A Decade Under the Influence
Picture: B- Sound: B- Extras: C Film: A-
It is probably fair to say
that the 1970’s produced some of the most important films in all of cinema,
especially in the United States, if nothing else. It was during this time that America was in chaos. The 1970’s were a crazy time indeed. Every decade mirrors the events of the
decade preceding it. With Vietnam
coming to a close there would be many changes going on in America. It was a time of uncertainty and mistrust in
Government. Rights were being granted
to African Americans and women like never before. The sexual revolution had blown through in full swing and people
began to have the attitude that they would speak their minds. Indeed it was a crazy time!
In the world of filmmaking
another phenomenon occurred; that is – producers started to let the directors
make films without interference. This
was practically unheard of, since the ‘so-called great Hollywood Studio system’
produced some of the best films, how could this be? Well, many of the giants that ran those companies and studios
were dead, leaving the studios in unrest, which meant if anything was going to
happen, new producers had to place trust in these young hotshot directors. Many of these directors were inexperienced,
but they had passion for making their films, and so they did. The result: The Godfather I and II,
The Exorcist, Taxi Driver, The French Connection, One
Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, Deliverance, McCabe and Mrs. Miller,
What’s Up Doc?, Rocky, Chinatown, Marathon Man, Jaws,
Star Wars, Halloween, and many other spectacular productions
within one decade.
It is impossible to not
look back now and think about how much effect these films have had on us
since. Not only that, but most of these
films were in some way influenced by what happened prior to that to some
degree. Although what differentiates
this time period is the simple fact that many of the directors such as William
Friedkin, Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Sydney Pollack, Francis Ford Coppola,
and Peter Bogdanovich were highly influenced by much of European cinema mixed
with some of the traits of the leftover Hollywood system. Most of the influence fell towards Luchino
Visconti, Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette,
Alain Resnais, Claude Chabrol, and many others.
Presented on the IFC
network came the series A Decade Under the Influence, which explores
through interviews with directors and actors what was going on during this time
period, and why it happened. What works
so well is the fact that it is a retrospective that was bound to happen. This is the type of material that film
enthusiasts long for. Directed by
Richard LaGravenese and the late Ted Demme, the film would even see a
short-lived theatrical release. Demme
contributed as much material as he could before he died in February of 2002
from a heart attack, which was due to a cocaine addiction apparently. LaGravenese comes from a writing background
turning out screenplays and stories for films like Bridges of Madison County
and The Fisher King.
The film is broken down
into three segments, which work better as a whole. Although some of the material becomes repetitions it is also very
inspiring to hear some of these now giant directors talking about how they made
their break. It is also refreshing
seeing all of these films pulled together in one segment. In fact this entire documentary serves a
nice companion to The Kid Stays in the Picture (2002), put out by Warner
on the life of Paramount’s saving grace, Robert Evans. Most of the big pictures of the late 60’s
and 70’s would not have been without Evans, such as The Godfather, Rosemary’s
Baby, Love Story, Harold and Maude, Chinatown, Marathon
Man, just to name a few.
While the material here is
presented very strongly there are certain segments that could have been
longer. For example, what about the
Blaxploitation of this time period?
Even with Roger Corman and Pam Grier appearing in this documentary,
certain films of this era are never mentioned such as Hell Up in Harlem,
Black Caesar, Across 110th Street, and Shaft. It also seems that only films from Warner
and Paramount are acknowledged, which makes us wonder if the other studios held
back with allowing their material to be used.
Another segment that could
have been included would be war pictures made during this time, or a deeper
focus on other genre’s exclusively, such as the horror genre. Films like The Deer Hunter and Apocalypse
Now could have been linked to the post-Vietnam 70’s and our disillusionment
that lingered. Not to mention other
political events such as Watergate. How
about All the Presidents Men or The Parallax View? Even the mention of the documentary Hearts
and Minds from 1974 would have led to a great discussion on the questions
we were asking ourselves about our own governments during this time; the
incidents at Kent State and many other political upheavals.
A Decade Under the
Influence is certainly one of the
better documentaries put forth by Docurama, even though it makes our mouths
water for more material. It is
something that even the most knowledgeable film expert will enjoy, or enlighten
those not familiar with this era and its influence. Presented here in a standard letterboxed 1.85 X 1 ratio, the DVD
demonstrates decent quality since the documentary was shot on video versus
film. The Sony HDW-F900 CineAlta camera
was used and was intended for High-Definition playback at 1080p/24. Despite being shot by some of the better
digital cameras on the market, we can still see the limitations during the
interview segments and compare them to how the ‘actual’ films look in clip
form. Digital has nothing on film. The interview footage looks ok, but
backgrounds and moving patterns contain the qualities associated with
digital.
Audio playback in only
available in stereo, which is ok for the interview segments, but the question
is…why not do a 5.1 mix since most of the clips are shown from certain films
are available on DVD with new 5.1 mixes or at least some sort of surround
mix? This may have lead to some
unevenness though, so the simple stereo setup gives us a decent presentation
for what the material covers.
The back cover states that
the program runs 180 minutes, which is wrong.
The program may have run 180 minutes when it was divided into its three
sections, each running 60 minutes including commercials. The true runtime is about 138 minutes. Extras are minimal only consisting of some
extra interview material from many of the directors and actors. It has its place in the film, since it felt
short to begin with. At least this
material is here.
A Decade Under the
Influence ranks among some of the
best documentaries within the past year alongside Standing in the Shadows of
Motown, Bowling for Columbine, and The Kid Stays in the Picture,
while its DVD release does not contain near the extras included on the DVD’s
for those other films, this one gets the job done nonetheless. Fans of the 1970’s filmmakers will want
more, but who knows when our next dosage of goodies will come. In a day and age with sequel after sequel
being dumped into our cinemas and digital effects replacing actors, it is hard
to say what will become of the new Hollywood, if there is still such a thing.
- Nate Goss
