picture.
ther, br
It was the result of dozens of experiments, prin-
to a projector, similar in function to the Lu-
taneous
mières', which he called the Vitascope.
cipally in the United States, France, and En-
Dav
The United States and France, the countries
gland, and of a combination of science and tech-
tant fig
most responsible for the invention of the motion
nology on the one hand and entertainment and
bicked
picture, battled for international dominance of
art on the other. The production of an illusion
hundre
of motion depended on the discovery in the 19th
the new medium for two decades. During World
1907 ai
War I, French film production was curtailed, and
century, by Peter Mark Roget and others, of
in The
France lost control of its markets.
persistence of vision. The human eye retains an
for a sì
image of an object a fraction of a second after
THE DEVELOPMENT OF MOTION-PICTURE STYLE
the ser
the object has disappeared. Thus if pictures are
could
In the 20 years after the introduction of mo-
viewed in sufficiently rapid order, they will be
tion pictures to paying audiences, the exploration
lightin:
experienced as a continuous, moving, picture.
to see
of the new medium and its artistic and expressive
In the 1870's, Eadweard Muybridge, an En-
trainin
possibilities occupied hundreds of filmmakers
glishman working for California Gov. Leland
press
around the world. Advances in style often were
Stanford, conducted a series of experiments in-
had be
made simultaneously by people working in wide-
tended to analyze animal and human motion.
camer:
ly separated locations.
Muybridge set up 24 cameras in a row alongside
mobile
Georges Méliès, a French conjurer and the-
a race track and photographed a galloping horse
to cha
atrical producer, saw the Cinématographe in
to see whether the animal had all four feet off
others
1895 and immediately began producing his own
the ground at one time, something impossible to
actors
films in competition with the Lumières'. The
detect with the unaided human eye. Although
cover
differences between these two early French film-
the resulting pictures were "still" photographs,
eleme
makers illustrate the two opposing approaches
Muybridge was successful in analyzing motion.
pressi-
that have continued throughout film history.
In the 1880's the Frenchman Jules Étienne
M.
The Lumières rejected the theater and fiction,
film
Marey invented a "photographic gun," which
preferring to film real life. The Arrival of a
looked something like a rifle but contained a
sisted
Train at the Station, made in the late 1890's,
disco¹
camera capable of "shooting" from 12 to 120
simply shows a locomotive entering the film
pictures a second, depending on whether glass
the n
frame and coming close to the camera. Early
plates or celluloid materials were used.
time
audiences found the film so realistic that viewers
(191:
Thomas Edison's interest in motion pictures
are said to have leaped out of their seats to
tive
started when he saw the possibility of synchro-
avoid being hit by the oncoming train. Reality
nizing images with one of his other inventions,
provided its own thrills and amusement, the
at th
the phonograph. This led Edison and his as-
unhe
Lumières believed, and they filmed firemen, bi-
filmn
sistant, W. K. L. Dickson, to develop the first
cyclists, children at the ocean, workers leaving
"talking pictures" by synchronizing a spiral of
imme
a factory, a blacksmith, fishermen, and even a
tend.
pinhead-sized photographs viewed through a
baby being fed. Such films were called docu-
Griff
microscope with Edison's cylindrical phonograph.
mentaires or actualités by the French.
The device was cumbersome, and Edison turned
pict:
Méliès, on the other hand, found the theater
to other systems that provided motion pictures
and fiction appropriate for his cinema. His first
its p
without sound accompaniment. In 1894, Edison
films, Conjuring, The Vanishing Lady, and The
marketed his Kinetoscope, a peep-show machine
Magical Box, made in 1896 and 1897, brought
that used a continuous roll of film about 40 feet
the camera into specially created studios and
form
(12 meters) in length made of celluloid by
utilized actors. Instead of naturalistic views,
worl
cture
and his Kodak company.
arough a magnifying lens The
féliès used what he called "artificially arranged
1 with an electric light.
at
genes." His was a mixture of magic, myth, and
ttle interest in projecting
fairy tale, as can be seen from the titles of some
large gatherings of people. the He
his films: Cinderella (1899), Red Riding Hood
se its appeal and that that
at it was an amusement
1901), The Arabian Nights (1905), and the
Sim generally considered the first science-fiction
ade by having only one viewer more
work on the screen, Voyage to the Moon (1902).
ce the new fad.
The Lumière films featured a motionless cam-
era that sought simply to reproduce what took
e pictures for his Kinetoscope,
vorkmen develop
place in front of it. Méliès' films, however, used
picture camera. Bulky and
various tricks of the camera, often for humorous
netograph had to be operated
effects, such as stopping the camera, removing
ed. here people and objects were
an actor, and then starting it again to produce
"magical" disappearance. The Lumières' filmed
others Auguste and Louis
subjects were often unaware that they were be-
S Kinetograph in 1894. They Lu-
ing photographed, whereas Méliès' actors often
develop a machine that would
bowed to the audience, looked at the camera,
nd project celluloid film and
and waited for applause.
eigh a fraction of the Edison
In the United States, early filmmakers were
ceeded and in December 1895
also discovering the ability of the motion pic-
eening for a paying audience.
ture to record the real world and at the same
device, called the Cinémato-
time be an expressive artistic tool. In The Life
edium the name by which it
of an American Fireman (1902), Edwin S. Porter
of the world: the cinema. The
experimented with the close-up and with paral-
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
apness of the Cinématographe
lel editing, allowing the audience to see the fire
Horror classics include Fritz Lang's M (1931, above),
r motion pictures to be shown,
chief's premonition of a fire and then dissolving
a German expressionist film starring Peter Lorre as
rld. Edison realized he had
to a man turning in a fire alarm. In The Great
a child-killer. (Below) Frankenstein (1931), an Ameri-
1 limiting the medium to a
Train Robbery (1903), the first film Western,
can production, starred the British actor Boris Karloff
n and in 1896 lent his name
Porter carried experiments in editing a step fur-
as the monster. It was the most successful of the early
nilar in function to the Lu-
ther, bringing together two separate and simul-
horror films and spawned many so-called "sequels."
called the Vitascope.
taneous story lines.
tes and France, the countries
David Wark Griffith, one of the most impor-
r the invention of the motion
tant figures in the history of motion pictures,
international dominance of
picked up where Porter left off. Griffith produced
r two decades. During World
hundreds of five- or ten-minute films between
production was curtailed, and
1907 and 1914. While Porter had used a close-up
of its markets.
in The Great Train Robbery merely as a pretext
for a shocking effect (the cowboy fires a gun at
Γ OF MOTION-PICTURE STYLE
the screen), Griffith discovered that the close-up
after the introduction of mo-
could move the story along. Others had used
ng audiences, the exploration
lighting functionally, simply to make it possible
and its artistic and expressive
to see the scene. Griffith used his theatrical
ed hundreds of filmmakers
training to explore the uses of lighting to ex-
Advances in style often were
press character, mood, and tone. Where others
by people working in wide-
had been content to use a fixed location for their
ns.
cameras, Griffith mounted his cameras on auto-
a French conjurer and the-
mobiles, dollies, or anything that moved so as
aw the Cinématographe in
to change perspective on the action. And where
:ly began producing his own
others generally worked in long shot, showing
1 with the Lumières'. The
actors from their heads to their toes, Griffith dis-
these two early French film-
covered the power of varying shots and isolating
e two opposing approaches
elements within the frame for symbolic or ex-
throughout film history.
pressive purposes.
ected the theater and fiction,
Most of all, Griffith discovered the power of
real life. The Arrival of a
film editing. The films of the Lumières con-
2, made in the late 1890's,
sisted of long continuous "takes," but Griffith
comotive entering the film
discovered that one of the greatest attributes of
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
close to the camera. Early
the motion picture is its ability to manipulate
film so realistic that viewers
time and space at will. In The Birth of a Nation
led to the development of such major film move-
aped out of their seats to
(1915), Griffith's experimentation with the crea-
ments as German expressionism, Soviet social
the oncoming train. Reality
tive potential of film reached its peak. Produced
realism, French surrealism, Italian neorealism,
thrills and amusement, the
at the exorbitant cost of $125,000 and lasting an
and the French New Wave.
and they filmed firemen, bi-
unheard-of three hours, the film revolutionized
German Expressionism. The defeat of Germany
the ocean, workers leaving
filmmaking around the world. It established the
in the World War I led to national demoraliza-
nith, fishermen, and even a
immense power of the medium to produce ex-
tion and chaos and fundamentally altered the
ch films were called docu-
tended emotional and psychological effects. With
course of German history. Largely in response to
és by the French.
Griffith and The Birth of a Nation, the motion
the crisis, German artists in painting, theater, and
her hand, found the theater
picture had come of age and was ready to take
film developed the powerful and influential ex-
te for his cinema. His first
its place among the major contemporary arts.
pressionist movement. Expressionism attempted
? Vanishing Lady, and The
to represent a character's inner psychological and
in 1896 and 1897, brought
EUROPEAN FILM MOVEMENTS
emotional states, especially such deeply felt feel-
ecially created studios and
As the motion picture evolved into an art
ings as love, hate, fear, anxiety, and terror. It
tead of naturalistic views,
form, its ability to express the philosophy and
had links with 19th century Romanticism in
world view of individuals, cultures, and nations
its emphasis on the central importance of indi-
517
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
Part horror film and part spectacle, King Kong (1933) made impressive use of trick
photography, especially shots of Kong atop the Empire State Building in New York City.
vidual emotional states and its tendency to repre-
Stylization carried this far, however, proved to
(1925
sent these through exterior symbols. Among the
be dead end, and few other filmmakers followed
and
major contributors to German expressionism in
Caligari's example.
expre:
film were Robert Wiene, Carl Mayer, Fritz Lang,
The technical machinery at the disposal of
eleme
F. W. Murnau, E. A. Dupont, and G. W. Pabst.
German filmmakers of the 1920's reached new
Unite
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), directed
heights of sophistication and complexity. For
used
by Wiene, is the best-known expressionist film.
aesthetic and philosophical reasons, expressionist
caree
It has many of the characteristics of the move-
films were made almost entirely indoors, even
(193£
ment: highly stylized sets that loom over the
when they required the construction of enormous
Sc
actors to create a mood of doom and at the same
sets, as in Fritz Lang's version of the Teutonic
towar
time reflect the character of the people, the use
legend Die Nibelungen, which was released in
viet
of shadows for dramatic contrasts, stylized and
two parts in 1924 as Siegfried and Kriemhild's
the (
antinaturalistic acting, and unrealistic makeup
Revenge. For this epic film, giant forests com-
spect
that nonetheless expresses character. Caligari
plete with a stream and hills were constructed.
on t}
used a script by Carl Mayer, who was one of
A feature of expressionist films that was
films
the most important screenwriters of the silent
eventually abandoned, and one that gives expres-
press;
era and worked on such other expressionist films
sionist films a sense of being dated, is the styl-
viet I
as Genuine (1920), directed by Wiene, and The
ized acting. Following the model set in expres-
sized
Last Laugh (1924) and Sunrise (1927), both
sionist theater, films such as Caligari, Robert
stress
directed by Murnau. Because expressionist films
Wiene's The Hands of Orlac (1924), Murnau's
T
were built on carefully constructed scripts, the
Phantom (1922), and Fritz Lang's science-fiction
on st.
contributions of Mayer and other writers were
classic Metropolis (1926) used a form of acting
locat
taken very seriously.
that sometimes seems to verge on caricature.
profe
Like many expressionist films, Caligari has
Bodies are held in contorted positions, eyes bulge
films.
elements of dread, terror, anxiety, and horror.
from their sockets, fists are clenched, and even
to f,
The confusion of identities and the inability to
walking movements are distorted to convey feel-
empl
distinguish the real from the imaginary charac-
ings from within rather than to imitate the way
film,
terize this and other films of the movement.
people actually behave.
their
They used symbols and even costume-Caligari's
Nature appears frequently in expressionist
strov
costume is batlike-to convey aspects of character.
films, not for its own sake but to add to the
inste
Caligari's sets were executed by expressionist
mood of the film or to express psychic states.
each
painters, who created two-dimensional images of
Wind, trees, clouds, and sky have no existence
of tl
buildings that often had shafts of light painted
of their own but are used in the films to convey
and
across them in diagonals to convey a sense of
the mental states of the characters.
S
tension. Unnaturalistic shadows were painted on
Like many film movements that followed, ex-
ism,
some of the sets, rather than created by lighting.
pressionism was short-lived. Dupont's Variety
sente
518
CULVER PICTURES
of trick
The innovative Busby Berkeley directed gorgeously costumed girls in lavish spectacles. He
rk City.
choreographed for many Hollywood musicals, including The Gold Diggers of 1933.
his far, however, proved to
(1925) and Murnau's The Last Laugh (1924)
to use film to explore individual reality, but the
W other filmmakers followed
and Faust (1926) were the last of the clearly
Soviet filmmakers regarded this emphasis on the
expressionist films. Murnau continued to use
individual as "bourgeois," insisting instead on
achinery at the disposal of
elements of the movement after he moved to the
the use of film to express a social reality.
of the 1920's reached new
United States, especially in Sunrise (1927). Lang
Marxist dialectics were considered the founda-
ation and complexity. For
used expressionist techniques throughout his
tion of the new Soviet government, and Soviet
phical reasons, expressionist
career, in M (1931), The Last Will of Dr. Mabuse
filmmakers considered it appropriate to use dia-
nost entirely indoors, even
(1932), and some of his Hollywood melodramas.
lectical principles. That is, the combination of
he construction of enormous
Soviet Social Realism. Arising in the 1920's
two shots to produce a third entity that is more
g's version of the Teutonic
toward the end of the expressionist period, So-
than the sum of its constituent ingredients was
(en, which was released in
viet social realism represented the antithesis of
seen as a filmic equivalent of the dialectical
; Siegfried and Kriemhild's
the German film movement in almost every re-
method, in which a "thesis" and an "antithesis"
pic film, giant forests com-
spect. The focus of the expressionist films was
produce a "synthesis."
and hills were constructed.
on the individual, but the focus of the Soviet
The major Soviet filmmakers of the 1920's
pressionist films that was
films was on the collective. The tone of the ex-
include Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevelod Pudovkin,
and one that gives expres-
pressionist films was pessimistic, that of the So-
Vziga-Vertov, and Aleksandr Dovzhenko. The
of being dated, is the styl-
viet films optimistic. The German films empha-
ferment created by their films and by their the-
g the model set in expres-
sized fate and a sense of doom, while the Soviets
oretical debates and writings on the nature of
such as Caligari, Robert
stressed history and a revolutionary "new man."
film transformed the history of world cinema.
of Orlac (1924), Murnau's
The German films were mostly shot indoors
Eisenstein produced his first two films, Strike
Fritz Lang's science-fiction
on stages and the Soviet films outdoors in natural
and The Battleship Potemkin, in 1925. Usually
26) used a form of acting
locations. The German films featured stars and
cited as one of the best films ever made, Potem-
S to verge on caricature.
professional actors almost exclusively. The Soviet
kin is the clearest manifestation of Eisenstein's
torted positions, eyes bulge
films, while using some established actors, tended
theories about the nature and function of film
its are clenched, and even
to feature nonprofessionals. The Soviet films
editing. The film depends on montage, a French
re distorted to convey feel-
emphasized the relationship between shots in a
word meaning "editing" but used by Eisenstein
er than to imitate the way
film, making editing the important element in
to suggest a particular kind of editing. Eisen-
e.
their work. In contrast, the Germans generally
steinian montage is based on intercutting many
requently in expressionist
strove to make the editing "invisible," focusing
small bits of film to create an intellectual effect.
1 sake but to add to the
instead on the development of the action within
For example, Potemkin has a sequence in which
to express psychic states.
each shot, and deriving the major creative power
a statue of a lion, representing the Russian peo-
nd sky have no existence
of their films from the script, acting, lighting,
ple, seems to rise on its hind feet and roar, an
ised in the films to convey
and movement of camera within the scene.
effect Eisenstein achieved by cutting together
ie characters.
