Selected Resources: Documentary DVDs on directors and history of the film
industry.
The Bible according to Hollywood (DVD, 1994, Phillip Dye, 120
min.). Although the narration and interpretation leave something to be desired,
this film presents clips and brief survey of a wide array of films which
represent biblical narratives.
Hollywoodism: Jews, Movies and the American
Dream (DVD, 1997, A&E, based on An
Empire of Their Own by Neal Gabler, 100 min.). This documentary traces the
dominant Jewish influence in creating Hollywood
and the dominance of the studio system. The second part deals with the end of
this era by, in large part, the attacks of the House Un-American Activities
Committee (HUAC) in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s (for a dramatization of
these hearings, see Guilty by Suspicion
[1991]).
Click here for several significant quotations from Hollywoodism.
Imaginary Witness (AMC,
2004; KOCH Lorber, 2009). This DVD documents film interpretations of the
Holocaust. One of the surprising elements is when Steven Spielberg explains the
meaning of the “red dress.”
The Cutting Edge: The Magic of Movie Editing
(2004, Wendy Apple, 99 min.) Very helpful film on how the stories are actually
made, or rather, cut. This is a good way for the non-specialist to begin to
read film in a new way.
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex,
Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
(DVD, 2003, Kenneth Bowser, 119 min.). This documentary traces out the elements
which converted the motion picture industry from its small and irrelevant place
after the failure of the studio system in the 1960’s through the creation of
“the new Hollywood”
by means of many films, including Easy
Riders, The Godfather, American Graffiti The Exorcist, Jaws, and Star Wars. The commentary and
interviews, provided by several of the principle figures, focuses on the
camaraderie and synergy between many of the significant new directors like
Francis Ford Cappola, Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and Steven
Spielberg.
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