Film 100: Module 10 - The 1960s Explosion

The 1960s Explosion

Overview

• This module provides a world tour of film in the 1960s, with the subsequent module focusing on Hollywood during the same period.
• The major influence on filmmaking in the 1960s came from France and the New Wave movement (French New Wave).
• Many films and directors were inspired by the Italian Neorealist movement, which began in Italy after World War II.

The New Wave

• The New Wave concept emerged in the late 1950s.
• The term "New Wave" was frequently used at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival to describe the innovative ideas and filmmaking styles presented.

France and the French New Wave

• France is the origin of the New Wave movement, also known as the French New Wave.

Cahiers Du Cinéma

• In the 1950s, a group of intellectuals wrote articles for Cahiers Du Cinéma.
• They were passionate about cinema and very knowledgeable about filmmaking.
• They considered Italian filmmakers to be the best.

Jean-Luc Godard

• Godard was a writer for Cahiers Du Cinéma.
• He criticized French films as escapist entertainment and praised Italian Neorealism.
• He advocated for French filmmakers to produce more serious and intellectual films.
• Godard and other French film writers often traveled to Rome and other parts of Italy, writing extensively about Italian Neorealism, with articles published in Cahiers Du Cinéma.

Roberto Rossellini

• Rossellini is considered the father of Italian Neorealism.
• Godard and other writers greatly admired and respected Rossellini.
• Rossellini's advice was to "put down your pen and pick up a camera," urging action over criticism.

Transformation into Filmmakers

• Inspired by Rossellini, the young intellectual writers at Cahiers Du Cinéma became filmmakers.
• They aimed to transform the French film industry and initiate the French New Wave.

French New Wave as a Response to Italian Neorealism

• The French New Wave directly responded to Italian Neorealism, expanding on its ideas.
• As a reaction against studio films, they used handheld cameras and shot on location.
• Studios were avoided during the production of these films, providing freedom of movement and immediacy.

Cinema-Verite

• The French New Wave embraced Cinema-Verite, using lightweight, handheld cameras to simulate a documentary or spontaneous feel.
• Cinema-Verite translates to "truth cinema".

Key Figures of the French New Wave

Jean-Luc Godard

• Godard was the public face of the New Wave movement.
• He was a prolific and talented writer who transitioned his skills into filmmaking.

Breathless (1960)

• Godard’s first feature film.
• It used natural light and lightweight cameras, following actors closely.
• Breathless is often cited as a key film of the French New Wave but some consider Godard to have made even better films.
• Required Viewing: At least ten minutes of the film.
• Description: Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) revolutionized cinema with its jazzy, free-form style, paying homage to American film genres. The film stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jean Seberg and helped launch the French New Wave.

Alphaville (1965)

• Godard’s only science fiction film, exploring themes of control and lack of free will via a supercomputer.
• Expressions of emotion are forbidden in the film.
• It is a political and personal film and is considered Godard’s most unconventional work.
• Recommended Viewing
• Description: In ALPHAVILLE, Jean-Luc Godard combines a detective story with science fiction. Lemmy Caution (Eddie Constantine) is tasked with destroying Alpha 60, an almost-human computer.

François Truffaut

• Truffaut wrote prolifically on Italian Neorealism for Cahiers Du Cinéma.
• He was the most commercially successful director of the French New Wave movement.

The 400 Blows (1959)

• Truffaut won Best Director at the 1959 Cannes Film Festival for this film.
• It's an autobiographical film about a young boy rebelling against his surroundings.
• The 400 Blows is considered a pillar of the French New Wave movement.
• Optional Viewing
• Description: Francois Truffaut's first feature is also his most personal. Told through the eyes of Truffaut's cinematic counterpart, Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Leaud), THE 400 BLOWS sensitively re-creates the trials of Truffaut's own childhood, unsentimentally portraying aloof parents, oppressive teachers, and petty crime. The film marked Truffaut's passage from leading critic to trailblazing auteur of the French New Wave.

Jules and Jim (1962)

• This film encapsulates the French New Wave movement.
• It explores friendship and love through innovative shooting and editing techniques.
• It has been influential to filmmakers since its release.
• Optional Viewing
• Description: JULES ET JIM charts, over twenty-five years, the relationship between two friends and the object of their mutual obsession. The legendary Francois Truffaut directs, and Jeanne Moreau stars as the alluring and willful Catherine, whose enigmatic smile and passionate nature lure Jules and Jim into one of cinema's most captivating romantic triangles. An exuberant and poignant meditation on freedom, loyalty, and the fortitude of love, Jules and Jim was a worldwide smash in 1962 and remains every bit as audacious and entrancing today.

Alain Resnais

• Resnais made psychological films.
• His characters often grapple with moral dilemmas.
• While part of the French New Wave, his films maintained a distinct identity.

Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)

• About an interracial couple (Japanese man and French woman).
• It explores the ability of different cultures to understand and accept each other.
• Optional Viewing
• Description: A cornerstone of the French New Wave, the first feature from Alain Resnais is one of the most influential films of all time. A French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) engage in a brief, intense affair in postwar Hiroshima, their consuming mutual fascination impelling them to exorcise their own scarred memories of love and suffering.

Agnès Varda

• Varda studied photography and applied her photographic talent to cinema.
• She often made films about the changing role of women in society.
• Her work extensively covers social issues.

Cléo from 5 to 7

• This film feels contemporary and focuses on Cléo, an entertainer awaiting test results.
• Set in real-time, Cléo receives a call from her doctor at 6:30 pm
• The diagnosis could dramatically alter her life and others' perceptions of her.
• Optional Viewing
• Description: Agnes Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer (Corinne Marchand) set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman's life, CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 is a spirited mix of vivid verite and melodrama.