Soviet social realism, like German expression-
shots of three different statues.
vements that followed, er-
ism, was not merely an artistic style-it repre-
The Odessa steps sequence in Potemkin is
t-lived. Dupont's Variety
sented a world view. The Germans had sought
perhaps the most studied short piece of film in
519
hund
Unio
newl
shot
Vert
bein:
socie
capt
Mov
spee
plex
Total
Vert
film
men
form
the
the
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
The "Walls of Jericho" scene from Frank Capra's It Happened One Night (1934) was
earl
thought daring in its day. Claudette Colbert and Clark Gable starred.
cial
history. It is a masterpiece of both intellectual
missioned to produce a film for the tenth anni-
and emotional communication achieved through
acc
versary celebration of the Bolshevik Revolution
the composition and editing of images. The
of 1917. The result, The End of St. Petersburg
dar
march of the Cossack troops down the steps of
(1927), provides an interesting contrast to Eisen-
Odessa, massacring everybody in their path, in-
stein's Potemkin. Where Eisenstein's film fea-
cluding women, cripples, and babies, has as
tures the masses as heroic forces and stresses
strong an impact today as it did in 1925.
intellectual concepts, Pudovkin's film is built
In Potemkin, Eisenstein utilized his theory of
around an individual peasant who is turned into
"typage" and the collective hero. Typage con-
a revolutionary by his own experiences. Pudov-
sists of using ordinary people instead of profes-
kin, in his three best-known films, Mother, The
sional actors and of having them portray char-
End of St. Petersburg, and Storm Over Asia
acters much like themselves. The collective hero
(1928), grapples with social and historical forces
was a major philosophical point of the social
by focusing on individuals who face a "crisis of
realists. Because the Soviet Union considered
conscience and choose to side with the revo-
society rather than the individual the most im-
lution.
portant unit in history, it followed that in Po-
Like Eisenstein, Pudovkin felt that the great-
temkin, Eisenstein would make the sailors, the
est strength of film lay in editing. But instead
people of Odessa, and finally the masses of Rus-
of using editing to create intellectual metaphors,
sia the collective heroes of his film. Eisenstein
symbols, and concepts, Pudovkin aimed more at
developed his ideas of montage in October (1927)
using individual shots as building blocks that
a film that deals with the Bolshevik Revolution
helped move the narrative and emotional flow of
of 1917. He continued this development in Old
the story along.
and New ( 1929; also titled The General Line),
Aleksandr Dovzhenko, the third great master
which deals with the collectivization of the peas-
of the Soviet silent film, first reached prominence
ants. His Alexander Nevsky (1938) concerns a
with Zvenigora (1927), an allegorical and often
13th century Russian prince who defeats treach-
lyrical film set in his native Ukraine. It deals
erous Germanic invaders. The fact that the So-
with a father and two sons, one a good revolu-
viet Union faced a similar threat at the time
tionary, the other a bad counterrevolutionary.
from Germany was not mere coincidence. With
Most critics consider Earth (1930) Dovzhenku's
this film and his Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944)
best film. It is poetic and often sensuous in its
and Part II (1946), Eisenstein altered his con-
treatment of the land and the people on it.
centration on the collective hero and focused
Dziga-Vertov, born Denis Kaufman, was in
instead on individuals of heroic stature. The
many ways the most provocative and revolution-
latter films managed to combine some elements
ary of the Soviet filmmakers of the 1920's. He
of expressionist technique with his earlier theories
emphasized the need to think visually rather
of montage and film dialectics.
than merely verbally and saw film as a new kind
The career of Vsevelod Pudovkin paralleled
of language for mankind, one that would give
that of Eisenstein in many ways. Pudovkin's first
access to a new kind of reality and society. From
major fiction film, Mother (1926), deals with the
1922 to 1925 he and his co-workers released a
abortive revolution of 1905, as does Eisenstein's
series of 23 newsreel films that he called kino-
Potemkin. Like Eisenstein, Pudovkin was com-
pravda ("film-truth"). Composed of thousands
520
MOTION PICTURE: 2. History of the Motion Picture
521
individual shots originally photographed by
surrealists shared with the Dadaists who had pre-
hundreds of cameramen throughout the Soviet
ceded them the desire to overthrow bourgeois
Union, Vertov's films attempted to capture the
society, but they developed a set of goals toward
society. Just as each individual
which they wished to see society move. The sur-
to the overall nature of a film,
realists sought a "sur-reality"-that is, a reality
Vertov felt, so too does each individual human
above or beyond that experienced in everyday
being contribute to the overall nature of the new
life. They campaigned against what they called
society. Consequently he tried in his films to
the "tyranny of reason, wishing to substitute
capture a sense of the nation as a giant collective.
for it a life that was deeply in touch with the
Vertov's best-known film is The Man With a
unconscious, the irrational, and the passionate.
Movie Camera (1929), which, with dizzying
The most famous surrealist film, An Andalu-
speed and power, bombards the viewer with
sian Dog (1928), was the result of a collaboration
images and sequences. It uses slow motion, fast
between Luis Buñuel and Salvador Dali. Buñuel
or speeded-up motion, animation, and a number
had a long career as the best-known surrealist
of special effects to convey a sense of the com-
filmmaker, and Dali was the best-known surrealist
plexity of life in a contemporary Soviet city.
painter. An Andalusian Dog-the title is typical
Totally abandoning fictional devices in this film,
in that it has no logical meaning-presents in 17
Vertov combines documentary and experimental
minutes some of film's most vivid images.
film techniques in his search for form to match
The Age of Gold (1930) was the second col-
the advanced ideas he is trying to communicate.
laboration of Buñuel and Dali, although the lat-
After the new and revolutionary develop-
ter contributed little except some portions of the
ments in Soviet film during the 1920's, the Com-
screenplay. During a series of escapades that
munist party between 1928 and 1932 carried on
have little connection with one another, a cow
series of attacks on elements they felt were
wanders through the woman's bedroom, a peas-
"obscure," "decadent," or overly concerned with
ant's cart rolls unnoticed through a formal party,
formal experimentation. These attacks culmi-
a man shoots his son for a trivial misdeed, and
nated in the promulgation in the mid-1930's of a
an orgy is conducted by a man dressed as Jesus.
(theory of "socialist realism," which was declared
In the 1930's, as social conditions deterio-
the only "correct" approach to be taken in film,
rated, many surrealists channeled their aesthetic
934) was
literature, theater, and other arts. While the
revolution into a political one. Instead of a body
earlier filmmakers could be called social realists
of works that bear watching today, the major
because they tried to capture an exterior, or so-
contribution of the surrealists was an attitude
cial, reality, the new concept of socialist realism
toward the world, combining a scorn for con-
uce a film for the tenth anni-
meant a specific kind of realism-one that was
ventional reality and its logic with a love of
1 of the Bolshevik Revolution
acceptable to the party.
dreams, fantasies, and the irrational.
ilt, The End of St. Petersburg
French Surrealism. Rejecting all ideas of stan-
Neorealism. Neorealism was a reaction against
n interesting contrast to Eisen-
(dards, propriety, and good taste, the French
the movements that preceded it (as they had
Where Eisenstein's film fea-
as heroic forces and stresses
pts, Pudovkin's film is built
The Marx Brothers, Groucho, Chico, and Harpo (right to left), were masters of sight gags
ial peasant who is turned into
and brash, often insulting humor in such films as A Night at the Opera (1935).
his own experiences. Pudov-
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
est-known films, Mother, The
sburg, and Storm Over Asia
with social and historical forces
lividuals who face a "crisis of
hoose to side with the revo-
, Pudovkin felt that the great-
0 lay in editing. But instead
create intellectual metaphors,
epts, Pudovkin aimed more at
hots as building blocks that
arrative and emotional flow of
thenko, the third great master
film, first reached prominence
927), an allegorical and often
his native Ukraine. It deals
two sons, one a good revolu-
a bad counterrevolutionary.
er Earth (1930) Dovzhenku's
etic and often sensuous in its
nd and the people on it.
orn Denis Kaufman, was in
it provocative and revolution-
Immakers of the 1920's. He
ed to think visually rather
y and saw film as a new kind
ankind, one that would give
1 of reality and society. From
nd his co-workers released a
el films that he called kino-
"). Composed of thousands
522
MOTION PICTURE: 2. History of the Motion Picture
in the actual locations of the stories it tells.
design:
five unrelated stories illustrate wartime horror Its
meant the was
bravery, misunderstanding, and compassion
La Nou
Vittorio De Sica, a popular actor who became
a director, was an early convert to neorealism.
term traordinary inven
he created intensely
In Shoeshine (1946) and Bicycle Thief (1948)
of new dir
been film C
roles using nonactors,
nary numb
two shoeshine boys trying to survive in a corrupt on
their first f
postwar society, and the second on an unem-
Françoi
ployed worker and his little boy who search for
reer with
the thief who stole the father's bicycle. In Um-
berto D (1952), De Sica again used a nonactor,
autobiogra later work
this time to play an impoverished old man who
Bed and B
tries to overcome loneliness and destitution in
had savage
the midst of a city that has seemingly become
became on
oblivious to individual misery.
ate direct
Federico Fellini began writing for Italian
Jules and
films in 1939 and collaborated with Rossellini
(1975) der
on Rome, Open City and Paisan. He directed
conceived
Vitelloni ( 1953; The Drones), which concerns
Jean-L
the lives of five rootless middle-class men who
tant of the
seem to have nowhere to go and nothing special
influence
to do with their lives. La Strada (1954; The
production
Road) marked Fellini's break with neorealism as
conventio
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
a formal movement but showed neorealist influ-
works for
The radiantly sensual Greta Garbo (second from left)
ences nonetheless. Using a more structured story
As his
was especially effective as a tragic heroine in such films
and professional actors, including Anthony Quinn
Woman I
as Camille (1936), with Robert Taylor (far left).
and Fellini's wife, Giulietta Masina, he tells the
(1962), C
story of a half-wit who is sold to a traveling
(1964), ar
strong man who then beats her and uses her like
explored
been against the movements that preceded them)
an animal until, heartbroken, she dies. La Strada,
special S'
as much as it was a coherent movement toward
in its naturalistic use of locations and its focus
bleak pos
something else. The neorealists, arising at the
on ordinary people, continued the thrust of the
His films
end of World War II, were reacting against the
neorealist movement but did not dwell as much
express a
Italian film traditions of the 1930's and 1940's.
on social conditions as preceding films had.
ety and b
The Italian Fascist government under Mussolini,
By 1954 neorealism had lost its vitality. Ital-
lutionary
recognizing the considerable propaganda powers
ian audiences were not generally receptive to
Other
of motion pictures, had followed the example set
films of the movement, preferring instead escapist
Carl Dre
by the Soviet government and involved the state
fare from Hollywood, and the Italian government
sion of
directly in the production of films. In 1932 the
began to disapprove of the neorealist output,
(1943),
Italian government founded the Cento Sperimen-
which was thought to present a false image of
Swede.
tale di Cinematografia, a research center and
contemporary Italian life. The neorealist films
Night (1:
film school that produced several of the most
were more appreciated in the United States, En-
clude T/
notable Italian directors and theorists of later
gland, and France, where critics and "art-house"
ries (195
years. The government also took over Cinecitta,
audiences seemed to feel that the depiction of the
In It
probably the largest film studio in Europe.
poor and downtrodden was more "realistic" than
(Rocco a
But the films produced under the Fascist re-
other films of the period.
grandios
gime in Italy were generally escapist fare, even-
The French New Wave. Starting in the late
and Dea.
tually labeled "white telephone" films because
1950's, a group of younger French film critics
nioni's S
their heroines, usually middle-class women, spent
and journalists working under the theorist André
(1962), a
Bazin began to make their mark on the film
feebler
so much time on their decorative telephones in
the course of conducting vapid love affairs.
world. The group came to include François Truf-
(1975).
When the Fascist regime was overthrown, a revul-
faut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol (The
women
sion against everything it had stood for caused a
Cousins, 1959), Alain Resnais (Hiroshima, Mon
made the
search for a more powerful and truthful cinema.
Amour, 1959), and Eric Rohmer (Claire's Knee,
Swept A
Else
Rome, Open City (1945) was one of the first
1970).
Like the leaders of film movements before
launche
neorealist films directly to confront the old tra-
dition of Italian filmmaking. Directed by Roberto
them, Truffaut, Godard, and their colleagues
German
Rossellini, who started work on the film even
skillfully proclaimed what they were against, but
noir ma
while the Germans were retreating from Rome,
what they were for remains a matter of debate.
Illusion
The new filmmakers attacked the literary domina-
rected
it combines elements of both documentary and
tion of French filmmaking, in which the visual
(1957)
fiction, focusing upon the effect of the war on
ordinary people. The film provided their first
style and direction had been subordinated to the
man Pc
major starring roles for Anna Magnani and Aldo
requirements of the script. They looked to the
before
American film, especially the works of such pre-
States.
Fabrizzi but gave several other parts to non-
viously scorned directors as Alfred Hitchcock,
were N
actors. As the movement progressed, many neo-
Howard Hawks, Sam Fuller, and Don Siegel, for
The F:
realist directors gave up using professional actors,
resorting instead to the kind of typage that
signs of what might be truly valuable in film.
(Closel:
Eisenstein had used, in which ordinary people
They proclaimed that the director was the most
British
are cast in roles similar to those they perform
important person in the creation of films of value. in
portanc
in real life.
They searched for the director's "signature"
Arabia.
Rossellini's next film, Paisan (1946), is epi-
a style, motif, thematic concern, and imagery.
1969), 1
Those whose work they liked they honored with
Schlesi
sodic in structure and uses much improvisation
ure
MOTION PICTURE: 2. History of the Motion Picture
523
ons of the stories it
the designation auteur ("author"). What they
es illustrate wartimession.
meant was "artist."
anding, and
La Nouvelle Vague ("The New Wave") was a
early convert
a popular actor who became
term invented by journalists to describe the ex-
traordinary influx into the French film industry
) and
new directors, many of whom had previously
/ centering the fividualzed
been film critics. In 1959 and 1960 an extraordi-
S,
nary number of 65 members of this "wave" made
trying to survive in a corrupt on
their first feature films in France.
d the second on an unem-
François Truffaut began his feature-film ca-
his little boy who search
reer with The Four Hundred Blows (1959), an
the father's bicycle. In Um- for
utobiographical film that he updated in several
Sica again used a nonactor,
later works, including Stolen Kisses (1968) and
impoverished old man who
Bed and Board (1970). Truffaut, who as a critic
oneliness and destitution in
had savagely attacked filmmakers he did not like,
al misery.
that has seemingly become
became one of the gentlest and most compassion-
ate directors in contemporary motion pictures.
began writing for Italian
Jules and Jim (1961) and The Story of Adele H.
collaborated with Rossellini
(1975) demonstrate his ability to develop richly
y and Paisan. He directed
conceived characters.
e Drones), which concerns
Jean-Luc Godard is perhaps the most impor-
tless middle-class men who
tant of the New Wave directors because of the
re to go and nothing special
influence his work has had on subsequent film
es. La Strada (1954; The
production. Godard challenged the accepted
i's break with neorealism as
conventions of the medium with each of his
but showed neorealist influ-
works for film or television.
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
sing a more structured story
As his career developed, in such films as A
In Grand Illusion (1937), a French war film directed by
rs, including Anthony Quinn
Woman Is a Woman (1961), Her Life to Live
Jean Renoir, Erich von Stroheim (center) was the com-
iulietta Masina, he tells the
(1962), Contempt (1963), A Married Woman
mander of a German prison camp for French officers.
who is sold to a traveling
(1964), and Masculine-Feminine (1966), Godard
1 beats her and uses her like
explored male-female relationships, expressing a
tbroken, she dies. La Strada,
special sympathy for the woman and finding
Non-European Films. During the 1960's and
e of locations and its focus
bleak possibilities for meaningful relationships.
1970's, film production began for the first time
continued the thrust of the
His films of the late 1960's and the 1970's
or changed its character in a number of non-
but did not dwell as much
express a pessimistic view of contemporary soci-
European countries. In some cases, this was
as preceding films had.
ety and become increasingly alienated and revo-
due to a change in governmental policy; in oth-
m had lost its vitality. Ital-
lutionary in mood, plot, and technique.
ers, the causes were the social and political
not generally receptive to
Other European Filmmakers. In Scandinavia,
events that motivated individuals to produce in-
t, preferring instead escapist
Carl Dreyer, a Dane, directed the acclaimed Pas-
creasing numbers of films of social comment.
and the Italian government
sion of Joan of Arc (1928) and Day of Wrath
In 1967 the Canadian government estab-
of the neorealist output,
(1943), but the giant was Ingmar Bergman, a
lished the Film Finance Corporation, charging it
:0 present a false image of
Swede. Beginning with Smiles of a Summer
to encourage domestic production, especially of
life. The neorealist films
Night (1955), his list of distinguished films in-
films on Canadian themes. In 1976 the Mexican
ed in the United States, En-
clude The Seventh Seal (1957), Wild Strawber-
government nationalized its film industry. Nei-
here critics and "art-house"
ries (1957), and Cries and Whispers (1972).
ther government, however, produced changes of
feel that the depiction of the
In Italy, the neorealist Luchino Visconti
any consequence.
in was more "realistic" than
(Rocco and His Brothers, 1960) adopted a kind of
Greater success was achieved in Australia,
riod.
grandiose theatricality in The Damned (1970)
where during the 1970's the government poured
Nave. Starting in the late
and Death in Venice (1971). Michelangelo Anto-
considerable resources into film schools and ar-
vounger French film critics
nioni's splendid L'Avventura (1960), The Eclipse
chives and encouraged domestic production.
ig under the theorist André
(1962), and Blow-Up (1967) were followed by the
Very quickly, Australian films such as Peter
te their mark on the film
feebler Zabriskie Point (1970) and The Passenger
Weir's The Last Wave (1977) and Gallipoli
ne to include François Truf-
(1975). And Lina Wertmuller, one of the few
(1981), Bruce Beresford's Breaker Morant (1980),
rd, Claude Chabrol (The
women directing films anywhere in the world,
and George Miller's The Road Warrior (1982)
1 Resnais (Hiroshima, Mon
made the entertaining Seduction of Mimi (1972),
were receiving international attention and ac-
Cric Rohmer (Claire's Knee,
Swept Away (1975), and Seven Beauties (1975).
claim.
