Attempt 2: Compare how far your chosen films reflect their different production contexts.
Attempt 2: (b) Compare how far your chosen films reflect their different production contexts.
Vertigo & One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (OFOTCN) are both films that reflect their different production contexts. Vertigo is a film by Alfred Hitchcock and was released in the late 50's, when the studio system was still prevalent in Hollywood, and OFOTCN is a film by Milos Forman that was released in the mid 70's, a time period which allowed independent films to reach a mainstream audience. Vertigo's positioning at the end of the studio system depicts that it both conforms to and is also independent of the tight constraints of filmmaking in the golden era whereas during the mid-70's, European films were making a splash in America as the huge market of disaffected youth found relevance and artistic meaning in movies from directors such as Michelangelo Antonioni which meant that independent films in America began to found a wider audience as the new movie-goer generation were interested in seeing works that challenged the typical norms of cinema which meant that OFOTCN represented the aspects of New Hollywood.
Both Vertigo and OFOTCN strongly reflect their respective production contexts, particularly in relation to the Hollywood studio system and its legacy. Vertigo was released in 1958 during a period when the studios held all the power and owned the rights to the majority of films whereas OFOTCN was released in 1975, by which point the studio system had died out as Hollywood continued to take more risks and this caused an explosion in creativity due to the rise in independent filmmakers and the important social subjects being highlighted in key films of the 1970's. This means that aspects of Vertigo's production is reflected in its production context as the use of the expertise of the studio system meant that many actors had contracts to the studios so this meant that Hitchcock used well established actors such as James Stewart in his cast as Hollywood in this time was centred around the stars so by having a well renowned actor such as Stewart meant that the film could appeal to a wider audience. Hitchcock worked in Hollywood from 1939 so he benefited from the production codes and practises of the vertical integration system which allowed his work to be developed and distributed to a mass audience, as well as having a knowledge of what appealed to Hollywood audience; for example Hitchcock included his signature cameo in Vertigo as he knew this would encourage more people to watch the film at the cinema. Whilst Vertigo relied on big names involved in the production to sell the film, OFOTCN used a cast of unknown actors as Forman wanted a cast of distinctive characters with distinctive faces as he was tired of everyone in Hollywood looking the same and Forman was influenced by the Czechoslovak New Wave which focused on long unscripted dialogues and the casting of non-professional actors. The use of the studio system is also reflected in Vertigo as the conditions of Paramount meant that there were many 'conventional' sequences of the time in the film in order to appeal to regular movie-goers; the scene where Scottie rescues Madeleine from drowning exemplifies this as it was typical of films under the studio system to involve the male hero saving the mysterious figure. On the other hand, OFOTCN reflects its production contexts through the risks that Forman took; studios such as 20th Century Fox were interested in financing and distributing the film if it was given a happier ending but Forman wanted to present a realistic portrayal of a story that he connected with on a personal level so he kept the ending the same and financed the production independently. This depicts that OFOTCN is reflective of its production context as the film's risks shows that it wasn't conforming to the previous standard of cinema that Hollywood imposed and that it was inspired by the movement of independent cinema that was occurring worldwide during the 70's.
However the studio system had started to falter by 1948 due to the Paramount Decree, which was a anti-trust law in a Supreme Court ruling which disbanded vertical integration. This is reflected in Vertigo as Hitchcock experiments on different camera techniques in Vertigo as he is inspired by different cultures to take more risks in his filmmaking. For example the scene where Scottie has a nightmare uses an array of colour and different images in a quick cutting style that was a new technique to Western Audiences as Hitchcock has been inspired by film movements such as German expressionism (which exposes the inner life of characters through unusual camera angles, moody lighting and mise-en-scene) and Soviet montage cinema, which relied heavily upon editing and brought formalism to filmmaking. Hitchcock cited that editing was the 'lynchpin of worthwhile filmmaking' which reflects Vertigo's production context as he used other cinematic movements to present these ideas to a Western Audience to encourage them to return to the cinemas after the 1950's saw the rise of home entertainment and TV. Moreover, OFOTCN reflects its production context of 'New Hollywood' as it was a risky venture as the topic of mental health and the style of the film meant that it wasn't a safe audience pleaser due to its non-formulaic appearance and the film was independently produced so it lacked the budget and pedigree that Vertigo had in order to propel it to be a success. OFOTCN also depicts the change in the Hollywood system from the 50's as the film was exclusively filmed on location as Milos Forman wanted to make a movie in a place where people had lived and died in order to create a sense of ambience and isolation that's hard to match in a studio. This is emphasised through Forman taking inspiration from his European influences as filming on location allowed for more creative freedom; the scene where they have the group therapy meeting displays this freedom as the setting influenced the actors to improvise their actions and Forman's filming creates a claustrophobic feel and takes the audience inside the minds of how the characters feel in this setting. This differs to old Hollywood movies such as Vertigo which were filmed in a studio as the studios used to control the financing and the releasing of films during the 'Golden Age'.
