Tom Symmons New Hollywood Historical Film

Annotation

The New Hollywood of the late 1960s and 1970s is among the mostinfluential periods in the history of film. It was a time of unprecedentedcreative risks, as the myths and moral certainties of 'old Hollywood' collidedwith the subversive and questioning stance of a new wave of young and talentedpractitioners. As the fault lines of the Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement andthe Watergate scandal shook America to its core; films expressed a profoundsense of uncertainty, change and possibility. Longone of Hollywood's most popular genres, a new wave of historical films thrivedin the era of New Hollywood. The New Hollywood Historical Film: 1967-78explores new directions and perspectives considering iconic films; American Graffiti (1973), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Grease (1978) and The Way We Were (1973), as well as lesser known gems, such as Sounder (1973) and The Day of the Locust (1975). Based on original research, TomSymmons analyses their production and reception, examining how the pastdepicted on film was profoundly shaped by the controversies and concerns of thepresent.