Elsewhere in Europe, Josef von Sternberg
launched Marlene Dietrich on her career in the
Cuba, shortly after the success of its revolu-
of film movements before
tion in 1959, established the Institute of Cine-
lard, and their colleagues
German film The Blue Angel (1930). Jean Re-
matographic Art and Industry under the docu-
what they were against, but
noir made the classic French war film, Grand
Illusion (1937). In Poland, Andrzej Wajda di-
mentary filmmaker Santiago Alvarez. Among
emains a matter of debate.
the major films to emerge through its auspices
ttacked the literary domina-
rected the trilogy A Generation (1954), Kanal
(1957), and Ashes and Diamonds (1958), and Ro-
were Humberto Sola's Lucia (1968) and Tomás
aking, in which the visual
d been subordinated to the
Gutiérrez Alea's Memories of Underdevelopment
man Polanski made Knife in the Water (1962)
script. They looked to the
before going to work in France and the United
(1969).
ally the works of such pre-
States. Notable Czech filmmakers in the 1960's
Throughout the 1960's and 1970's, the proper
ctors as Alfred Hitchcock,
were Milos Forman (Loves of a Blonde, 1965;
relationship between revolutionary form and
Fuller, and Don Siegel, for
The Firemen's Ball, 1967) and Jiií Menzel
revolutionary content was much debated. The
(Closely Watched Trains, 1966). And several
Argentine filmmakers Fernando Solanas and Oc-
be truly valuable in film.
the director was the most
British directors made films of international im-
tavio Getino, arguing that revolutionary films de-
ie creation of films of value.
manded revolutionary forms, produced the four-
portance, including David Lean (Lawrence of
ie director's "signature" in
Arabia, 1969), 1962), Ken Russell (Women in Love,
and-a-half-hour documentary essay Hour of the
Furnaces (1969).
tic concern, and imagery.
ey liked they honored with
Schlesinger (Sunday, Bloody (If Sunday, 1968), 1971).
Lindsay
Anderson
and
John
Of a similar frame of mind was Africa's lead-
ing filmmaker, the Senegalese Ousmane Sem-
stick and
would late
the anima
chase, ofte
the loo
from
these L
Sennet
films, i'
ton, Harr:
each outg
Sennett's
working
moved int
Charle
widely re
has been
than any
phasized
structure,
gags, pra
the work
ers of the
Chapl
a music-!
actor in n
"tramp"
closely ic.
Kid. Auto
of the cl
CULVER PICTURES
initial ap
Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) and Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh) escape from Atlanta
too big f
in the 1939 film classic Gone With the Wind, based on Margaret Mitchell's bestseller.
were mu
doffed to
moustacl
bène, whose films from Le Noire de
(1969)
3. American Motion-Picture History
advantag
to Emitai (1971) made little concession to non-
Chap
African ways of filmmaking.
D. W. Griffith's The Birth of a Nation, re-
between
The "Cinema Novo" movement in Brazil dur-
leased in 1915, helped fix the Hollywood film
walker, (
ing the 1960's, on the other hand, argued that the
industry as the center of world film production.
and The
most popular forms were the best vehicles for
While other countries have surpassed the United
feature-1.
radical content; this view probably is best repre-
States in the number of films released annually,
of his ca
sented by the Brazilian Glauber Rocha's Antonio
none has had as sustained an output or influence
(1925),
das Mortes (1969). Whichever approach was
on world film.
(1931)
taken, governments repeatedly repressed films
the late
they disliked. "Cinema Novo' was put down by
AMERICAN FILM GENRES
that his
the Brazilian government in the early 1970's, just
In literature, genre refers basically to forms
in panto
as the Chinese government, during the "Cultural
such as drama, poetry, and prose. In film, genre
Chaplin
Revolution" of the early 1970's, brought film-
has come to refer to kinds or types of production,
words tl
making to a virtual halt.
such as comedy, musical, and Western.
intention
In Asia the two other dominant countries
Genres should be distinguished from series
real dial
each supported prolific film production, but rad-
and serials. A series in films consists of a num-
results V
ical filmmaking was a rarity. India, for many
ber of self-contained films featuring the same
to confi
years the world's leader in the number of films
character or characters, usually but not always
Bust
produced, seldom produced anything other than
played by the same group of actors. Major U.S.
low con
the rigidly formularized films combining song,
series have featured Tarzan, Andy Hardy, the
cut sho
dance, and romance. The major exception was
Thin Man, Charlie Chan, Sherlock Holmes, and
most im
the work of Satyajit Ray, a native of Bengal
James Bond. A serial consists of continuing epi-
in the
whose films, beginning with Pather Panchali
sodes that are closely linked to'one another, and
built or
(1955), brought him international attention but
these episodes do not generally stand by them-
larity.
little popular success in his native land.
selves or constitute feature-length films. Ameri-
Kea
The film industry in Japan closely resembled
can serials have dealt with Flash Gordon, Super-
with T
the Hollywood studio system, and in its peak
man, Dick Tracy, Red Rider, Radio King, and a
Griffith'
years it, too, produced 300 to 400 films yearly.
host of other characters, often based on comic
tty (191
While some of its major directors, such as Mizo-
strips or other forms of popular culture.
a possi
guchi Kenji, Ozu Yasujiro, and Kinugasa Teino-
The major film genres developed in the
headed
suke, were producing masterpieces as far back as
United States are: comedy, musical, Western,
gave K
the 1920's, the rest of the world was virtually
gangster, horror, war, science fiction, and detec-
quence
unaware of Japanese film until Kurosawa Akira's
tive suspense.
make
Rashomon won the Grand Prize in the 1951 Ven-
Silent Comedy. Mack Sennett began in films in
hero, a
ice Film Festival. From that point, increasing
1909 and moved to Los Angeles in 1912 to work
the filn
attention was paid to both the classic directors
with the Keystone company, for which he devel-
In
and newer ones such as Ichikawa Kon, Inagaki
oped dozens of films utilizing the "Keystone
girlfriet
Hiroshi, and Oshima Nagisa.
Kops." Sennett's work relied largely on slap-
General
524
MOTION PICTURE: 3. American Motion-Picture History
525
and fast-paced, often violent action that
way locomotive from Union soldiers in the Civil
would later become the hallmark of American
War. The two films, considered his best, both
im animation. The pie in the face, the wild car
revolve around one of the recurrent battles in
chase, often ending in a wreck, the wild animals
Keaton's films: the individual against the ma-
the loose, the dizzying physical action rang-
chine. In his struggle with inanimate objects,
from slaps in the face to kicks in the rear--
which would begin to take on human character-
these became staples of Sennett's many films.
istics, Keaton often was at his best.
Sennett gave many comedians their first start
Harold Lloyd, like Chaplin and Keaton, col-
films, including Charlie Chaplin, Buster Kea-
laborated in the writing, directing, and producing
ton, Harry Langdon, and Fatty Arbuckle. As
of his best work. Lloyd worked with Sennett
each outgrew the routines, the incredible pace of
briefly, but in 1914 went into partnership with
Sennett's film production, and the anonymity of
Hal Roach, Sennett's major rival.
working as part of the Sennett ensemble, he
Lloyd's screen character went through several
moved into major comedy production of his own.
changes, including a series of films featuring
Charles Spencer Chaplin became the most
"Lonesome Luke," who was closely patterned on
widely recognized film figure in the world, and it
Charlie Chaplin's tramp. In 1917, after looking
has been said that he was more universally known
for a screen personality that would fit his own
than any living person in history. Chaplin em-
talents better, Lloyd came up with what he called
phasized the development of character and plot
the "Glasses Character"-a clean-cut American
structure, in contrast to the simple reliance on
full of pluck, exuberance, and daring who often
gags, pratfalls, and gimmicks that characterized
gets into dangerous situations from which he has
the work of Sennett and other comedy produc-
to extricate himself.
ers of the day.
Utilizing a pair of horn-rimmed glasses and
Chaplin learned much of the art of comedy as
a straw hat, Lloyd managed in his best films to
music-hall comedian in England and as an
blend a series of "gags" with perilous situations,
actor in more than 30 short films for Sennett. His
as when, in Safety Last (1923), the character
"tramp" character, with which he became so
falls off a building ledge and grasps the hands
closely identified, made its first appearance in
of a clock, which then stretches out of its case
Kid. Auto Races at Venice (1914). The contrasts
and leaves him dangling over the street below.
of the character's costume created much of his
Lloyd's best-known silent features in addi-
initial appeal. The shoes and pants were much
tlanta
tion to Safety Last are The Freshman (1925),
too big for him, while the formal vest and coat
seller.
For Heaven's Sake (1926), and The Kid Brother
were much too small. The derby hat, which he
(1927). In each he plays a somewhat naive and
doffed to one and all, contrasted with his funny
bashful young lad who is unable to get the girl of
icture History
moustache and set off his expressive face to great
his dreams until he has performed a heroic feat.
advantage.
The Birth of a Nation, re-
Chaplin made several important short films
ed fix the Hollywood film
between 1916 and 1918, including The Floor-
Citizen Kane (1941), directed by and starring Orson
walker, One A. M., The Pawnshop, Easy Street,
er of world film production.
Welles, experimented with the use of wide-angle and
S have surpassed the United
and The Immigrant. He met the challenge of the
deep-focus lenses and made innovative use of sound.
feature-length film and produced the best work
of films released annually,
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
of his career in The Kid (1920), The Gold Rush
tined an output or influence
(1925), The Circus (1928), and City Lights
(1931). He faced the introduction of sound in
N FILM GENRES
the late 1920's with great concern, for he felt
that his tramp character would be effective only
re refers basically to forms
in pantomime. After several years of hesitation,
, and prose. In film, genre
Chaplin made Modern Ti AS in 1936, but the
inds or types of production,
ical, and Western.
words that came out of the tramp's mouth were
intentional gibberish. When Chaplin finally used
distinguished from series
in films consists of a num-
real dialogue in The Great Dictator (1940), the
films featuring the same
results were generally disappointing and seemed
to confirm Chaplin's self-analysis.
rs, usually but not always
Buster Keaton began in film in 1917 with fel-
roup of actors. Major U.S.
low comedian Fatty Arbuckle, whose career was
Tarzan, Andy Hardy, the
han, Sherlock Holmes, and
cut short by scandal in the 1920's. Chaplin's
consists of continuing epi-
most important rival, Keaton often surpassed him
linked to one another, and
in the ability to evoke sustained laughter that
t generally stand by them-
larity. built one "gag" on another with increasing hi-
ature-length films. Ameri-
with Flash Gordon, Super-
Keaton began feature-film production in 1923
1 Rider, Radio King, and a
with The Three Ages, which satirized D. W.
ers, often based on comic
Griffith's monumental Intolerance. Our Hospital-
of popular culture.
ity (1923) featured a number of stunts, including
genres developed in the
a possible calamity with a train and a canoe
headed for a waterfall. Sherlock Junior (1924)
omedy, musical, Western,
science fiction, and detec-
gave Keaton a chance to utilize a dream se-
quence, which often appeared in his films, and to
k Sennett began in films in
make use of trick photography-as when the
)S Angeles in 1912 to work
hero, a movie theater projectionist, leaps into
npany, for which he devel-
the film screen to help the damsel in distress.
; utilizing the "Keystone
In The Navigator (1924), Keaton and his
rk relied largely on slap-
girlfriend are alone on a deserted ship. In The
General (1926) he and his girl recapture a rail-
Sound
Marx best-knov Bro
bott and I
Allen.
Happene
Bringin
Lady Et
It Hot,
The
and som
and we
sound to
first film
of the
earlier,
based 0
The
humor.
rimmed
bined W
dressed
dler jus
complic
to follo
blond
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
sound !
Italian director Vittorio De Sica's Bicycle Thief (1948) used nonprofessional performers. The neorealistic film
angelic
depicts the agonizing day of an unemployed man and his son who look for the man who stole the father's bicycle.
charact
since it
realisti
John Huston's Treasure of the Sierra Ma-
Lloyd made the transition to sound more suc-
was th
dre (1948), a film about greed and
cessfully than either Chaplin or Keaton, appear-
Soup
treachery, had memorable performances
ing to good advantage in Movie Crazy (1932)
Movin
by Humphrey Bogart and Walter Huston.
and Mad Wednesday (1947), known in a
Brothe
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
different version as The Sins of Harold Diddle-
their 1
bock.
and A
Harry Langdon also began his film work with
W
Mack Sennett, continuing with him until 1925,
major
when he went into feature-film production with
Frank Capra, one of the greatest film comedy
directors. Langdon's period of success was short
Gary (
and his best works-Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
directe
(1926), The Strong Man (1926), Long Pants
(1927), and His First Flame (1927) -were made
within months of one another. Langdon's was
the most passive of the major silent-film char-
acters. Whereas Chaplin, Keaton, and Lloyd
projected characters who worked actively to get
what they wanted from life, things happened to
Langdon.
Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy had entered
silent films independently and did not become
a team until 1927, when Hal Roach employed
them. "Stan and Ollie" were one of the major
teams of film history. Stan, the "tall, thin one"
had a baby face that sometimes resembled Harry
Langdon's, especially when he broke into child-
like tears. Hardy, the fat one," was pompous
and aggressive, always trying to dominate the
free spirit of Laurel, who would get his revenge
against his partner in the most devious and en-
dearing ways. Their world was one in which
neither seemed competent to do anything cor-
rectly and in which, as they continued to try,
things got worse and worse. In Two Tars
(1928), a drive in the country ultimately leads
to mass mayhem with their own and others' auto-
mobiles. In The Music Box (1932), they dog-
gedly try to get a piano up an enormous flight
of stairs, destroying everything in their path and
the piano itself. They produced two of their best-
known films, Our Relations (1936) and Way
Out West (1937), during the sound era.
526
MOTION PICTURE: 3. American Motion-Picture History
527
Sound Comedy. After Laurel and Hardy, the
dust (1925). Sound gave Fields the opportunity
known comedians of the sound era were the
to display to their best advantage his major as-
Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Mae West, Bud Ab-
sets-his voice and sense of timing. The char-
bott and Lou Costello, Jerry Lewis, and Woody
acter Fields created was in several ways a self-
Allen. In addition, directors Frank Capra (It
caricature: a boozy, conniving grouch who hated
Happened One Night, 1934), Howard Hawks
children, dogs, and old ladies. He wrote many of
Bringing Up Baby, 1938), Preston Sturges (The
his own scripts under such names as Otis Crible-
Lady Eve, 1941), and Billy Wilder (Some Like
coblis and Mahatmas Kane Jeeves. His best films
It Hot, 1959) made fine screen comedies.
are You Can't Cheat an Honest Man (1939),
The Marx Brothers-Groucho, Chico, Harpo,
The Bank Dick (1940), My Little Chickadee
and sometimes Zeppo-were trained in the theater
(1940), and Never Give a Sucker an Even Break
and went into film after the introduction of
(1941).
sound to do essentially theatrical routines. Their
Mae West, who appeared with Fields in My
first film, The Coconuts (1929), a filmed record
Little Chickadee, was in some ways his feminine
of the play they had made famous four years
counterpart, tolerating fools and pomposity only
earlier, was followed by Animal Crackers (1930),
with great difficulty and refusing to succumb to
based on their 1928 theatrical production.
what was considered decent, proper, and correct.
