French and American new waves

In the late 1950’s, a movement began in France known as Nouvelle Vague, or the “New Wave”. A new era of young directors who have grown up watching censored films during the war are now not limited to these restrictions. Some of the most influential directors of this era include Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnes Varda, Claude Chabrol, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Louis Malle, Alain Resnais, and Jacques Demy. Movies before the new wave were described as lifeless, lacked emotion, repeated creations with no type of expression. The films of the new wave rejected the traditional style of French cinema. Directors of this era rejected the traditional ways of studio and scripted filmmaking and started creating films for expression rather than impression. As we discussed in class, the new wave was an era where film was seen more as art rather than a product of a studio, filmmakers were artist of their work. This era also brought about breakthroughs in cinema that changed film forever, for example, some features you will see in these films include jump cuts, rapid editing, shooting on location and outdoors, natural lighting, direct sound recording, long takes, conversation rather than dialogue, and improvised plots. Filmmakers also used their films as a way to express social and political issues that were happening during this time in France. Films released during this period had a major influence on pop culture not only in France but all over the world. It had an effect on music, fashion, and advertising.

Vivre Sa Vie (1962)

Greatly influenced by the French New wave, started a new era in Hollywood. It began with the fall of the system. According to Tom Schatz’s chapter, as the control of the major studios  over the movie industry began to collapse, Independent studios began to flourish. This then lead to studios like AIP, producing exploitation films and targeting younger audiences in the 50’s. By the 60’s, the production code has faded and a new generation of directors had the freedom to make movies however they wanted. Meanwhile, the industry and major studios have gone through drastic changes under new leadership and eventually fail. By the end of the 1960’s, a new era in Hollywood rose known as “New Hollywood” or the “American New Wave.” This period in American Cinema produced many film classics that are still loved by many. Influenced by films produced in Europe, directors of this era brought new themes and style to their films.Some of the great directors of this period include, Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, Robert Altman, George Lucas, and Peter Bogdanovich, just to name a few. Because of this era of risk taking and artistic expression, these directors left their mark as some of the best directors of American Cinema. Unfortunately, this period came to an end by the 80’s due to directors bringing in major flops, the studios decided to reconsider their freedoms. This lead to cinema in the 80’s taking on a new direction.