Various – American Cinema (1995)

adminMarch 14, 2023

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The ten-part American Cinema series is superb entertainment for movie fans who want to acquire a deeper understanding of the history, development, techniques, and genres of the USA’s best export. It richly employs first-person interviews with modern directors, producers, screenwriters, cinematographers, actors, and a slew of other movie craftsmen. Each one- hour episode is liberally seasoned with film clips and includes archival interviews with dozens of the late greats of the first half of this century. Every self-labeled movie buff should watch this fine series.

Part 1: The Hollywood Style | Narrator: Joe Morton
This program introduces the broad themes and stylistic conventions of classical Hollywood film, a combination of strong protagonists and story structure, with powerful emotional and technical effects.

Part 2: The Star | Narrator: Kathleen Turner
Early on, Hollywood saw that recognizable talent could minimize the financial risks of film production. In this program, Joan Crawford and Julia Roberts provide case studies of the cultural phenomenon of stardom.

Part 3: Romantic Comedy | Narrator: Kathy Selverstone
From Frank Capra’s It Happened One Night to such contemporary works as Pretty Woman, romantic comedies often mask keen social and psychological observations with breezy dialogue and ridiculous slapstick. This program explores the surface humor of such films, as well as their roots in questions of gender and sexuality.

Part 4: Film Noir | Narrator: Richard Widmark
This program examines the genre of film noir—its roots in German Expressionism; its links to the Cold War, from nuclear threats to blacklisting; and the use of special lighting and camera angles to emphasize themes of corruption and urban decay.

Part 5: The Western | Narrator: Eli Wallach
This program traces the history, aesthetic evolution, and sociological importance of one of American film’s most popular genres, from John Ford’s Stagecoach through the work of Arthur Penn, Sam Peckinpah, and Clint Eastwood.

Part 6: The Combat Film | Narrator: Matthew Modine
This program describes the evolution of the World War II combat film (including those produced under directives from the federal government); the rise of the Vietnam film; the influence off actual newsreel documentaries on a fiction film genre; and the ways in which the combat film has filled social and political needs.

Part 7: The Studio System | Narrator: Peter Coyote
Using Paramount Pictures as a case study, this program probes the economics of mainstream filmmaking and surveys Hollywood’s past era of movie moguls and contract players and directors.

Part 8: Film in the Television Age | Narrator: Cliff Robertson
This program explores the relationship between film and television, from the studios’ initial fear of television and the rise of the Hollywood spectacle film to today’s more integrated entertainment industry.

Part 9: The Film School Generation | Narrator: Mark Heenahan
In the 1960s and 1970s, a group of young mavericks—Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and others—tried to revolutionize the way American films were made and appreciated. This program explores the financial and cultural forces that made their success possible; the influence of classical Hollywood genres and new technology on their work; and their continuing evolution as idiosyncratic filmmakers with commercial clout.

Part 10: The Edge of Hollywood | Narrator: Frances McDormand
Contemporary American independent cinema provides a forum for dissenting, unconventional filmmakers, many of whom are from minority communities. This program looks at the work of Spike Lee, Joel and Ethan Coen, Jim Jarmusch, Quentin Tarrantino, and others and how limited budgets can often encourage innovation and experimentation.

7.99GB | 6h 01m | 696×480 | mkv

Language(s):English
Subtitles:None

Various – American Cinema (1995)

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