The Marx Brothers combined visual and aural
Coming from the Broadway theater, where
humor. Groucho's painted-on moustache, horn-
she wrote and starred in Sex (1926), a shocking
nmmed glasses, cigar, and dress suit were com-
play for its. time, West began her career after the
bined with a brash, often insulting humor. Chico,
introduction of sound and before censorship was
dressed and sounding like an Italian street ped-
taken seriously. Her sensuous, sultry, and often
dler just off the boat, specialized in puns and
insinuating tone of voice merged perfectly with
complicated schemes that were often impossible
her sensuous, sultry, and sexy body to produce
to follow. Harpo was a mute with a mop of curly
an earthy male-female relationship that has never
blond hair and a horn that gave him all the
been surpassed in film. In her three best films,
SEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
sound he needed. The harp on which he played
She Done Him Wrong (1933), I'm No Angel
performers. The neorealistic film
angelic solos was completely out of place and
(1933), and Belle of the Nineties (1934), West
an who stole the father's bicycle.
character but was totally endearing nonetheless,
portrayed a woman of the world whose back-
since it contrasted with his oversexed and sur-
ground and occupation were probably less than
realistic pursuit of any female in sight. Zeppo
moral. In the 1930's she was attacked by the
transition to sound more suc-
was the straight man," who retired after Duck
Legion of Decency, a censorship group, and was
Chaplin or Keaton, appear-
Soup (1933) to become a Hollywood agent.
forced by Paramount to clean up her act.
age in Movie Crazy (1932)
Moving from Paramount to MGM, the three Marx
Bud Abbott and Lou Costello were vaudeville
lay (1947), known in a
Brothers made what are generally considered
The Sins of Harold Diddle-
comedians who perfected their characterizations
their best films, A Night at the Opera (1935)
and routines in front of live audiences before
Iso began his film work with
and A Day at the Races (1937).
appearing in their first film, One Night in the
W.C. Fields was a vaudevillian whose first
Tropics (1940). In many ways similar to Laurel
nuing with him until 1925,
feature-film production with
major film was D. W. Griffith's Sally of the Saw-
and Hardy, but cruder and more raucous, the
f the greatest film comedy
period of success was short
Gary Cooper starred in many fine Westerns. Among the best was High Noon (1952),
:s-Tramp, Tramp, Tramp
directed by Fred Zinnemann. The film was part of a trend toward "adult" Westerns.
Man (1926), Long Pants
t Flame (1927) -were made
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
ie another. Langdon's was
the major silent-film char-
aplin, Keaton, and Lloyd
who worked actively to get
m life, things happened to
Oliver Hardy had entered
ently and did not become
vhen Hal Roach employed
ie" were one of the major
Stan, the "tall, thin one
sometimes resembled Harry
when he broke into child-
he fat one," was pompous
ys trying to dominate the
who would get his revenge
the most devious and en-
world was one in which
etent to do anything cor-
as they continued to try,
id worse. In Two Tars
le country ultimately leads
their own and others' auto-
ic Box (1932), they dog-
ino up an enormous flight
verything in their path and
produced two of their best-
elations (1936) and Way
tring the sound era.
interesting n
serial p
heroes
Ke!
Wonths filmin Wes
epic" abject the
machinery, conquer
Wagon is
prairies, di
California (1924) de
the contin
Pacific (1)
Time Tumblew in
with
settlers P
does Cim
The a
visual dra
major dir
or anothe
sound W
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
The Big
Two giants of European filmmaking after World War II
major W
were Sweden's Ingmar Bergman and Italy's Federico
Died Wi
Fellini. (Above) Death and the Knight play chess in
many fili
Bergman's symbol-laden The Seventh Seal (1957). (Left)
Victo
Giulietta Masina (Fellini's wife) and Anthony Quinn
(1929)
were traveling entertainers in Fellini's La Strada (1954).
more th
peared i
and Fre
of motion-picture techniques. With his later
films, Bananas (1971), Sleeper (1973), Love
Lang m
and We
and Death (1975), and Annie Hall (1977), Allen
The Ox
increasingly investigated ways to combine script,
Treasur
camera, and editing techniques to produce a
Mor
form of humor appropriate to film.
is close
Westerns. The Western was the first American
genre to be developed and has remained a staple
film, W
form.
of the American motion-picture art and industry.
The To
It has been estimated that one quarter of U.S.
years h
films have been Westerns.
star H:
One of the first films to tell a sustained story
The It
was Edwin S: Porter's The Great Train Robbery
(1926
(1903). D. W. Griffith made a number of short
of 187
Westerns before turning to feature films, the
best of which was The Battle of Elderbush Gulch
types
form
(1914). G. M. "Bronco Billy" Anderson was the
John
first Western star. The character he created in
first fi
some 300 short films between 1900 and 1915
Valley
was referred to as the "good bad man" and be-
which
came one of the conventions of the form.
pair was a study in contrasts. In more than 30
there,
In the silent era, two kinds of heroes ap-
lands
cheaply produced films, they often parodied con-
peared. Bronco Billy and William S. Hart repre-
Fo
temporary situations in real life or in other films.
sented one kind-the man with a past who even-
up hi
Jerry Lewis received his training in night
tually sides with the "good guys. Hart and his
mistic
clubs, as part of a team with Dean Martin, with
imitators smoked, drank, and were friendly with
tions}
whom he appeared in such films as My Friend
loose women until, as in Hell's Hinges (1916),
and
Irma (1949), That's My Boy (1951), and Artists
a beautiful woman from the East came to town
V
and Models (1955). On his own, Lewis con-
and persuaded them to go straight.
and
tinued to develop a contemporary character that
The other kind of Western hero was typified
post
consciously evoked similarities to earlier silent
by Tom Mix, who became Hart's major com-
thusi
comedians, especially Chaplin and Lloyd.
petitor. Mix, setting an example for the children
Hen.
Woody Allen began his career as a writer for
who were his most devoted fans, did not smoke
Peck
television and theatrical performers. His earlier
or drink or have bad companions or a lawbreak-
even
film comedies, such as What's New, Pussycat
ing past. His major friendship was with his
ern.
(1965), What's Up, Tiger Lily? (1966), and
horse, Old Blue and then Tony.
Shai
Take the Money and Run (1969), tend to rely
While Hart's more complex kind of character
can
more on the script than on the creative potential
would show up frequently in many of the most
528
MOTION PICTURE: 3. American Motion-Picture History
529
teresting Westerns, the Mix kind of hero pro-
ded the model for a multitude of low-budget
serial productions, giving rise to other "cow-
heroes such as Johnny Mack Brown, Hoot
Gbson, Ken Maynard, Buck Jones, Tim McCoy,
Hopalong Cassidy, Gene Autry, and Roy Rogers.
In 1923, director James Cruze spent several
months on authentic locations in Nevada and
Utah filming The Covered Wagon, the first of the
epic" Westerns. The epic Westerns took as their
abject the large-scale movement of the people,
achinery, and animals that were required to
conquer the western territories. The Covered
Wagon is about a band of settlers crossing the
prairies, deserts, and mountains for Oregon and
California in prairie schooners. The Iron Horse
(1924) deals with the laying of railroads across
the continent, as do Cecil B. DeMille's Union
Pacific (1939) and Sergio Leone's Once Upon a
Time in the West (1969). William S. Hart's
Tumbleweeds (1925) depicts the land rush as
settlers poured into the Oklahoma territory, as
does Cimarron (1931 and 1961).
The attractions of working within the highly
visual dramatic format of the Western drew many
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
major directors in Hollywood to it at one time
Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959), a French "New Wave"
or another. Raoul Walsh made one of the earliest
film produced and directed by Alain Resnais, starred
:UM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
sound Westerns, In Old Arizona, in 1929. His
Emmanuelle Riva and Eiji Okada as the lovers.
filmmaking after World War II
The Big Trail (1930) was John Wayne's first
Bergman and Italy's Federico
major Western. Walsh returned again in They
and the Knight play chess in
Died With Their Boots On (1942), one of the
During the 1960's, a series of "spaghetti
The Seventh Seal (1957). (Left)
many films about Custer and Little Bighorn.
Westerns" directed by the Italian Sergio Leone
i's wife) and Anthony Quinn
Victor Fleming's version of The Virginian
and starring Clint Eastwood had a major impact
ers. in Fellini's La Strada (1954).
(1929) presented Gary Cooper in the first of his
on the Hollywood view of the genre. The Leone
more than a dozen Westerns. Cooper also ap-
Westerns utilized the wide screen. to emphasize
peared in William Wyler's The Westerner (1940)
the grandeur and awesomeness of the terrain and
chniques. With his later
and Fred Zinnemann's High Noon (1952). Fritz
raise the violence to unprecedented extremes.
1), Sleeper (1973), Love
Lang made The Return of Frank James (1940)
Around the same time, Americans were recogniz-
d Annie Hall (1977), Allen
and Western Union (1941); William Wellman,
ing that other cultures had equivalents to the
ed ways to combine script,
The Ox-bow Incident (1943); and John Huston,
Western that made them almost interchangeable,
techniques to produce a
Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948).
leading director John Sturges to adapt a Japanese
briate to film.
More than any other director, John Ford, who
film, Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (1954), into an
tern was the first American
is closely identified with the American Western
American Western-The Magnificent Seven (1960).
and has remained a staple
film, was responsible for much of its evolving
Sam Peckinpah's The Wild Bunch (1969)
on-picture art and industry.
form. Ford began as a director in 1917 with
marked another step in the evolution of the
that one quarter of U.S.
The Tornado, a Western. During the next three
American Western. The real-life gang that had
erns.
years he directed a series of films with Western
inspired The Great Train Robbery in 1903 was
ns to tell a sustained story
star Harry Carey. In the 1920's, Ford directed
called "The Wild Bunch," but a half century
The Great Train Robbery
The Iron Horse (1924) and Three Bad Men
later those who had been villains were now pro-
h made a number of short
(1926), which deals with the Dakota land rush
jected as heroes. Here, William Holden is an
ing to feature films, the
of 1876. In the 1930's, Ford worked on other
aging Westerner, a "good bad man" with a dif-
Battle of Elderbush Gulch
types of films, but in 1939 he returned to the
ference-he robs and kills without reformation,
o Billy" Anderson was the
form with his classic Stagecoach, which made
and his honor and loyalty are portrayed as cor-
e character he created in
John Wayne an enduring star. This was the
rectly belonging only to his own gang, because
between 1900 and 1915
first film Ford shot in the majestic Monument
the "civilized" people are worse than he is.
"good bad man" and be-
Valley, on the Arizona-Utah border. The scenery,
In Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid (1973),
ntions of the form.
which so suited Ford that he made several films
Peckinpah makes Billy a heroic figure in a West
two kinds of heroes ap-
there, furnishes one of the most recognizable
that has grown soft and corrupt. In Butch Cas-
nd William S. Hart repre-
landscapes in American motion pictures.
sidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), George Roy
an with a past who even-
Ford's My Darling Clementine (1946) sums
Hill resurrected two little-known desperadoes and
good guys. Hart and his
up his work and that of many others in its opti-
made them into heroic figures, producing the
k, and were friendly with
mistic attitude toward law and order, the rela-
highest-grossing Western made up till then. In
in Hell's Hinges (1916),
tionship of Eastern culture to Western toughness,
Soldier Blue (1970), Ralph Nelson changed the
n the East came to town
and the new civilization in the West.
conventional portrayal of the U.S. cavalry as
go straight.
Whereas the early Western heroes were eager
heroic protectors of women and children into
Véstern hero was typified
and ambitious young men, the heroes of many
savage and stupid murderers. In Little Big Man
came Hart's major com-
postwar films were beginning to feel less en-
(1971), Arthur Penn expressed disgust for the
example for the children
thusiastic and even to doubt themselves. In
historic legends of the past and explored the
oted fans, did not smoke
Henry King's The Gunfighter (1950), Gregory
human cost to those who were defeated. The
ompanions or a lawbreak-
Peck plays a tired, aging man with a past who
situations in the Westerns were what they had
friendship was with his
even has a wife and a son-unusual for any West-
always been, but their meaning had changed.
en Tony.
ern. In George Stevens' beautifully photographed
Musicals. If the Western deals with the justi-
complex kind of character
Shane (1953), Alan Ladd tries as long as he
fication of violence, the musical deals with the
itly in many of the most
can to avoid involvement in violence.
consummation of love. Virtually all musicals
raphies of composers and lyricists: Words biog-
Kern. There was almost a deluge of similar
Music (1948), based on the lives and and
Rodgers and Hart; Three Little Words (1948),
on Kalmar and Ruby; I'll See You in My Dreams
Life Are Free (1956), on Brown, DeSylva, in
(1952), on Gus Kahn; and The Best Things
Henderson. The Eddie Duchin Story (1956) and
The Glenn Miller Story (1954) put the emphasis and
on bandleaders, while The Great Caruso (1951)
focuses on the famous singer. Nashville (1975)
not precisely a musical, deals with the life
a fictitious, but presumably typical, country singer. of
Adaptations from other musical forms have
provided many of the most popular big-budget
musicals, although as a group they have not
made the most lasting contributions to the art
of the film musical. From the world of operetta
a series of musicals starring Jeanette MacDonald
and Nelson Eddy included The Merry Widow
(1934), Naughty Marietta (1935), Rose Marie
(1936), and New Moon (1940). Mario Lanza
revived the operetta form in Toast of New Or-
leans (1950).
The transferring of musicals intact from the
Broadway stage became almost automatic begin-
ning in the 1950's, and included Brigadoon
(1954), Oklahoma! (1955), The King and I (1956),
South Pacific (1958), Pajama Game (1957), Damn
Yankees (1958), West Side Story (1961), My
Fair Lady (1964), and The Sound of Music
Lean,
(1965). Several individuals and teams made má-
jor contributions to the musical specifically cre-
ated for the film.
Broa
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
Busby Berkeley went to Hollywood from the
in tl
The riotously funny Some Like it Hot (1959), directed
Broadway theater in the early days of sound. A
geth
by Billy Wilder, displayed the comedy talents of (left to
dance director, Berkeley is probably best remem-
port.
right) Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon, and Tony Curtis.
bered for his "production numbers" introduced
Yola
in a series of Warner Brothers musicals. Among
An
the most notable of these self-contained dancing
(19
center on the love relationship between two char-
and singing extravaganzas are the "We're in the
acters. There are problems they face in coming
Money" sequence in Gold Diggers of 1933, the
mus
together, but invariably their love is requited,
"By a Waterfall" sequence in Footlight Parade
the
even if, as in West Side Story (1961), one of
(1933), and the "Lullaby of Broadway" sequence
the lovers dies, or Cabaret (1972), they separate.
in Gold Diggers of 1935. These routines were
the
Significantly, the introduction of sound to the
choreographed by Berkeley to emphasize the
dan
U.S. motion picture began, not with dialogue,
mechanical precision of the dancers. He often
app
but with music. The short films used to demon-
used the techniques of the German expressionist
strate sound in- 1926 synchronized singers, violin-
directors but without their purpose, merely using
dar.
ists, and other performers to picture. In 1927, The
shadows, striking angles, and camera movement
Jazz Singer, the first major sound film, featured
for dramatic. or aesthetic effect.
in'
Al Jolson singing of his love to his "mammy."
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers were, at their
Par
The musicals of the late 1920's and the early
peak, the most popular male-female team in film
Bri.
1930's tended to be based on the revue or variety
musical history. Beginning with Flying Down to
format. With little development of story line or
Rio (1933) and extending through The Gay Di-
Pig
characters, the films consisted of a series of "num-
vorcee (1934), Roberta (1935), Top Hat (1935),
Th.
bers" by established stars of Broadway, vaude-
Follow the Fleet (1935), Swing Time (1936),
gar
ville, and radio. The Hollywood Review (1929),
Shall We Dance (1937), Carefree (1938), and
of
Show of Shows (1930), Paramount on Parade
The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle (1939)-
(1930), Movietone Follies (1930), King of Jazz
another "biographical" musical-Astaire and Rog-
(1930). and The Big Broadcast (1931) were
ers developed the possibilities of the dance on
is
early models that were to be imitated many times.
film. Unlike the Busby Berkeley routines, in
Later manifestations of the form were the
which dancing had little to do with the dramatic
fro
biographical musicals, often highly fictionalized,
line of the film, the Astaire-Rogers dances were
Bc
about great composers, musicians, singers, or im-
thoroughly integrated into their films.
L
presarios, providing the opportunity to string
Arthur Freed went to Hollywood to write the
S,
together some of their most popular hits. MGM's
musical score for The Broadway Melody (1929); of
The Great Ziegfeld (1936) combines the revue
Working his way up at MGM to the position
and the biography and provided such a useful
associate producer on The Wizard of Oz (1939),
format that it reappears in Ziegfeld Follies
Freed formed a "unit" of composers, writers,
(1946). Rhapsody in Blue (1945) deals with
actors, designers, choreographers, directors, and
composer George Gershwin; Night and Day
other talent that produced the most important
(1945), with songwriter Cole Porter; and Till the
group of musicals to come out of Hollywood.