Sweden: Ingmar Bergman

Ingmar Bergman

• Bergman regarded his film Persona (1966) as his masterpiece.
• The film studies personal identity and remains highly influential.
• It opens with a compelling montage, influenced by Eisenstein's theory of montage.

Persona (1966)

• Persona explores identity and duality.
• It questions the contrast between self-perception and the perception of others.
• The film asks, "Who am I: am I the person I see or that others see?".
• It is influenced by the editing techniques of early French New Wave films.
• Optional Viewing
• Description: By the mid-sixties, Ingmar Bergman had already conjured many of the cinema's most unforgettable images. But with the radical PERSONA, this supreme artist attained new levels of visual poetry.

Italy: Federico Fellini and Michelangelo Antonioni

Federico Fellini

• Known for shifting from his early filmmaking style to more personal themes in the 1960s.
• His films often dealt with psychotherapy, reflecting his experiences.

8 ½ (1963)

• The film got its name from being Fellini's eighth film; he counted two short films as "half" films.
• 8 ½ centers on Guido Anselmi, a famous director with creative block.
• Guido experiences visions as he struggles to overcome his artistic paralysis.
• The film features a memorable ending.
• Required Viewing: View at least the first 4 minutes of the film.
• Description: Marcello Mastroianni plays Guido Anselmi, a director whose new project is collapsing around him, along with his life. One of the greatest films about film ever made…

Meta-Movie or Meta-Film

• 8 ½ is an example of a meta-movie (or meta-film), which is a film about film or filmmaking.

Michelangelo Antonioni

• Known for his signature use of wide shots to incorporate the location.
• His films often question the meaning of life and a character's place in it.

Blowup (1966)

• Shot partly in London, Blowup features a striking use of color.
• It explores themes of voyeurism, reality, and purpose, presented as a mystery.
• Blowup inspired Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation (1974) and Brian De Palma's Blow Out (1981).
• Trailer recommended due to lack of streaming availability on Kanopy.

England: Free Cinema Movement and James Bond

Free Cinema Movement

• Emerged in direct response to the French New Wave movement.
• Focused on producing documentaries about British working-class life.
• These documentaries were honest, raw, and reflected Cinema-Verite.

James Bond Franchise

• The franchise began in 1962 with Dr. No, directed by Terence Young.
• The Bond franchise continues to this day, with a total of 26 films.

Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick – Art of the Frame

• Required Viewing: Running Time about 9 minutes.

Stanley Kubrick

• Kubrick, who came from a photography background, was a painterly director.
• Only one of Kubrick's films will be explored in this module.

Dr. Strangelove (1964)

• Also known as: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.
• Kubrick explored the satire genre with this political film about nuclear proliferation.
• Kubrick directed, produced, and co-wrote the film.
• Recommended Viewing: First 10 minutes of the film.

Japan: Gojira (Godzilla)

Gojira! Or Godzilla (1954)

• The franchise started in the 1950s but gained popularity in the 1960s.
• The original Gojira (1954) was directed by Ishiro Honda.
• In 1962, King Kong vs. Godzilla was released.

Godzilla's Design and Roar

• Godzilla's design was crafted by special effects artist Eiji Tsuburaya, who used a combination of suitmation (an actor in a suit) and miniature sets to bring the monster to life.
• The iconic roar of Godzilla was created by composer Akira Ifukube by rubbing a resin-covered leather glove along the strings of a double bass and then slowing down the playback.

Gojira Explained

• Godzilla is a prehistoric radioactive monster awakened by nuclear weapon tests.
• The monster was created in film to address the fear and destruction experienced by the Japanese people at the end of WWII.
• Godzilla is depicted as a prehistoric creature awakened and empowered by nuclear radiation, rampaging through Tokyo and leaving destruction in its wake.

Gojira's Evolution

• Over the years, Godzilla has evolved, becoming a symbol of nuclear fears and a cultural icon representing Japan.
• Godzilla has appeared in numerous films, comics, television shows, and other media, with its concept continually adapted and expanded upon by various creators.

Godzilla Minus One (2023)

• The film is set in postwar Japan and follows a former kamikaze pilot suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder after encountering Godzilla.
• Godzilla Minus One won Best Visual Effects at the 96th Academy Awards.
• It was the first Godzilla film ever to be nominated for an Academy Award!

Documentary in the 1960s: Ousmane Sembene

Documentary Advancements

• More portable cameras and increased audience interest in global events led to documentary production in various countries.

Ousmane Sembene

• Sembene is often called the Father of African Cinema.
• He was a dock worker and novelist with no formal training in filmmaking.
• Sembene's films focused on themes such as colonialism, post-colonialism, social injustice, and the struggles of ordinary African people.
• He used cinema as a tool for raising awareness, promoting social change, and reclaiming African cultural identity.

Borom Sarret (1963)

• A short documentary about a poor cart driver in Dakar.
• This film was made by an African who understood the people and their problems.

Black Girl (1966)

• Sembene studied under famous Russian filmmakers before producing Black Girl (1966).
• It addresses colonialism and racism experienced by many Africans.
• Recommended Screening:

Sembene's Impact

• Throughout his career, Sembene faced challenges from censorship, financial constraints, and political pressure.
• He remained committed to telling stories that reflected the realities of African life and history.
• His work has had a profound impact on African cinema and continues to inspire filmmakers and audiences around the world.

Next Module

• The next module will focus on Hollywood in the 1960s.
• Reading assignment: A Short History of Film chapter 8, pages 274 to 290.