French noticed that American films were being made by auteurs (authors) who made them their own apart from the studio system. Hitchcock and Orson Welles being prime examples.
Little Fugitive (1953) ■By Ray Ashley, Morris Engel & Ruth Orkin
influenced Francoise Truffaut
On the Bowery (1956) by Lionel Rogosin
neorealist view of NYC with mixed doc and scripted footage
Pull My Daisy by Robert Frank
"there's his coat on the chair... it's been there for three days..." sounds like my place.
Shadows by John Cassavetes (1959)
improvised dialogue and interracial romance
The Connection (1961)
movie studios lost their monopoly on the theatres (Paramount Antitrust case 1948) and had to compete with television and foreign films
1966 British films that made it big in America
Alfie
Georgy Girl
Blow Up
When Jack Valenti became new head of MPAA in '66 the outdated Hays Code was abolished and filmmakers could make anti-authoritarian films and try new, outrageous things
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Two French New Wave directors were hired and bailed on the production before it went to Arthur Penn. Jack Warner, head of Warner Bros. studios didn't like the roughs and only gave it a limited release. Despite bad reviews in US, did well in England and was then re-released in US to be nominated for Oscars. Notable for new levels of sex and violence.
The Graduate (1967)
director Mike Nicholas, Simon and Garfunkel songs (Mrs. Robinson), "one word, Benjamin... plastics"
Fritz the Cat (1971)
first X-rated American cartoon, taken from comic strip by Robert Crumb
I once paid $1 to see this film and I spent the whole time thinking (I want my money back! But it's only $1... can I walk out of this? No, I'll lose my $1...)
What disturbed me as a child: we didn't watch horror movies when I was little, so anything people thought was tame was disturbing. Disney's "The Watcher in the Woods" and "Child of Glass" made unpleasant impressions on me. I saw a trailer for a movie with roller skating teenagers being stalked and raped. WHO RUNS THAT KIND OF TRAILER BEFORE A DISNEY MOVIE????? That one stuck with me for quite a while.
What I think now: I don't like movies with rape. I avoid them when I know it's going to be in there.
BRUCE DERN in The Cowboys. He terrorizes the boys on the cattle run and murders John Wayne. Then he whines when they get their vengeance on him in the end.
The movie of Cormac McCarthy's The Road: I expected post-apocalyptic gangs to try and rape me, I never expected them to then eat me in stages. I spent three days eyeing up the people on the street and trying to evaluate who was going to turn cannibal rapist.
BRUCE DERN in Big Love. In addition to being a disgusting old man with multiple child brides, he pees in his son's kitchen sink.
I'm the second generation of women in my family to be terrified by Bruce Dern's acting. My mom says that as a child she used to be terrified of him on TV and pray for his salvation. I pray, too, but it's for a big gun and an endless supply of ammunition. I need to ask my grandma about him...
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