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Features: DVD
The 1970s was an extraordinary time of rebellion, and of questioning every accepted idea. As political activism, the sexual revolution, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, and the music revolution contributed to social unrest across America, American cinema witnessed the emergence of a new generation of filmmakers. Influenced by the social climate, foreign directors, and a new freedom of expression, these ground-breaking artists began targeting their films toward a new kind of audience--moviegoers who were disenchanted with age old studio formulas and were yearning for stories that reflected the ever-changing reality of the era. A love letter to an amazing era in film, A Decade Under the Influence enlists a cast of pioneering writers, directors, and actors to talk about the times, their films and their colleagues. Luminaries such as Francis Ford Coppola, William Friedkin, John Cassavetes, Julie Christie and Ellen Burstyn reveal intimate, personal, and often untold stories about their experiences, and interspersing these interviews with a virtual cinematic scrapbook of the decade, filmmakers Richard LaGravenese and the late Ted Demme include a cornucopia of clips from such classics as Easy Rider, The Godfather and Coming Home. The result is a fantastic celebration of the artists and films that left a vital and lasting stamp on America's national cinema and identity.
Editor's Note
Examining the 1970s, the decade that has come to be seen as North American cinema's most revolutionary and experimental, this reverent documentary directed by Richard LaGravenese and the late Ted Demme interviews a handful of the key players and survivors of that fertile time. Beginning with EASY RIDER (1969) and other offshoots of producer/director Roger Corman's virtual training ground for young directors at b-movie studio American International Pictures, DECADE traces the trajectory of filmmakers such as Dennis Hopper, Peter Bogdanovich, Francis Ford Coppola, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, William Friedkin, and Paul Schrader. With clips from TAXI DRIVER, SHAMPOO, MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER, THE GODFATHER, and many more, the film conveys the richness of talent that the 1970s film world possessed. But the birth of the blockbuster (namely JAWS and STAR WARS) raised the studios' expectations for financial performance in the industry, virtually killing the chances of riskier productions--a development which gave birth to the thriving independent scene we know today. While even the filmmakers go out of their way to point out that their film is by no means all-inclusive, A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE is flashy and informative, a trip well worth taking for both the novice cinema-goer and film scholar alike.
| Features | Extended Interviews | | Interactive Menus | | Scene Selection |
| Technical Info
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Release Information
| | Studio: New Video Group |
| Release Date: 9/30/2003 |
| Running Time: 180 minutes |
| Original Release Date: 2003 | | Catalog ID: 9557 | | UPC: 00767685955734 | | Number of Discs: 1 |
Audio & Video
| | Original Language: English | | Available Audio Tracks: English | | Video: Color |
Aspect Ratio | | 4:3 |
| Cast & Crew
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| | Professional Reviews | Rolling Stone
"...A fireball documentary..." 05/29/2003 p.71Premiere
"...The fact that this is the last project Ted Demme worked on gives it added poignancy....Essential..." 06/01/2003 p.20-2 Los Angeles Times
"...It is often remarked that the years between EASY RIDER (1969) and STAR WARS (1977) marked a second golden age in American filmmaking, and this documentary, as comprehensive as it is incisive, is a reminder of just how many terrific pictures came out during those years..." 05/30/2003 p.C8 Sight and Sound
"[I]t's an entertaining watch that could serve as an accessible introduction." 08/01/2004 p.78 |
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