Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Godfathers and the explosion of Hollywood!

adambarratt (62)in #documentary • 7 years ago

More great actors, producers, directors and associates from a golden age in the movie industry!

This article follows on from my post a couple of days back after watching the Steven Spielberg documentary. One of the commenters, @lionsuit mentioned another film of the same ilk that I may be interested in and very much follows the progress of the same era.

It's called Easy Riders, Raging Bulls and was made in 2003, directed by Kenneth Bowser and based on a book of the same name by Peter Biskind. Of course, the title draws on a couple of classic of the time - Easy Rider and Raging Bull, respectively.

Another good doc focusing on that era of film making dubbed as the 'new Hollywood'. There was a bit of a lull in the industry in the early 60s and this time sparked a resurgence towards the end of the decade. Times they were a-changin' of course, with all the activity and movements shaking the world up (isn't there always, but this was a big time in our evolution).

Foreign an 'artsy' films became more popular as people were looking for something a little 'different', progressive and anything that challenged the status quo.

It was also a time (perhaps late 60s to late 70s) where the director was the head honcho. Traditionally, the producer would be in charge and the director would do their job… but this was an age where the director held more sway and pretty much called all the shots. I'm not sure how we'd describe our current era in terms of where most of the power lies?

A lot of the characters who were mentioned in my Spielberg piece were in amongst it in this one too, plus some others.

Notable movies mentioned were; Bonnie & Clyde, Easy Rider, The Godfather (is it just me or is that actually a really boring film?), The Exorcist and Taxi Driver. This also marked a time when some of the big league actors made their way on the scene - Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Jack Nicholson, Harvey Keitel et al. Oh, along with cocaine. It was quite a ride and one that many didn't make through.

So, check this one out too if it interests you. It delves a bit deeper into what was happening at that time and some of the various characters involved. The other one was more about Spielberg of course, where this one he is just referenced a few times along with everything else that was going on.

Another recommendation on the same theme - A Decade Under the Influence. Could be an option for a future lazy weekend ;). I imagine it would cover a lot of the same ground but slightly different perspective and worth a look if this whole area is up your street.

Have you seen this one? And any other great documentaries you recommend (of any genre)?

~ Adam
@adambarratt

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