Film 1940-Today
Film around the world was effected by World War II and eventually led to different films being made. The real revolution started in France in the 1950's and1960's. was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s.Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of the literary period pieces being made in France and written by novelists, along with their spirit of youthful iconoclasm, the desire to shoot more current social issues on location, and their intention of experimenting with the film form. "New Wave" is an example of European art cinema. Many also engaged in their work with the social and political upheavals of the era, making their radical experiments with editing, visual style and narrative part of a general break with the conservative paradigm. Using portable equipment and requiring little or no set up time, the New Wave way of filmmaking presented a documentary style. The films exhibited direct sounds on film stock that required less light. Filming techniques included fragmented, discontinuous editing, and long takes. The combination of objective realism, subjective realism, and authorial commentary created a narrative ambiguity in the sense that questions that arise in a film are not answered in the end.
This style effected films world wide and really pushed film as an art form. The decade opened with Hollywood facing a financial slump, reflecting the monetary woes of the nation as a whole during the first half of the decade. Despite this, the 1970s proved to be a benchmark decade in the development of cinema, both as an art form and a business. With young filmmakers taking greater risks and restrictions regarding language and sexuality lifting, Hollywood produced some of its most critically acclaimed and financially successful films since its supposed "golden era."
We can still see these influences on todays films. Thousands of full-length films were produced during the first decade of the 21st Century. Building on developments in the 1990s, computers are used to create effects that would have previously been more expensive, from the subtle erasing of surrounding islands in Cast Away; to the vast battle scenes such as those in Gladiator, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, The Matrix and 300.
In addition, film genres not known for their popular appeal in North America became increasingly attractive to filmgoers: films in foreign languages like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Passion of the Christ and Letters from Iwo Jima; and documentary films like An Inconvenient Truth, March of the Penguins, Super Size Me, and Fahrenheit 9/11, became very successful.
Also gaining popularity was the use of Computer-generated imagery (CGI) to produce films. These types of films were originally seen in the 1990s with the likes of Toy Story and its sequel Toy Story 2, but CGI films became more popular in 2001 with the release of Shrek. Other popular CGI films include Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc. and Ratatouille. In addition, Up became the second animated feature ever to receive an Oscar nomination for The Best Picture.
The 2000s also saw a resurgence of several genres. For example, Gladiator, Moulin Rouge!, and Spider-Man increased the popularity of the Epic, Musical, and comic book genres, respectively.
In addition, film genres not known for their popular appeal in North America became increasingly attractive to filmgoers: films in foreign languages like Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, The Passion of the Christ and Letters from Iwo Jima; and documentary films like An Inconvenient Truth, March of the Penguins, Super Size Me, and Fahrenheit 9/11, became very successful.
Also gaining popularity was the use of Computer-generated imagery (CGI) to produce films. These types of films were originally seen in the 1990s with the likes of Toy Story and its sequel Toy Story 2, but CGI films became more popular in 2001 with the release of Shrek. Other popular CGI films include Finding Nemo, The Incredibles, Monsters, Inc. and Ratatouille. In addition, Up became the second animated feature ever to receive an Oscar nomination for The Best Picture.
The 2000s also saw a resurgence of several genres. For example, Gladiator, Moulin Rouge!, and Spider-Man increased the popularity of the Epic, Musical, and comic book genres, respectively.