Clouds Roll By (1946), with composer Jerome
Freed brought Vincente Minnelli from the
530
Imost a deluge of similar
ers and lyricists: Words biog-
sed Three on the lives and and
'y; See You in
I'll Little Words work of
ahn; and The
56), on Brown,
ddie Duchin Story (1956) and
itory (1954) put the emphasis and
ous singer. Nashville (1975)
ile The Great Caruso (1951)
sical, deals with the life
mably typical, country singer. of
the most popular big-budget
n other musical forms have
ting contributions to the art
as a group they have not
From the world of operetta.
starring Jeanette MacDonald
included The Merry Widow
1arietta (1935), Rose Marie
Moon (1940). Mario Lanza
form in Toast of New Or.
of musicals intact from the
ame almost automatic begin-
;, and included Brigadoon
955), The King and I (1956),
Pajama Game (1957), Damn
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
est Side Story (1961), My
and The Sound of Music
Lawrence of Arabia (1962), a brilliantly photographed British spectacle directed by David
viduals and teams made ma-
Lean, featured Peter O'Toole (right) as T.E. Lawrence and Omar Sharif as Sherif Ali.
the musical specifically cre-
Broadway stage to direct his first feature, Cabin
vent to Hollywood from the
rattle of machine guns, the chattering of break-
the early days of sound. A
in the Sky (1943), with an all-black cast. To-
ing glass, and the like contributed immeasurably
:ley is probably best remem-
gether, Freed and Minnelli produced such im-
to a sense of the gangster's destructiveness.
portant musicals as Meet Me in St. Louis (1944),
action numbers" introduced
The release of a number of gangster films in
Brothers musicals. Among
Yolanda and the Thief (1945), The Pirate (1948),
the early 1930's caused considerable controversy
these self-contained dancing
An American in Paris (1951), The Band Wagon
among groups that decried the presentation of
(1953), Brigadoon (1954), and Gigi (1958).
anzas are the "We're in the
violence on the screen. Whether the depiction
Gold Diggers of 1933, the
Freed produced a number of other major
of gangsters provided a model to emulate or to
musicals, including Easter Parade (1948), On
quence in Footlight Parade
avoid has been a question hotly debated since
laby of Broadway" sequence
the Town (1949), and Singin' in the Rain (1952).
the first appearance of the genre. But with the
1935. These routines were
Gene Kelly was, with Fred Astaire, one of
Berkeley to emphasize the
the most important figures in the development of
of the dancers. He often
dance in the popular film. Less sophisticated in
Jerome Robbins directed the dance sequences in West
of the German expressionist
appearance than Astaire but more robust, Kelly
Side Story (1961), a faithful adaptation to the screen
employed a kind of masculine acrobatics in his
their purpose, merely using
of Leonard Bernstein's successful stage musical.
les, and camera movement
dancing. He was partnered by a number of
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
etic effect.
leading ladies including Debbie Reynolds in Sing-
Ginger Rogers were, at their
in' in the Rain, Leslie Caron in An American in
tr male-female team in film
Paris, and Cyd Charisse in The Band Wagon and
Brigadoon.
ning with Flying Down to
ding through The Gay Di-
Gangster Films. From Griffith's Musketeers of
a (1935), Top Hat (1935),
Pig Alley (1912) to Francis Ford Coppola's
35), Swing Time (1936),
The Godfather (1971), films about organized
37), Carefree (1938), and
gangs and the violence they cause have been one
and Irene Castle (1939)-
of the most popular genres. While the Western
musical-Astaire and Rog-
deals with a mythical American past and the
ssibilities of the dance on
musical with a fantasy land, the gangster film
is closely tied to a real facet of American life.
sby Berkeley routines, in
the to do with the dramatic
The first major sound gangster films came
from contemporary newspaper headline stories.
staire-Rogers dances were
into their films.
Both Little Caesar (1930), directed by Mervyn
to Hollywood to write the
LeRoy and starring Edward G. Robinson, and
Broadway Melody (1929);
Scarface (1932), directed by Howard Hawks
t MGM to the position of
and starring Paul Muni, were based on current
The Wizard of Oz (1939),
stories about Al Capone and his gang. Public
t" of composers, writers,
Enemy (1931), directed by William Wellman
eographers, directors, and
and starring James Cagney, was patterned on
uced the most important
gangster Hymie Weiss.
come out of Hollywood.
The flowering of the gangster film depended
ente Minnelli from the
on the introduction of sound. The screeching
tires of the high-speed auto chases, the staccato
531
feature the
emphasis is not
takes 1
foi
Ye
SO
to a postwar so
The Korean
eynicism to the
itself was so
(1951) and F.
grim determina
As America
nam deepened.
film produ
II, the Vietnar
screen, except
Berets (1968),
was attacked ir
Deer Hunter,
1978) and An
Horror Films
the horror filn
possibilities of
trasts of dark
camera ready.
shocking discc
expressing a Si
of low-angle S
WALTER READE ORGANIZATION AND SATES
The Russian film version of Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace (1963), directed by Sergei Bondarchuk,
angle shots to
originally ran for eight hours. It was released in Britain and the United States in 1966 in two three-hour parts.
form that is a
as in characte
It is diffic
establishment of a strict Production Code in
ment in the :
Hollywood in 1934, and with the increasing so-
War Films. War films have evolved into a
films, The Go.
cial awareness brought on by the Depression,
major American genre not only because wars
Vampyr (193
gangster films began to focus more attention on
have occupied so much of contemporary Amer-
proportion of
the social conditions leading to criminal behavior.
ican history but also because the subject matter
a monster wh
William Keighley's Bullets or Ballots (1936),
is so well suited to what film can do best. The
to-life of non
William Wyler's Dead End (1937), Michael
tension and energy leading up to the scenes of
ing the livin
Curtiz' Angels With Dirty Faces (1938), Raoul
combat, the wide-ranging battlefields, the explo-
countless hor
Walsh's The Roaring Twenties (1939), Jules
sions that destroy buildings, tanks, and men, the
horror is see
Dassin's The Naked City (1948), and Abraham
eruption of fire and shrapnel, and the concussive
actors-Lon
Polonsky's Force of Evil (1949) examine the
forces that spew out smoke and grime can be
Lon Chaney.
social forces that lead to crime.
captured by modern film technology.
In the period after World War II, many
The Civil War figured prominently in two of
the most important American films ever made,
gangster films again focused on individuals, often
The Birth of a Nation (1915) and Gone With
stressing personality disturbances rather than so-
the Wind (1939). In each, the awesomeness and
cial conditions. This group includes Henry Hath-
terror of war form a central core around which in-
away's Kiss of Death (1947), with Richard Wid-
tensely dramatic human emotions are structured.
mark as a sadistic killer who throws a crippled
old lady in a wheelchair down a flight of stairs;
World War I has been the subject of four
Raoul Walsh's White Heat (1949), in which
major American films, King Vidor's The Big Pa-
rade (1925), Lewis Milestone's All Quiet on the
James Cagney suffers a mental disturbance that
Western Front (1930), Howard Hawks' Sergeant
is linked to an Oedipal relationship with his
York (1941), and Stanley Kubrick's Paths of
mother; and Joseph H. Lewis' Gun Crazy (1950)
Glory (1957).
features a neurotic couple similar to Bonnie and
But it is World War II that has been the sub-
Clyde, the subjects of Bonnie and Clyde (1967).
Following a pattern noted in several other
ject of the greatest number of American films in
this genre. The films made about the war while
American genres, the gangster film in the 1960's
and 1970's began to look back upon itself and
it was in progress often dealt with specific mili-
tary engagements: Bataan, Guadalcanal Diary,
reverse some of its earlier formulas. In earlier
films, the gangster had risen to the top to enjoy
Destination Tokyo, Sahara (all 1943), Thirty
wealth, power, beautiful women, expensive
Seconds Over Tokyo (1944), and so on. In the
homes, and large cars, but before the end of the
films of World War II, the squad or platoon was
film he was bound to be caught by law-enforce-
seen as a microcosm of American democracy, with
ment officers, overthrown by fellow gang mem-
representatives from several major regions or eth-
bers, or killed. Such punishment was considered
nic groups forging a democratic unit that was
ultimately invincible.
obligatory. By 1971, however, The Godfather
showed how far the genre had evolved: Marlon
By the end of the war, however, a number of
major films began to explore the costs of warfare
Brando, in the title role, dies of old age. The
in more individual human terms. The Story of
gangster was just another businessman.
G. I. Joe (1945) and A Walk in the Sun (1945)
532
still feature the democratic microcosm, but the
emphasis is not on heroics but on the relentless
energy it takes merely to survive. After the war,
this concern for human costs was demonstrated
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), about
in homecoming soldiers, and Home of the Brave
(1949), about wounded soldiers trying to adjust
to a postwar society.
The Korean War brought a new toughness and
cynicism to the war film, perhaps because the war
itself was so controversial. The Steel Helmet
(1951) and Fixed Bayonets (1951) emphasize
grim determination as the men go about their jobs.
As American involvement in the war in Viet-
nam deepened, there was a noticeable drop in
war-film production. In contrast to World War
II, the Vietnam War was not depicted on the
screen, except for John Wayne's The Green
Berets (1968), during the action. Later, the war
was attacked in such films as Coming Home, The
Deer Hunter, and Who'll Stop the Rain (all
1978) and Apocalypse Now (1979).
Horror Films. The appearance and texture of
THE MUSEUM or MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
the horror film make full use of the expressive
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway played the title
possibilities of the medium. The extreme con-
roles in Bonnie and Clyde (1967), a psychological rath-
trasts of dark and light, the ominously moving
er than a realistic interpretation of historical events.
camera ready to zoom in on or away from a
shocking discovery, the tilted angle of the frame
expressing a sense of disorientation, and the use
The horror film permitted the development of
of low-angle shots to express domination or high-
a number of imitations and cycles of its most
(ALTER READE ORGANIZATION AND SATRA
angle shots to express submission create a film
famous characters. For example, Dracula ap-
cted by Sergei Bondarchuk,
form that is as much a study in mood and tone
peared in a number of films, including the orig-
1966 in two three-hour parts.
as in character or plot.
inal Dracula (1931). The monster created by Dr.
It is difficult to find clear lines of develop-
Frankenstein appeared in Frankenstein (1931),
ment in the American horror film. Three foreign
lms have evolved into a
The Bride of Frankenstein (1935), Frankenstein
films, The Golem (1920), Nosferatu (1922), and
Meets the Wolf Man (1943), and others. The
e not only because wars
Vampyr (1932), provided the models for a good
h of contemporary Amer-
Hunchback of Notre Dame appeared in movie
proportion of the genre. In these, the creation of
versions in 1923, 1939, 1957, and in a television
ecause the subject matter
a monster who gets out of control or the coming-
at film can do best. The
version in 1977. The Mummy appeared in the
to-life of nonhuman beings who survive by kill-
film of the same name in 1932 and 1959, and in
ding up to the scenes of
ing the living provided the basic story lines of
The Mummy's Hand (1940), The Mummy's
ng battlefields, the explo-
countless horror films. The repetitious nature of
Tomb (1942), and The Mummy's Ghost (1944).
lings, tanks, and men, the
horror is seen in the recurrent use of the same
Horror films also have dealt with supernat-
apnel, and the concussive
actors-Lon Chaney, Bela Lugosi, Boris Karloff,
ural forces that manifest themselves as an unseen
smoke and grime can be
Lon Chaney, Jr., and Vincent Price.
power rather than in individual form. The Thing
m technology.
ed prominently in two of
nerican films ever made,
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), produced and directed by Stanley Kubrick, was an out-
(1915) and Gone With
ch, the awesomeness and
standing science-fiction film. It was based on Arthur C. Clarke's story The Sentinel.
tral core around which in-
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
emotions are structured.
been the subject of four
King Vidor's The Big Pa-
estone's All Quiet on the
Howard Hawks' Sergeant
nley Kubrick's Paths of
II that has been the sub-
ber of American films in
ade about the war while
dealt with specific mili-
ian, Guadalcanal Diary,
ara (all 1943), Thirty
944), and so on. In the
the squad or platoon was
merican democracy, with
eral major regions or eth-
emocratic unit that was
r, however, a number of
lore the costs of warfare
an terms. The Story of
Walk in the Sun (1945)
533
Science Fic:
times mingle
Ilms, but in
distinct genre
The scie.
S. film h
period after
considered m
can to reflec
the increasi
ranced scien
Destinatic
scendant of
(1902), but
what was
film was dirt
produced II
year. The S(
stantly evok
other catast
(1951), The
The War of
Outer Space
Snatchers (
As the :
the 1950's,
the dangers
sources outs
man beings
lead to such
20TH CENTURY-FOX
In Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), Paul Newman (left) as Butch and Robert Redford as the Kid are
destruction
the premise
involved in a shoot-out. The film is director George Roy Hill's romanticized version of actual events,
World, the
of the Apes
(1951), The Birds (1963), Rosemary's Baby
The Omega
genre springs. The Bond series, including Dr. No
(1968), The Exorcist (1973), and The Heretic
(1971) de:
(1977) are examples of such films.
(1963), From Russia With Love (1963), Gold-
back to ear
finger (1964), Thunderball (1965), and Casino
A third major kind of horror film deals with
(1972) with
Royale (1967), provided the ironic and humor-
people who are insane or in the grip of psycho-
with overp
ous material that has been much imitated in
One of
logical powers beyond their control, either as a
other contemporary spy novels and films.
result of experiments they have conducted or of
films, 2001.
Alfred Hitchcock, a master of suspense, made
other causes. Foremost among these is Dr. Jekyll
Stanley Ku
more contributions to the genre than any other
alleled hei
and Mr. Hyde, which was filmed in 1908, 1912,
filmmaker. In contrast to the private-eye and
1913, 1920, 1932, and 1941. The list also in-
story, in w,
spy films, Hitchcock's works generally feature
of both tin
cludes Psycho (1960), Whatever Happened to
ordinary people who accidentally become in-
Baby Jane (1962), Shock Corridor (1963), Shock
change to
volved with murderers, kidnappers, spies, or
This att
Treatment (1964), and Play Misty for Me (1971).
other evildoers. Pursued by the villains because
George Lu
Detective, Thriller, and Spy Films. Detective,
they know too much and forced to rely on their
nant voice:
thriller, and spy films have relied heavily on their
wits to escape death, they carry the films through
Star Wars
literary source material. Raymond Chandler cre-
surprising and often amusing plot twists.
the spirit 0
ated the character of Philip Marlowe, a prototype
Hitchcock developed this formula in his Brit-
of the tough private eye, who was played by no
wizardry t
ish films, most notably The Man Who Knew Too
sequels-'s
less than six different major actors. The best of
Much (1934), The Thirty-Nine Steps (1935),
Return of
the dozen films based on his works are Murder,
and The Lady Vanishes (1938). In the United
My Sweet (1944) with Dick Powell, and The
ingly soph
States, his best work includes Suspicion (1941),
effects. S
Big Sleep (1946) with Humphrey Bogart. Chan-
with which he began a frequent collaboration
fects in hi:
dler collaborated on the script for Billy Wilder's
with Cary Grant, Spellbound (1945), Strangers
earth, Clos
Double Indemnity (1944), based on the work of
on a Train (1951), Rear Window (1954), Ver-
and E.T. t
fellow detective-story writer James M. Cain.
tigo (1958), and North by Northwest (1959).
able E.T.
Dashiell Hammett created two characters who
Detective and thriller films have often been
aliens env
became major subjects of a number of films. Be-
marked by an expressionist style-a lonely rain-
Spectac:
ginning with The Thin Man (1934), a sophisti-
slicked street lit by a single lamp, the busy night
able Ame!
cated and witty amateur detective who worked
world as seen through the windshield of a car,
generally
with his wife and his dog was the subject of a
or stale, cramped offices or hotel rooms. The
on "prodi
series of six films. Tougher, alone, sometimes
action in Hitchcock films, on the other hand,
characteri:
desperate, and always ready with a quick, tough
often takes place in broad daylight, in the midst
money are
comeback was Hammett's most famous character,
of crowded rooms, which become all the more
thousands
Sam Spade. The 1941 version of The Maltese
threatening because the hero may be caught at
These rest
Falcon, directed by John Huston and starring
any moment. The spy films, especially those fea-
size, scop
Humphrey Bogart as Spade, is considered by
turing James Bond, are lit as if they were com-
successful
many the epitome of the private-eye films.
edies, and the bright lights, beautiful girls, and
peal to ti
Ian Fleming was the author of the James
luxurious settings form an ironic contrast to the
most pop'
Bond novels from which the contemporary spy
menacing evil hidden by all that beauty.
torical ep.
534
MOTION PICTURE: 3. American Motion-Picture History
535
Science Fiction. The science-fiction film some-
The mold for the historical epic was in many
mingles elements of horror and disaster
ways set by The Birth of a Nation (1915), D. W.