Both films social and cultural factors also play a part in generating the meanings and values in each film as a reflection of their context. Vertigo reflects its production context through the issues that occurred in the world during the 50's. The 20th century was an era of fast change that saw the disintegration of the old social orders and the 50's was an era of anxiety for America following the damage caused by World War II as a churning discomfort was created because of the uncertainty about the future and a lack of clarity about the past. This fear is reflected in Vertigo as Scottie is a symbol for America; for example in the scene that uses the dolly zoom reflects Scottie's fear and represents that the world is shaking from all the social and historical changes that had occurred. The real world issues of the 50's are reflected in Vertigo as Hitchcock presents Scottie as a character with an air of paranoia surrounding him and haunting him which conveys the fear that the everyday man faced in America during the 50's due to the many conflicts occurring and Vertigo can be inferred as a study of men trying to re-assert their control over women in post war America. Hitchcock shows this when Scottie spies on Madeleine when she is in the flower shop as this depicts to the audience that Scottie feels that he has to be in control of Madeleine as he is keeping a close watch over her every move. Scottie's insecurity in Vertigo is a reflection of the films production context as his characteristics identified to the insecurity of men that lived in 1950's America. OFOTCN is also reflective of its production context because of events that occurred during the 1970's. Many uprisings against political and social ideologies became commonplace around the world and wars such as the Vietnam War were still continuing during the early 70's. This is reflected in OFOTCN in scenes where Nurse Ratched uses fear to influence and bully another for a specific purpose which can relate to the harsh nature of men being forced to sign up for the Vietnam War as they didn't want to face the consequences of being seen as a 'coward'. 1975's America was a tumultuous period of assassinations, riots, wars and protests that led to unprecedented changes in the American landscape which is reflected in this movie as Cuckoo's Nest presented a story about facing off against the Establishment and challenging social norms. Forman noted that the asylum was a metaphor for the Soviet Union (which is embodied as Nurse Ratched) and the desire to escape from this scary landscape which shows that the film's characters were influenced by events occurring in the real world and that Forman was satirising totalitarian regimes. The production contexts of both films are reflected strongly as they show the importance of social contexts and dominant ideologies in America, but they are shown in different ways because of the different wars and events that were occurring when each film was shot.
In both Vertigo & OFOTCN, Hitchcock and Forman make strong use of their resources to reflect their different production contexts through their similarities to the film system that was prevalent at the times their films were released and the use of characters to comment on post-war American society and how it had been affected by tragedy. However OFOTCN is more reflective of its production context as the film uses techniques such as improvisation that were common amongst independent films released in the 1970's, and despite Vertigo's slow pace being formulaic of its time period, Hitchcock took more risks as he had the power due to his reputation which meant that he could experiment with different styles of film that weren't used often in 1950's Hollywood. This is also shown through gender representations as OFOTCN is typical of its time as Forman displays women as a means of sexual liberation, freedom and being in power of the men whereas Hitchcock initially draws on the classic film noir trope of Scottie helplessly being drawn to Madeleine but it is later revealed that 'Madeleine' was controlled by Elster which was an untypical twist in 1950's Hollywood.
Both Vertigo and OFOTCN strongly reflect their respective production contexts, particularly in relation to the Hollywood studio system and its legacy. Vertigo was released in 1958 during a period when the studios held all the power and owned the rights to the majority of films whereas OFOTCN was released in 1975, by which point the studio system had died out as Hollywood continued to take more risks and this caused an explosion in creativity due to the rise in independent filmmakers and the important social subjects being highlighted in key films of the 1970's. This means that aspects of Vertigo's production is reflected in its production context as the use of the expertise of the studio system meant that many actors had contracts to the studios so this meant that Hitchcock used well established actors such as James Stewart in his cast as Hollywood in this time was centred around the stars so by having a well renowned actor such as Stewart meant that the film could appeal to a wider audience. Hitchcock worked in Hollywood from 1939 so he benefited from the production codes and practises of the vertical integration system which allowed his work to be developed and distributed to a mass audience, as well as having a knowledge of what appealed to Hollywood audience; for example Hitchcock included his signature cameo in Vertigo as he knew this would encourage more people to watch the film at the cinema. Whilst Vertigo relied on big names involved in the production to sell the film, OFOTCN used a cast of unknown actors as Forman wanted a cast of distinctive characters with distinctive faces as he was tired of everyone in Hollywood looking the same and Forman was influenced by the Czechoslovak New Wave which focused on long unscripted dialogues and the casting of non-professional actors. The use of the studio system is also reflected in Vertigo as the conditions of Paramount meant that there were many 'conventional' sequences of the time in the film in order to appeal to regular movie-goers; the scene where Scottie rescues Madeleine from drowning exemplifies this as it was typical of films under the studio system to involve the male hero saving the mysterious figure. On the other hand, OFOTCN reflects its production contexts through the risks that Forman took; studios such as 20th Century Fox were interested in financing and distributing the film if it was given a happier ending but Forman wanted to present a realistic portrayal of a story that he connected with on a personal level so he kept the ending the same and financed the production independently. This depicts that OFOTCN is reflective of its production context as the film's risks shows that it wasn't conforming to the previous standard of cinema that Hollywood imposed and that it was inspired by the movement of independent cinema that was occurring worldwide during the 70's.