Hims, but in their purest forms, these are three
Griffifth's first feature-length masterpiece, and
stinct genres.
it was further refined in David O. Selznick's pro-
The science-fiction film developed late in
duction of Gone With the Wind (1939). Per-
film history, coming to maturity in the
haps not coincidentally, the two films are among
period after World War II, when it ceased to be
the most profitable of all time. Both films are
mosidered merely a fantasy for children and be-
set against the background of important histori-
to reflect the atomic age, space travel, and
cal events-here the Civil War. Both use indivi-
the ran increasingly worrisome discoveries of ad-
duals to represent historical forces and groups
vanced science and technology.
and allow the individual stories to be interwoven
Destination Moon (1950) was the direct de-
with the battles and aftermath of war. Both try
scendant of Georges Méliès Trip to the Moon
to create the impression that they are works of
(1902), but it provided a more accurate vision
authentic history, rising above mere fiction.
of what was shortly to become a reality. The
The tendency to relate individual stories to
film was directed by puppeteer George Pal, who
well-known historical or legendary events marks
produced When Worlds Collide the following
many of the best-known films of the genre, such
year. The science-fiction films of the 1950's con-
as the Russian War and Peace (1963), on the
stantly evoked fears of invasion, collision, or
Napoleonic wars. In addition to wars and other
other catastrophes in such films as The Thing
historical conflicts, the Bible has furnished the
(1951), The Day the Earth Stood Still (1952),
richest source material. Cecil B. DeMille made
The War of the Worlds (1953), It Came from
two versions of The Ten Commandments (1923
Outer Space (1953), and Invasion of the Body
and 1956). Various films on or connected with
Snatchers (1956).
the story of Jesus or early Christianity include
As the science-fiction genre developed after
Quo Vadis (1913, 1925, 1951), Ben-Hur (1925 and
the 1950's, the films increasingly suggested that
1959), King of Kings (1927 and 1961), The Robe
the dangers of the future stemmed, not from
(1953), and The Greatest Story Ever Told (1965).
sources outside man's control, but from what hu-
Disaster films have been made throughout
man beings were doing in the present that might
motion-picture history. The earthquake appeared
lead to such a future. The consequences of atomic
in San Francisco (1936), the great fire in the
20TH CENTURY-FOI
destruction were a favorite subject, furnishing
film In Old Chicago (1938), and the sinking of
lobert Redford as the Kid are
the premise for On the Beach (1959), The
a ship in Titanic (1953).
I version of actual events.
World, the Flesh and the Devil (1959), Planet
In the 1970's a cycle of very profitable dis-
of the Apes (1968) and its several sequels, and
aster films appeared-Airport (1970), with se-
The Omega Man (1971). The Andromeda Strain
quels (1975 and 1977) The Poseidon Adventure
id series, including Dr. No
(1971) deals with mutant microbes brought
(1972); Earthquake (1974) Jaws (1975); and
With Love (1963), Gold-
back to earth by space explorers, Silent Running
The Towering Inferno (1975). King Kong (1933
erball (1965), and Casino
(1972) with pollution, and Soylent Green (1973)
and 1976) combines horror film and spectacle.
ed the ironic and humor-
with overpopulation.
been much imitated in
One of the most successful science-fiction
y novels and films.
films, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), directed by
The science-fiction film E.T. concerned the friendship be-
master of suspense, made
Stanley Kubrick, helped raise the genre to unpar-
tween a boy (Henry Thomas) and an extraterrestrial.
the genre than any other
alleled heights of artistry and acceptance. Its
STEVE SHAPIRO-AMBLIN' PRODUCTIONS, WARNER BROTHERS
t to the private-eye and
story, in which man breaks through the confines
works generally feature
of both time and space and is reborn, marked a
accidentally become in-
change to a more optimistic attitude.
rs, kidnappers, spies, or
This attitude was perpetuated by the works of
ed by the villains because
George Lucas and Steven Spielberg, two domi-
nd forced to rely on their
nant voices in science-fiction films of the 1980's.
hey carry the films through
Star Wars (1977), directed by Lucas, combines
nusing plot twists.
the spirit of the Buck Rogers days with technical
d this formula in his Brit-
wizardry to produce an intergalactic epic. Its
The Man Who Knew Too
sequels-The Empire Strikes Back (1980) and
hirty-Nine Steps (1935),
Return of the Jedi (1983)-demonstrate increas-
as (1938). In the United
ingly sophisticated use of technology and special
ncludes Suspicion (1941),
effects. Spielberg also achieved awesome ef-
a frequent collaboration
fects in his gentle fantasies of benign visitors to
lbound (1945), Strangers
earth, Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
ear Window (1954), Ver-
and E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982). The lov-
I by Northwest (1959).
able E.T. was far removed from the menacing
ler films have often been
aliens envisioned by Spielberg's predecessors.
ionist style-a lonely rain-
Spectacles. One of the most diffuse but profit-
ingle lamp, the busy night
able American film genres, the spectacle film is
the windshield of a car,
ces or hotel rooms. The
generally a big-budget production that focuses
on "production values" rather than on story,
ilms, on the other hand,
characterization, and mood. Vast amounts of
oad daylight, in the midst
money are often spent on special effects, casts of
ich become all the more
thousands, and complicated large-scale actions.
e hero may be caught at
These result in impressing the audience with the
films, especially those fea-
size, scope, and grandeur of the action, and the
: lit as if they were com-
lights, beautiful girls, and
successful spectacle provides elements that ap-
peal to the widest possible audience. The two
an ironic contrast to the
most popular kinds of spectacles have been his-
by all that beauty.
torical epics and disaster films.
non of the
Brakhage pro
Vision (19
showing a SE
Toward 1
1970's, seve
examining th
Tony Conra<
pear letterin
(1966) and
1970). Ho
possibilities
Hapax Lego
produced "s
length (196'
The word
Grierson, wh
interpretatio
been applied
from those
that are antl
ply to recor
Thus no
has found
is used by
actual peop
vices of the
COPYRIGHT © 1972 BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
treme is "ci
(Above) Marlon Brando (second from left) played the
which filmn
title role in The Godfather (1971), a box-office sensa-
and record
tion that was followed by a successful sequel in 1975.
The bas
and fiction
subject beir
Woody Allen, in Play It Again, Sam (1972, left) and in
filmmakers
other pictures, continued the Chaplin-Keaton tradition
tinue to exi
of the character ill equipped to cope with modern life.
fiction films
no "real" e
Robert
realism, Dada, and Hollywood violence. Gregory
the docume
Markopoulos did Psyche (1948) and Curtis Har-
him to the
rington made Fragment of Seeking (1946).
where he "
Many experimentalists combined animation
ping comp:
and computer work, producing abstract films that
did not depend on images of people at all. Such
films include John and James Whitney's Varia-
tions (1943), John Whitney's Catalogue (1961)
and Matrix (1971), and James Whitney's Lapis
(1963-1966).
Other important West Coast filmmakers in-
clude Bruce Baillie, who used film in a poetic
and compressed fashion in Quixote (1965) and
Jordan Belsen, who used geometric forms such
COPYRIGHT © 1972 BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES CORPORATION
as the mandala to create fluid and moving im-
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ages in Re-Entry (1964) and Samadhi (1967)
and special effects in the feature film Demon
EXPERIMENTAL FILMS
Seed (1977).
Cabaret (19
In New York City, the home of such experi-
adence of
In the United States, experimental filmmaking
mental filmmakers of the 1920's and 1930's as
The musical
has been concentrated in the New York City and
Hans Richter and Marcel Duchamp, the develop-
who won a
the San Francisco Bay areas and in Los Angeles,
ment of experimental work in film led to a full-
her perform
where the high concentration of film schools pro-
scale artistic movement that eventually called
nightclub SI
vides new artists and a receptive audience.
itself the New American Cinema.
Maya Deren was one of the first filmmakers
It was also in New York City that Amos Vogel
in California to contribute to the American ex-
established a group called Cinema 16. Like the
perimental film movement with her Meshes of
later Filmmakers Cooperative in New York and
the Afternoon (1943), a film expressing dream-
the Canyon Cinema Cooper in the San Francisco
like vision and showing the influence of the
area, Cinema 16 attempted to
earlier French surrealists. James Broughton and
filmmakers to the attention of bring independendent
Sidney Peterson contributed a work in a similar
vein, The Potted Psalm (1946).
In 1947, Kenneth Anger released Fireworks,
film movement had great vitality.
ences. During the 1960's, the U.S. experimental-
a much-censored film combining elements of sur-
ger made Scorpio Rising (1964) and Inaugura-
536
MOTION PICTURE: 3. American Motion-Picture History
537
of the Pleasure Dome (1954-1966), Stan
nook of the North, about an Eskimo and his fam-
Brakhage tion produced Dog Star Man and The Art
ily and their daily struggle for survival in the
Vision (1965), and Stan Van Der Beek began
frozen north country. It reached a large audience
of showing a series of animated collages.
and began the documentary movement.
Toward the end of the decade and into the
Because of his own approach, Flaherty spent
1970's, several experimentalists began directly
as much time living in each society he wished
eramining the nature of the film medium itself.
to film as he did in actually filming. His major
Tony produced Film in which there ap-
films are Moana (1926), which deals with a South
pear lettering, sprocket holes, dirt particles, etc.
Sea island culture; Man of Aran (1934), which
(1966) and What's Wrong with This Picture
examines life on a lonely island off the coast of
1970). Hollis Frampton explored the linguistic
England; and Louisiana Story (1948), which com-
possibilities of film in Zorns Lemma (1970) and
bines a story of oil drilling in Louisiana with its
Hapax Legomena (1972-1973). Michael Snow
effects on a Cajun boy who lives in the bayous.
produced "structuralist" films, including Wave-
A different approach was taken by John Grier-
length (1967) and Back and Forth (1969).
son, a Scottish journalist who became one of the
most important figures in documentary history.
DOCUMENTARY FILMS
More often the producer than the actual film-
The word "documentary" was defined by John
maker, Grierson worked for the British govern-
Grierson, who first used the term, as "the creative
ment in the 1930's and for the Canadian gov-
interpretation of reality." "Documentary" has
ernment during World War II. Often quite
been applied to a wide variety of films, ranging
frankly a propagandist for causes he believed in,
from those that border on the fictional to those
Grierson urged the use of film as a tool for social
that are anthropological documents intended sim-
and political education.
ply to record an aspect of a society.
The government film units organized and run
Thus no definition of the term "documentary"
by Grierson employed many of the most impor-
has found universal acceptance. "Docudrama"
tant and influential documentary filmmakers out-
is used by some to describe films that recreate
side the United States, including Paul Rotha,
actual people and events and utilize all the de-
Arthur Elton, Stuart Legg, Basil Wright, Harry
vices of the fictional film. At the opposite ex-
Watt, and Humphrey Jennings. The films that
ATION. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
treme is "cinéma vérité," or "direct cinema," in
came out of the Grierson units were generally of
of from left) played the
which filmmakers point their cameras at subjects
topical importance and not often seen in later
71), a box-office sensa-
and record them as faithfully as possible.
years. Ironically, two of the films that Grierson
ccessful sequel in 1975.
The basic distinction between documentary
felt were "too poetic"-Basil Wright's Song of
and fiction films is that in the documentary the
Ceylon (1934) and Wright and Watt's Night
subject being filmed would have existed even if
Mail (1936) the Grierson films most appre-
Sam (1972, left). and in
filmmakers had never been present and will con-
ciated by contemporary audiences.
Chaplin-Keaton tradition
tinue to exist after the filming stops, whereas in
In the early 1930's, a number of political
cope with modern life.
fiction films, the events being photographed have
groups began sponsoring documentaries as a
no "real" existence.
means of making people aware of social condi-
Robert Flaherty, the acknowledged father of
tions. The Film and Photo League and Frontier
od violence. Gregory
the documentary movement, took a camera with
Films were the two most active of these groups,
948) and Curtis Har-
him to the Hudson's Bay territory of Canada,
which involved filmmakers such as Leo Hurwitz,
Seeking (1946).
where he was exploring for mining and fur-trap-
Irving Lerner, Paul Strand, John Howard Law-
combined animation
ping companies. In 1923 he released a film, Na-
son, and David Wolf. They produced such films
ing abstract films that
of people at all. Such
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
nes Whitney's Varia-
y's Catalogue (1961)
mes Whitney's Lapis
Coast filmmakers in-
ised film in a poetic
Quixote (1965) and
geometric forms such
luid and moving im-
and Samadhi (1967)
feature film Demon
Cabaret (1972) captured the dec-
home of such experi-
adence of Berlin in the 1930's.
1920's and 1930's as
The musical starred Liza Minnelli,
uchamp, the develop-
who won an Academy Award for
in film led to a full-
her performance as an American
hat eventually called
nightclub singer, Sally Bowles.
linema. City that Amos Vogel
Cinema 16. Like the
ive in New York and
r in the San Francisco
to bring independent
in of receptive audi-
e U.S. experimental-
vitality. Kenneth An-
1964) and Inaugura-
(1938), and Native Land (1942). Especially
at
noteworthy were Joris Ivens' The Spanish Earth
ing people in moments of crisis and intense captur-
tivity, but some of the filmmakers wanted ac.
Desses ceptions,
1.
(1937), dealing with the civil war in Spain and
featuring a narration by Ernest Hemingway,
push their observation techniques beyond this to
and The 400 Million (1938), about the Japanese
structure films around people who were not in to
Don't Look Back, with folksinger Bob Dylan.
crisis. In 1968, Pennebaker and Leacock made
collateral ing comp:
invasion of China.
stets. T)
A great boost to documentary production in
The Maysles brothers made What's Happening!
of their it
the United States came from the Franklin Roose-
velt administration, which followed the model of
The Beatles in the U.S. A. (1964). Salesman
(1) a scri
the British government and employed filmmakers
(1969), the culmination of the Maysles' approach
mercial; production (
to educate the people about the government's
deals with a group of door-to-door Bible salesmen.
goals. Pare Lorentz headed government film units
The next step in direct cinema was to record
restriction the presei
and produced some of the most notable docu-
The foremost practitioner of
not merely individuals but entire institutions,
mentaries of the decade-The Plow That Broke
Frederick Wiseman, a
the Plains (1936), about the drought that had
In the
caused the dust bowl in the Great Plains; The
Wiseman's first film, Titicut con-
cerns a mental institution in Massachusetts and
of Americ
River (1937), about the causes of the flooding
of the Mississippi River; and Power and the Land
provides the kind of disturbing portrait of insti-
former P
(1940), about the need for electrification of agri-
tutional life for which he became noted. Law
two deca
culture. Employing Leo Hurwitz, Ralph Steiner,
and Order (1969) examines the Kansas City Po-
forbade tl
and viole
Willard Van Dyke, and others, Lorentz produced
lice department; Basic Training (1971), the Fort
films that combine lyrical editing of images with
Knox training camp; Essene (1972), an Episco.
any scree
pal monastery; Juvenile Court (1973), the activ-
trines, we
With
powerful sound tracks to convey their messages.
When the United States entered World War
ities of a judge; and Meat (1976), the procedures
in a slaughterhouse.
1950's, hc
II, the need for documentary, propaganda, and
training films greatly increased. But the govern-
4. The Motion-Picture Industry
mid-1960' the code,
ment turned, not to established documentarians
The only film industry that has been able to
nored, an
but to Hollywood, which had proved that it
In its
sustain itself over a long period of time on the
could produce films that would appeal to millions.
of Americ
international sphere has been the one in Holly.
Frank Capra, one of Hollywood's most distin-
wood. As much as 50% of the income from mo-
categories
guished directors of comedy, was put in charge
All Ages
tion pictures produced in the United States comes
of the important, 12-episode military-training
from foreign distribution.
ance Sug
film series Why We Fight (1942-1945). The
able for
series combined "stock" footage, newsreels, and
PRODUCTION AND DISTRIBUTION
17's requ
specially produced film in an attempt to explain to
The American companies that dominated the
and "X"
See a
millions of servicemen and women why the United
film industry in the 1920's and 1930's were Para-
States was at war with Germany, Italy, and Japan.
MATED; a
mount, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Brothers,
During the war, John Ford produced The
20th Century-Fox, Universal, Columbia, and
Battle of Midway (1942) for the Navy, and Wil-
RKO. Each of these companies formed a "ver-
liam Wyler directed Memphis Belle (1944) for
tical monopoly"-that is, each was involved in
the U.S. Air Force. John Huston produced The
all three areas of modern industrial enterprise:
Battle of San Pietro (1944), which deals with the
(1) production (the film studios); (2) wholesal-
Andrew, I
war in Italy and its effect on both soldiers and
ing (film distribution); and (3) retailing (the-
1984).
the civilian populace, and Let There Be Light
atrical exhibition).
Andrew, D
duction
(1945), which deals with the treatment of sol-
In 1948 the major companies agreed to abide
Bazin, And
diers who were psychological victims of the war
by what is commonly referred to as the "consent
of Calif.
-a film so harrowing that the military refused to
decree," by which a company would no longer
Braudy, Le
(Double
distribute it.
try to monopolize all three areas of the film busi-
Giannetti,
In the late 1950's and early 1960's, a new
ness but would give up one of those areas. The
1976).
attitude toward documentary production arose.
increasing popularity of television was beginning
Kracauer,
Physical
Prior to this time, the technical equipment that
to force a number of theaters to close. Between
Mast, Ger:
was needed to produce sound and image required
the signing of the consent decree and 1953, a
Press 19
a crew of several people, and the cumbersomeness
mere five years, the number of admissions to
Mast, Ger:
Criticist
of the machinery meant that spontaneity and
U.S. motion-picture theaters dropped from near-
Metz, Chr:
naturalness were achieved only with great diffi-
ly 4 billion to less than 2 billion a year.
ema, 3rd
culty. But new cameras that could be hand held
Nichols, Bi
The major companies shrewdly sold off their
1977).
and new sound recorders that did not have to be
vast holdings of theater properties. Production of
Perkins, V
linked to the camera with cables made it possible
Hollywood films experienced a precipitous drop.
Movies
to use a team of only two. This simplification
Tudor, An
While 408 films were produced in 1948, approxi-
Wollen, P
made it possible for the filmmakers to function
mately half that number were produced annually
Univ. P
not as film directors dominating the action but as
in the first half of the 1960's. The drop in pro-
observers watching but not interfering.
duction and ticket sales was offset considerably
Basten, Fr
In the United States, Robert Drew of Time-
by the rise in ticket prices. Whereas the average
Rainbor
Brownlow.
Life persuaded his company in 1958 to allow him
ticket cost 40c in 1948, it was up to $1.19 by
Univ. 01
to form a television documentary production unit
1968 and $2.12 by 1976. Thus Hollywood films
Casty, Ala
that would carry the tradition of candid photog-
continued to be a lucrative business, and large
Cook, History Day
raphy for which Life was noted into the medium
companies were eager to buy major studios.
of television. Drew joined Richard Leacock, who
It is rare for any of the people who work on
Higham, 1987). (
had photographed Flaherty's Louisiana Story,
a film to invest their own money in the produc-
Forties
Knight, A1
Donn A. Pennebaker, and David and Albert
tion, although key personnel may work on de-
the Mo
Maysles. They produced a number of direct-cin-
ferred salaries or percentages of profits, hoping to
Mast, Ger
ema documentaries for television that had great
benefit if and when the film is successful. Capi-
Tyler, 1986). Pa
impact on the form.
talization for feature filmmaking, with some ex-
1985).
crisis were good
the same places other busi-
filmmakers wanted ac.
and intense anse an
other lending agencies.
besses The lending agency requires some form of
ple who were not to
iniques beyond this to
er and Leacock in a
ging and the distributor pledge tangible
collateral fory the loan, and generally the produc-
The producers hope to ensure the safety
What's
their investment by looking for the following:
that looks both producible and com-
the Maysles' approach
Salesman
a director with a record of bringing
to-door Bible salesmen.
productions in within allotted time and budget
cinema was
retrictions; and (3) other "insurance," such as
ut entire institutions.
the presence of one or more major stars.
of
CENSORSHIP
yer
In the 1930's the Motion Picture Association
it
in Massachusetts con- and
of former Postmaster General Will H. Hays. For
America established a production code under
rbing portrait of insti-
became noted. Law
two decades the rigid tenets of the code, which
es the Kansas City po-
forbade the depiction of various forms of sexuality
and violence and demanded the punishment of
ining (1971), the Fort
re (1972), an Episco
any screen character who transgressed its doc-
trines, were upheld.
nurt (1973), the activ-
With the loss of studio power during the
(1976), the procedures
1950's, however, various producers began defying
the code, which had become obsolete. By the
dustry
mid-1960's the production code was largely ig-
nored, and it was dropped.
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART/FILM STILLS ARCHIVE
that has been able to
In its place, the Motion Picture Association
The Exorcist (1973), based on the bestselling novel
period of time on the
of America formulated a rating system with four
of the same name, terrified audiences everywhere and
een the one in Holly.
categories. "G" stands for "General Audiences-
started a trend of films dealing with the occult.
the income from mo-
All Ages Admitted"; "PG" for "Parental Guid-
he United States comes
once Suggested, some material may not be suit-
able for children"; "R" for "Restricted, under
Nashville (1975) won the New York Film Critics' award
DISTRIBUTION
17's require accompanying parent or guardian";
as best picture, and comedienne Lily Tomlin, as a gos-
and "X" for "No one under 17 admitted."
pel singer, won the award as best supporting actress.
ies that dominated the
See also ACADEMY AWARD; CARTOON, ANI-
COPYRIGHT © 1975 BY AMERICAN BROADCASTING
and 1930's were Para-
MATED; and Index entry Motion Pictures.
COMPANIES. INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
ayer, Warner Brothers,
HOWARD SUBER
ersal, Columbia, and
University of California, Los Angeles
panies formed a "ver-
each was involved in
Bibliography
1 industrial enterprise:
Film Theory and Aesthetics
tudios); (2) wholesal-
Andrew, Dudley J., Concepts in Film Theory (Oxford
nd (3) retailing (the-
1984).
Andrew, Dudley J., The Major Film Theories: An Intro-
duction (Oxford 1976).
panies agreed to abide
Bazin, André, What Is Cinema?, vol. 1 (1967; reprint, Univ.
rred to as the "consent
of Calif. Press 1971).
pany would no longer
Braudy, Leo, The World in a Frame: What We See in Films
(Doubleday 1976).
areas of the film busi-
Giannetti, Louis D., Understanding Movies (Prentice-Hall
ne of those areas. The
1976).
levision was beginning
Kracauer, Siegfried, Theory of Film: The Redemption of
Physical Reality (Oxford 1960).
ters to close. Between
Mast, Gerald, Film/Cinema/Movie (1977; Univ. of Chicago
it decree and 1953, a
Press 1983).
nber of admissions to
Mast, Gerald, and Cohen, Marshall, eds., Film Theory and
Criticism: Introductory Readings (Oxford 1974).
ers dropped from near-
Metz, Christian, Film Language: A Semiotics of the Cin-
billion a year.
ema, 3rd ed. (Oxford 1985).
shrewdly sold off their
Nichols, Bill, ed., Movies and Methods (Univ. of Calif. Press
1977).
operties. Production of
Perkins, V. E., Film as Film: Understanding and Judging
ed a precipitous drop.
Movies (Penguin 1972).
luced in 1948, approxi-
Tudor, Andrew, Theories of Film (Viking 1973).
Wollen, Peter, Signs and Meaning in the Cinema (Ind.
vere produced annually
Univ. Press 1974).
60's. The drop in pro-
Film History
was offset considerably
Basten, Fred E., Glorious Technicolor: The Movie's Magic
Whereas the average
Rainbow (A. S. Barnes 1980).
it was up to $1.19 by
Brownlow, Kevin, The Parade's Gone By (1968; reprint,
Univ. of Calif. Press 1976).
Thus Hollywood films
Casty, Alan, Development of the Film: An Interpretive
ive business, and large
History (Harcourt 1973).
buy major studios.
Cook, 1987). David A., History of Narrative Film, 2d ed. (Norton
e people who work on
Higham, Charles, and Greenberg, Joel, Hollywood in the
money in the produc-
Forties (A. R. Barnes 1981).
anel may work on de-
Knight, Arthur, The Liveliest Art: A Panoramic History of
the Movies (1959; reprint, New Am. Lib. 1971).
ges of profits, hoping to
Im is successful. Capi-
Mast, 1986). Gerald, A Short History of the Movies, 4th ed. (Bobbs
making, with some ex-
Tyler, 1985). Parker, Magic and Myth of the Movies (Garland
mention Keogon
includes All forms of est
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spray pointed trees
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oldered N.4. street
script.
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silent film
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newsreeb
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format
frame Vetite
pulling focus
pontilt Leomerg movement) tracking and sho t
dolly in Jolly
Don joke Rickles
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Three
September 16, 1989
FILM
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: FILM INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1989
Chairman Jankowski, Mr. Wolper, Jack Valenti, Other Trustees
of the American Film Institute, Ms. Firstenberg, Distinguished
Guests, Friends and Fans of the American Film.
be
First, thank you for your warm reception. (And in
particular, let me say a word about this distinguished audience.
I haven't seen so many people o well-dressed since I went to
a
come-as you-are party in Kennebunkport)
?
I also appreciate that kind introduction. And let me say
how pleased I am to see so many notables at the head table --
Jack, David, Gene. And artists from Spacek to Spielberg to
Stallone. Surrounded by all these household names, I feel like I
should be recycling my autograph book.
Barbara and I are delighted to be here. But I'm obliged to
extend regrets from what some have called the most charismatic
speaker in the Bush family. Yes, our springer spaniel, Millie.
Nothing personal, you understand. It's just that Millie
doesn't often get the White House theatre to herself. Well,
tonight she's making up for lost time. And her heart's really in
it. Or should I say, her stomach. Serving movie-goers milk
bones, not popcorn. But what to see -- yes, there's the rub.
2
My choice, of course, was conventional. Lassie Come Home.
As usual, Barbara was more daring. For The Love of Benji. So,
to break the tie, we flipped a biscuit. And tonight, the White
House is showing the soon-to-be-released cinematic blockbuster,
Rin Tin Tin, We Hardly Knew Ye.
Well, this evening we do know some things.
We know that this event salutes the 24th anniversary of an
American institution -- the American Film Institute. And that,
for almost a quarter-century, the AFI has nurtured and celebrated
the art of the moving image. In doing so, it has had an immense
impact on the mind and soul of America.
We know, too, that the moving picture is perhaps America's
richest inheritance -- what the critic called
"
And that
the American film is the not only the mirror of America. The
American film is the conscience of America.
Who can forget how Grapes of Wrath immortalized the dignity
of America's impoverished? Or how Gentleman's Agreement scored
anti-Semitism? Even now, we marvel at how To Kill a Mockingbird
attacked racial bigotry. Or on a perpsonal note, the courage
jonines
amid adversity embodied in Kings Row
Embodied by a friend of
Kneste Rockne - All American
ours. Yes, Ronald Reagan as the Gipper.
When President Johnson signed the bill 24 years ago to.
this description
create the National Endowment for the Arts, which created the
American Film Institute, he was talking about such works. And
those who made them possible.
He was referring to actors and actresses. Producers,
directors, engineers, technicians. For all of them are artists.
And this Institute, he said, would bring together these artists
outstanding educators, and young men and women, who wish to
pursue the 20th century art form as their life's work." "
It did, and does today. Helping to spur the art form so
uniquely American. The art form invented in America And which,
in turn, America has expanded to the world.
Mr.Smith
Goes
to
Woshington
Think of just these movies since AFI was born.
Or
It's
Wonderful Life
Or Hoosiers, that brilliant portrayal of small-town
Jonne
America. Lifted by a great actor of this or any age, Gene
Hackman.
The mirror of America. The conscience of America. And in
that spirit, I want to thank the film industry for its commitment
to halt the scourge of drugs. I think of Lean on Me, or Clean
and Sober, or I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can. And of people like
Michael J. Fox, Clint Eastwood, and Goldie Hawn who have
assaulted drug use. To them -- to you -- I salute what the film.
industry is doing to arrest this assassin of our children and
their future.
Tonight, I've talked of great movies -- both past and
present. You could name a thousand more. How has AFI helped
make their dreams reality? Let me cite four ways.
First, you have trained young filmmakers -- today, AFI's
alumni totals 1,500. . Allowing them to apprentice under the
tutelage of masters.
4
Second, AFI has helped preserve historic and classic films
of yesteryear. Today, the AFI film collection at the Library of
Congress is nearing 25,000. You have worked, brilliantly, to
find -- and save -- these priceless pieces of our national life.
The third way AFI has spurred the film is through advocacy.
For this Institute promotes an understanding of film as art.
Teaching our generation the beauty and value of the moving image.
And fourthly, AFI will teach future generations, too. About
how we lived. What kind of society we were. What, after all,
was the legacy of the ancient Greeks and Romans? In part,
standards and architecture and design. Renaissance Italy gave us
the art of Michelangelo and da Vinci. Thermotion picture "can
be
our legacy. W-i-t-h AFI help, it will.
can
You know, I was watching a film several weeks ago. No. Not
Bridge Over the River Kwai. Not even my own daily manual, How To
Learn Fishing In Six Easy Lessons. No, the movie I'm talking
about was that cultural paragon, Ma and Pa Kettle in Waikiki.
Some of you may remember Marjorie Main as Ma Kettle -- a
tough, outspoken sort. Her character was once described as a
"compling of Tugboat Annie, Carrie Nation, and Gorgeous George."
Well, in this movie, Ma was on a steamboat cruise headed
west from California. And a group of tourists were hosting a
tea. Whereupon one of them turned to her and asked, "Mrs.
Kettle, have you tasted of Tchaikowsky?"
5
With that, Ma raised her head. Set her jaw. And as usual,
was ready with a response. Said she: "I ain't had time yet for
none of them Hawaiian dishes."
Fellow movie-goers, millions of Americans have tasted of the
American film. They have had time for romance and comedy,
tragedy and drama. And today they make time still.
For the American movie is No. 1. Always has been -- in the
Jenine Pist.
White House theatre, in theatres around the world. In the 1880s
and '90s, it invented the art of the moving image. Today, it
inspires the art of the moving image.
So I ask you: Help AFI. Help it financially. Help it as
volunteers -- giving of your time, and of your talents. Help it
celebrate America. And this magnificent inheritance called the
film. So that you and I, and an entire world, can always say:
This is America at her most ennobling. This is America at her
best.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. God bless you, and
God bless the United States of America.
#
#
#
#
(Smith/Blessey)
Draft Four
September 20, 1989
FILM
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: FILM INSTITUTE
WASHINGTON, D.C.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 1989
Chairman Jankowski, Director Stevens, Director Firstenberg,
Mr. Wolper, Mr. Valenti, Other Trustees of the American Film
Institute, Distinguished Guests, Friends and Fans of the American
Film.
Thank you for your warm reception. [[I'm just glad we could
make it here in time. After all, it was a tight squeeze getting
me, Barbara, the driver and three Secret Service men into the
Batmobile. 11 OR [ [And in particular, I'd like to say a word
about this distinguished audience. I don't think so many well-
dressed people have gathered together since the Beverly Hills
Court began jury selection for Zsa Zsa Gabor's trial. ]]
I also appreciate that kind introduction. And let me say
how pleased I am to see so many notables at the head table. And
artists from Spacek to Spielberg to Stallone. [Surrounded by all
these household names, I feel like I should be recycling my
autograph book
]
Barbara and I are delighted to be here. [[But But I'm obliged to
extend regrets from what some have called the most charismatic
speaker in the Bush family. Yes, our springer spaniel, Millie.
2
Nothing personal, you understand. It's just that Millie
doesn't often get the White House theatre to herself. Well,
tonight she's making up for lost time.
Now, make no mistake: I applaud Millie's triple feature.
Lassie Come Home. Old Yeller. And my personal favorite, For The
Love of Benji. It's just that I'm afraid all this good press is
going to her head. Earlier tonight, we held a family meeting to
choose the menu for Millie's guests. Barbara picked milk bones
[PAUSE]
I choose Alpo [PAUSE]
Millie asked to see
the wine list
]]
Well, this evening, Millie, eat your heart out. For there's
no place that Barbara and I would rather be than here, with you.
We meet at the end of quite a summer for movies -- with
Ghostbusters Two, Karate Kid Three, Lethal Weapon Two, Indiana
Jones Two, and Startrek Five. With all those numbers, I wasn't
sure if I was at a movie or a budget meeting
7]
And it was a summer, too, when all through my vacation, a
movie I saw last May kept going through my mind. The way things
were going, it was starting to look like A Fish Called Wanda was
as close to a fish as I was going to get.
But thankfully, that's all behind me. And I'm pleased to
join you at an event which salutes the 24th anniversary of the
American Film Institute. For almost a quarter-century, the AFI
has nurtured and celebrated the art of the moving image. In
doing so, it has nourished the mind and soul of America.
3
For the moving image is not merely entertainment -- in a
darkened theatre, or on a TV set. It is also perhaps America's
richest inheritance. The American film is not only the mirror of
America. The American film is the conscience of America.
Who can forget how Grapes of Wrath immortalized the dignity
of America's impoverished? Or how Gentleman's Agreement scored
anti-Semitism? Or on a personal note, the courage amid
adversity embodied in Knute Rockne: All-American. Embodied by a
friend of ours. Yes, Ronald Reagan as the Gipper.
When President Johnson signed the bill 24 years ago to
create the National Endowment for the Arts, which created the
American Film Institute, he was talking about such works. And
those who make them America's mirror, and conscience.
He was referring to actors and actresses. Producers and
writers, directors, craftsmen, artisans. And this Institute, he
said, would bring them "together
these artists, outstanding
educators, and young men and women, who wish to pursue the 20th
century art form as their life's work."
It did, and does today. Helping to spur the art form so
uniquely American. The art form invented in America. And which,
in turn, America has expanded to the world -- allowing peoples on
every continent to freely see film's diversity.
That is the major reason why this Administration has
conveyed to the governments of the European community our
steadfast belief in mutual access to movie and TV program
markets. Quotas of any kind are unacceptable. Our government
4
does not intrude on private decisions and public choices in TV
programming, no matter the source. Neither should theirs.
Consumer choice must be expanded, not reduced.