However the studio system had started to falter by 1948 due to the Paramount Decree, which was a anti-trust law in a Supreme Court ruling which disbanded vertical integration. This is reflected in Vertigo as Hitchcock experiments on different camera techniques in Vertigo as he is inspired by different cultures to take more risks in his filmmaking. For example the scene where Scottie has a nightmare uses an array of colour and different images in a quick cutting style that was a new technique to Western Audiences as Hitchcock has been inspired by film movements such as German expressionism (which exposes the inner life of characters through unusual camera angles, moody lighting and mise-en-scene) and Soviet montage cinema, which relied heavily upon editing and brought formalism to filmmaking. Hitchcock cited that editing was the 'lynchpin of worthwhile filmmaking' which reflects Vertigo's production context as he used other cinematic movements to present these ideas to a Western Audience to encourage them to return to the cinemas after the 1950's saw the rise of home entertainment and TV. Moreover, OFOTCN reflects its production context of 'New Hollywood' as it was a risky venture as the topic of mental health and the style of the film meant that it wasn't a safe audience pleaser due to its non-formulaic appearance and the film was independently produced so it lacked the budget and pedigree that Vertigo had in order to propel it to be a success. OFOTCN also depicts the change in the Hollywood system from the 50's as the film was exclusively filmed on location as Milos Forman wanted to make a movie in a place where people had lived and died in order to create a sense of ambience and isolation that's hard to match in a studio. This is emphasised through Forman taking inspiration from his European influences as filming on location allowed for more creative freedom; the scene where they have the group therapy meeting displays this freedom as the setting influenced the actors to improvise their actions and Forman's filming creates a claustrophobic feel and takes the audience inside the minds of how the characters feel in this setting. This differs to old Hollywood movies such as Vertigo which were filmed in a studio as the studios used to control the financing and the releasing of films during the 'Golden Age'.
Both films social and cultural factors also play a part in generating the meanings and values in each film as a reflection of their context. Vertigo reflects its production context through the issues that occurred in the world during the 50's. The 20th century was an era of fast change that saw the disintegration of the old social orders and the 50's was an era of anxiety for America following the damage caused by World War II as a churning discomfort was created because of the uncertainty about the future and a lack of clarity about the past. This fear is reflected in Vertigo as Scottie is a symbol for America; for example in the scene that uses the dolly zoom reflects Scottie's fear and represents that the world is shaking from all the social and historical changes that had occurred. The real world issues of the 50's are reflected in Vertigo as Hitchcock presents Scottie as a character with an air of paranoia surrounding him and haunting him which conveys the fear that the everyday man faced in America during the 50's due to the many conflicts occurring and Vertigo can be inferred as a study of men trying to re-assert their control over women in post war America. Hitchcock shows this when Scottie spies on Madeleine when she is in the flower shop as this depicts to the audience that Scottie feels that he has to be in control of Madeleine as he is keeping a close watch over her every move. Scottie's insecurity in Vertigo is a reflection of the films production context as his characteristics identified to the insecurity of men that lived in 1950's America. OFOTCN is also reflective of its production context because of events that occurred during the 1970's. Many uprisings against political and social ideologies became commonplace around the world and wars such as the Vietnam War were still continuing during the early 70's. This is reflected in OFOTCN in scenes where Nurse Ratched uses fear to influence and bully another for a specific purpose which can relate to the harsh nature of men being forced to sign up for the Vietnam War as they didn't want to face the consequences of being seen as a 'coward'. 1975's America was a tumultuous period of assassinations, riots, wars and protests that led to unprecedented changes in the American landscape which is reflected in this movie as Cuckoo's Nest presented a story about facing off against the Establishment and challenging social norms. Forman noted that the asylum was a metaphor for the Soviet Union (which is embodied as Nurse Ratched) and the desire to escape from this scary landscape which shows that the film's characters were influenced by events occurring in the real world and that Forman was satirising totalitarian regimes. The production contexts of both films are reflected strongly as they show the importance of social contexts and dominant ideologies in America, but they are shown in different ways because of the different wars and events that were occurring when each film was shot.
In both Vertigo & OFOTCN, Hitchcock and Forman make strong use of their resources to reflect their different production contexts through their similarities to the film system that was prevalent at the times their films were released and the use of characters to comment on post-war American society and how it had been affected by tragedy. However OFOTCN is more reflective of its production context as the film uses techniques such as improvisation that were common amongst independent films released in the 1970's, and despite Vertigo's slow pace being formulaic of its time period, Hitchcock took more risks as he had the power due to his reputation which meant that he could experiment with different styles of film that weren't used often in 1950's Hollywood. This is also shown through gender representations as OFOTCN is typical of its time as Forman displays women as a means of sexual liberation, freedom and being in power of the men whereas Hitchcock initially draws on the classic film noir trope of Scottie helplessly being drawn to Madeleine but it is later revealed that 'Madeleine' was controlled by Elster which was an untypical twist in 1950's Hollywood.
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