Secretary of State Baker, Secretary of Commerce Mosbacher,
and U.S. Trade Representative Carla Hills have made our position
quite clear. No enterprise achieves creativity when competitors
are locked out. Good trading partners have neighborly access to
each other's territory.
In short, let the consumer decide. And when they do, I
believe, they will decide for America. Think of just these
American movies since AFI was born. Think of Coal Miner's
Daughter, where the human spirit bests poverty. Or Hoosiers,
that brilliant portrayal of small-town America. Or Lean on Me,
Clean and Sober, and I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can. Movies which
encourage
assault the scourge of drugs. And I want to thank the film
to make more mories to help
community for all it's doing to stop this assassin of our kids.
These movies -- and thousands of others -- have been
America's Ambassador to the World. And by boosting the health of
the industry as a whole, AFI has helped make them possible.
First, AFI trains young filmmakers. Allowing them to
apprentice under the tutelage of masters. Second, it helps
preserve historic and classic films of yesteryear. Working to
find -- and save -- these priceless pieces of our national life;
inspiring countless Americans to a career in film.
The third way AFI spurs the film is through advocacy.
Teaching our generation the beauty and value of the moving image.
5
And fourthly, AFI will teach future generations, too. About how
we lived. What we valued. Renaissance Italy gave us the art of
Michelangelo and da Vinci. The motion picture can be our legacy.
Let me close with two stories about the American film. One
shows the amazing impact of movies on popular culture. The other
concerns a fabled character of movie culture.
[[The The first happened last Friday, when I gathered with 11 of
our Nation's former Attorney Generals to commemorate the
bicentennial of their office. I told one of my grandkids that
I'd be attending a celebration to mark the 200th birthday of
America's top law enforcement officer. He said: "I didn't think
Batman was that old. I
[The The second story happened when I was watching a film several
weeks ago. No. Not Bridge Over the River Kwai. No. Not even
my own instruction film, How To Learn Fishing in Six Easy
Lessons. [PAUSE]
Thank goodness it has a money-back
guarantee. No, the movie I'm talking about was that cultural
paragon, Ma and Pa Kettle in Waikiki.
Some of you may remember Marjorie Main as Ma Kettle -- a
tough, outspoken sort. Her character was once described as a
"compling of Tugboat Annie, Carrie Nation, and Gorgeous George."
Well, in this movie, Ma was on a steamboat cruise headed
west from California. Whereupon a tourist turned to her and
asked, "Mrs. Kettle, have you tasted of Tchaikowsky?" With that,
6
Ma raised her head. Set her jaw. And as usual, was ready with a
response. Said she: "I ain't had time yet for none of them
Hawaiian dishes. ]]]
Fellow movie-goers, millions of Americans have tasted of the
American film. They have had time for romance and comedy,
tragedy and drama. And today they make time still.
For the American movie is our mirror, and our conscience.
Always has been -- in the White House theatre, in theatres around
the world. In the 1880s and '90s, it invented the art of the
not
moving image. Today, it inspires the art of the moving image.
cherr
So I ask you: Help AFI. Help it celebrate America. And
this magnificent inheritance called the film. So that you and I,
and an entire world, can always say: This is America at her most
ennobling. This is America at her best.
Thank you for this wonderful occasion. God bless you, and
God bless the United States of America.
#
#
#
#
Re. Film Institute Dinner
By Chuck Conconi
Washington Post Staff Writer
One of the most glittery events of the fall
social season will be this month's black-tie
celebration observing the 25th anniversary
of the founding of the American Film Insti-
tute, and the evening will be crowded with
Hollywood personalities. The organizers of
the "Back to the Rose Garden Gala" at the
National Building Museum Sept. 26 said the
evening's entertainment will be directed by
David Wolper. AFI Chairman Gene Jan-
kowski and trustee Jack Valenti, who is also
head of the Motion Picture Association of
America, will co-chair the evening, which
commemorates President Johnson's 1964
signing of the legislation that created AFI.
On the lengthly star-studded guest list are
such famous faces as Goldie Hawn, Kurt
Russell, Jessica Lange, Sam Shepard, Syl-
vester Stallone, Sissy Spacek, Gene Kelly,
Christopher Reeve, Cicely Tyson, Charlton
Heston, Robert Duvall, Lee Grant, Celeste
Holm, Lou Diamond Philips, Swoosie Kurtz,
filmmakers George Lucas, Martin Scorsese,
Norman Jewison and Steven Spielberg and
executives such as Sherry Lansing and Jer-
ry Weintraub, writer Norman Mailer and
entertainers Bobby Short and Alan King.
2259
MEMORANDUM
2789
OF CALL
Previouseditions 258 usable
TO:
Stephanie YOU WERE CALLED BY-
YOU WERE VISITED BY-
Prof. Janine Bassinger
OF (Organization)
Suggestion of Am.Film Inst.
Wesleyan Univ. 203-347- 9411 AUTOVON name x2249
Jean Furstinburg, 346-3262 203-
WILL CALL AGAIN
IS WAITING TO SEE YOU
RETURNED YOUR CALL
WISHES AN APPOINTMENT
MESSAGE
had about bads started
M: some questiens you
by movies. the will call you
tomorrow A.m, OR you can
call her if you like.
RECEIVED BY
DATE
TIME
9/11
2:25
63-110 NSN 7540-00-634-4018 STANDARD FORM 63 (Rev. 8-81)
U.S. GRO: 1986-181-246/40015
Prescribed by GSA
FPMR (41 CFR) 101-11.6
SEP-11-1989 09:16 FROM AMER FILM INST L.A.
TO
1202456621822
P.01
The American Film Institute
P.O. Sex 27999 / 2021 North Western Avenue / Los Angeles, California 90027 , (213) 858-7600
Fax . (215)467-4578
FAX #(202)655-1970
The John R Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts / Washington, D.C. 20566 (202) 828-4000
DIRECTOR
Jean Finstenborg
BOARD OF TRUSTUES
Chairman
Gene K Jenkewsid
FACSIMILIE #'S WASHINGTON - 202-659-1970
Co-Chainman
George Disvens, Jr.
President
Chariton Hesten
LOS ANGELES - 213-467-4578
Choire
Organizing Committees
Executive Charles W. Price
Finance Tom Policek
Institutional Robert M. Bennett
From and TV Suzanne de Passe
Advocacy Joanine Basinger
Facsimilie Transmittal:
Preservation Fay Kanin
Honorary Trustee
Gregory Peck
Merv Adelson
Warner Communications, Inc.
Jon Avnet
Date
9/11/89
Time 10:15
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyen University
Robert M. Bennett
Intertel Communications, Inc.
Richard Brandt
Trans-Lux Corporation
# of pages following transmittal sheet 4
Daniel Burke
Capital Chies/ABC Inc.
Karen Cooper
Film Forum
Robert A. Daly
TO:
Warner Bros., Inc.
Suzanne de Passe
Stephanie Blessey
Motown Productions, Inc.
John Dislaggio
Michigan State University
Garth Drabinsky
Ciraplex Odeon Corporation
Jean Firstenberg (Ex Officio)
The American Film Institute
Michael Forman
Decurion Corp.
Charles W. Fries
Fries Entertainment, Inc.
FAX # :
Michael Fuchs
Home Box Office
202/456-6218
ina Ginsburg
Weshington Editor, Interview
Mark Goodson
Suzenne Lloyd Hayes
FROM:
Lawrence Herbert
Pantone, Inc.
Jean Firstenberg
Vernan Jordan
Akin, Gump, Streuse, Haver & Fold
Fay Kanin
Frank Mancuso
DIRECT DIAL # :
Paramount Pictures
213/856-7667
Marsha Mason
David Mataton
TH-Ster Pictures
Edward H. Mayer
Grey Advertising Inc.
REMARKS:
Ron Mayer
Creative Artists Agency. Inc.
Mace Neufeld
Henry Plint
Plia Enterteinment
Tom Pollock
MCA Motion Picture Group
Robert Rehme
New World Enterteinment
JMI Sackier
AMS Fdn/Arts, Sciences, Humanities
Franklin 1 Behaffner
John A. Schnsider
Steven Spielberg
Dawn Stael
Columbia Pictures
Gordon Stuberg
PolyGram Corporation
Brandon Tartikon
NBC Entertainment
Uener Tomortin
Bezell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhard
Anthony Thomopoules
Jack Valenti
Motion Ficture Association
of America
Robert Wise
David L. Wolper
Bud Yorkin
Reashfeld, Meyor & Susman
General Counsel
SEP-11-1989 09:16 FROM AMER FILM INST L.A.
TO
1202456621822
P.02
The American Film Institute
0 The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts / Washington, D.C. 20566 (202) 828-4000
Fax # (202) 659-1970
Fax # (213) 467-4578
P.O. Box 27999/2021 North Western Avenue / Los Angeles, California 90027 / (213) 858-7600
DIRECTOR
Jean Firstenbarg
BOARD OF TRUSTEES
Chairman
Gene F. Jankowski
September 7. 1989
Co-Chairman
George Stevens, Jr.
President
Chariton Meston
Chairs
Organizing Committees
Executive Charles W. Fries
Finance Tom Pollock
Mr. Joe Hagin
Institutional Robert M. Bennett
Film and TV Suzenne de Passe
Deputy Assistant to the President for Appointments and Scheduling
Advocacy Jeanine Basinger
The White House
Preservation Fay Kanin
Menorary Trustee
Gragory Peck
Washington, D.C. 20500
Merv Adelson
Warner Communications. Inc.
Jon Avnet
Dear Joe:
Jeanine Basinger
Wesleyen University
Robert M. Bennett
Intertet Communications, Inc.
We are very excited about the September 26 event with President and Mrs.
Richard Brandt
Trans-Lux Corporation
Bush. In preparing for the evening we drafted some points as background
Daniel Burke
Capital Cities/ABC Inc.
for the speech writer.
Karen Cooper
Film Forum
Robert A. Daty
We'd very much appreciate a quote we can use on the program as a book-
Warner Bros. Inc.
Suzanne de Passe
end to President Johnson's quote (see enclosed invitation). We will need
Motown Productions. Inc.
John DiBiaggio
to print the program with the quote the week of September 18.
Michigan State University
Garth Drabinsky
Cinepiex Odeon Corporation
Jean Firstenberg (Ex Officio)
If we can provide any more information please do not hesitate to call me
The American Film Institute
Michael Forman
(828-4015).
Decurion Corp.
Charles W. Fries
Fries Enterteinment, inc.
Michael Fuchs
We look forward to seeing you on September 26.
Home Box Office
Ina Ginsburg
Washington Editor. interview
Pantons, Inc.
Pecific Western Productions
Channee Jean Firstenberg
Sincerely,
Mark Goodson
Suzanne Lloyd Hayes
Lawrence Herbert
1/11/89
Gale Anne Hurd
Vernon Jordan
Akin, Gump. Strause, Heuer & Feld
ATTENTION:
Fay Kanin
Frank Mancuso
Peremount Pictures
Enclosures
Marsha Mason
David Mataion
Tri-Ster Pictures
STEPHANIE BLESSEY
Edward H. Meyer
Grey Advertising Inc.
Ron Meyer
Creative Artists Agency. the
Mace Neufeld
Henry PHR
FAX #
Plitt Enterteinment
Tom Pollock
MCA Motion Picture Group
Robert Rehme
New World Enterteinment
202 456 6218
Jill Sackler
AMS Fdn/Arts. Sciences. Humanities
John A. Schnelder
Vivian Sobchack
Univ. Cellf. Sante Cruz
Steven Spielberg
Dewn Steel
Columbia Pictures
Charles Steinberg
Sony Corporation of America
Howard Stringer
CBS/Broadcast Group
Gordon Stuberg
PolyGram Corporation
Brandon Tartikoff
NBC Enterteinment
Liene: Temertin
Bozell, Jacobs, Kenyon & Eckhards
Anthony Thomopoutos
Jack Valenti
Motion Picture Association
of America
Robert Wise
David L. Wolper
Bud Yorkin
Resenteld, Meyer & Susman
General Coursel
SEP-11-1989 09:17 FROM AMER FILM INST L.A.
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1202456621822 P.03
Back
Rose Garden tothe
-
SEP-11-1989
09:17
FROM
AMER
FILM
INST
L.A.
TO
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President Bush remarks at AFI Event
September 26, 1989
"Back to the Rose Garden"
Possible quotes for AFI program
#1
For almost a quarter century, the American
Film Institute has nurtured and celebrated the
art of the moving image. In doing so, it has
had an immense impact on the mind and soul of
America.
#2
Part of a nation's greatness is its capacity to
create and appreciate works of art. The American
Film Institute is the living embodiment of this
nation's commitment to the art of the moving
image.
"Talking points" we'd like President Bush to hit in his speech at the "Back to the Rose
Garden" event.
*
FILM IS AMERICA'S INDIGENOUS ART FORM:
Unlike any of the other arts, the motion picture was
created by Americans, in a series of technical advances
throughout the 1890's. Americans and foreign-born
artists working in America are responsible for creating
many of the most significant works of film art. And it is
through American films that much of the world first got
to know America -- our motion pictures have literally altered
the shape of the world.
WHY WE NEED THE AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE:
Our responsibility to support the AFI is based on our
responsibility to the quality of the art, and to ensure that
American film industry remains the standard for the world.
*
FUNCTIONS OF THE AFI TRAINING: Film is the only
art form in which the artist cannot afford his tools. The AFI
provides advanced training to young filmmakers, and gives
them the opportunity to hone their talents under the guidance
of accepted masters of the moving image.
*
FUNCTIONS OF THE AFI - PRESERVATION: The history
of film is the history of America in the 20th century. Just as
we would preserve a landmark, we should preserve the bits of
our past captured on film. Many historic and classic films are
This
is
&
event.
fundreising
SEP-11-1989 09:18 FROM AMER FILM INST L.A.
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President Bush Remarks at AFI Event
Page 2
in danger of being lost forever, the AFI works to find and save
these priceless pieces of our national life.
FUNCTIONS OF THE AFI -- ADVOCACY: The motion
picture represents a synthesis: it combines science, business
and art. Although we often speak of the movie "industry," we
cannot lose sight of the fact that it is the art of the filmmaker
that gives motion pictures their power to entertain and awe.
The AFI actively promotes an understanding and appreciation
of film as an art, seeking to raise our national consciousness
about the beauty and value of the moving image.
*
ADDING TO OUR NATIONAL HERITAGE: We judge the
societies of the past in many ways: how fairly did they treat
their citizens? How did they deal with crises? In what ways
did they add to the store of human knowledge? But another
important question is, "What did they leave us to know them
by?" The Greeks and Romans set standards for architecture
and design that are still echoed and re-echoed two thousand
years later. Renaissance Italy gave us the art of Michelangelo
and Leonardo da Vinci. 18th Century Germany gave us the
music of Bach and Beethoven. All of these are things that have
enriched the lives of each passing generation. The motion
picture will be part of our legacy. In 1965, Lyndon Johnson
called film "this great 20th Century art form" when he established
the American Film Institute. Our committment to the arts is not
simply so that we may enjoy them in the present. It is so that
our children, and grandchildren, and generations still unborn
and unimagined, can enjoy them in the future, and, in so
doing, better understand us - and themselves.
TOTAL P.05
NEWS
The American Film Institute
2021 North Western Avenue
Los Angeles, California 90027
Telephone 213-856-7600
For More Information
Washington, DC: Carol McCain
(202)828-7000
Los Angeles, CA: Freeman & Sutton
(213)858-1005
"BACK TO THE ROSE GARDEN"
25TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION
WHAT:
"Back to the Rose Garden," a gala Washington celebration
attended by President and Mrs. George Bush and leading
figures from government and motion pictures, will
reaffirm the commitment President Lyndon B. Johnson
made when he signed the National Arts and Humanities
Act, which became the cornerstone for the foundation of
a national institution devoted to the art of film and
television.
)
WHO:
Speakers will include President Bush, AFI
Chairman Gene Jankowski, and AFI Trustee and
Motion Picture of America President Jack Valenti.
Executive producer of the evening's program is David
Wolper.
Guests will include members of the film and television
community: actors; directors; producers; writers;
independent media center representatives; video artists,
as well as Members of Congress, the Administration,
and AFI corporate and philanthropic supporters.
WHEN:
The American Film Institute will host a gala reception on
Tuesday, September 26
7 p.m. cocktails * 8 p.m. dinner * 9 p.m. program
WHERE:
National Building Museum (Pension Building)
440 G Street, NW Washington, DC
OBJECTIVE:
During their relatively brief history, movies have
had a profound effect on our lives and on our culture.
These captivating moving images have provided windows
into our culture and into the cultures of other nations,
helping to fashion a collective vision of the past, the
present and the future. With this event, the AFI hopes to
focus the country's attention on this indigenous American
art form and look forward to the centennial anniversary
celebration of the motion picture during the 1990's.