American Independent Cinema: An Introduction

by Yannis Tzioumakis

Overview

From the prestige films of Cagney Productions to recent, ultra-low budget cult hits, such as Clerks and The Blair Witch Project, American independent cinema has produced some of the most distinctive films ever made. This comprehensive introduction draws on key films, filmmakers, and film companies from the early twentieth century to the present to examine the factors that shaped this vital and evolving mode of filmmaking.

Specifically, it explores the complex and dynamic relations between independent and mainstream Hollywood cinema, showing how institutional, industrial, and economic changes in the latter have shaped and informed the former. Ordered chronologically, the book begins with Independent Filmmaking in the Studio Era (examining both top-rank and low-end film production), moves to the 1950s and 1960s (discussing both the adoption of independent filmmaking as the main method of production as well as exploitation filmmaking), and finishes with contemporary American independent cinema (exploring areas such as the New Hollywood, the rise of mini-major and major independent companies and the institutionalization of independent cinema in the 1990s). Each chapter includes case studies which focus on specific films, filmmakers, and production and distribution companies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780813539713
Publisher:	Rutgers University Press
Publication date:	08/21/2006
Edition description:	Older Edition
Pages:	320
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

YANNIS TZIOUMAKIS is a senior lecturer in screen studies at Liverpool John Moores University.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Problems of Definition and the Discourse of American Independent Cinema; Part 1: American Independent Cinema in the Studio Years (mid-1920s-late 1940s); Chapter 1: Independent Filmmaking in the Studio Era: Tendencies within the Studio System; Case Study: James Cagney at United Artists: Johnny Come Lately, Blood on the Sun and The Time of Your Life; Chapter 2: Independent Filmmaking in the Studio Era: The Poverty Row Studios (1930-1950) ; Case Study: Charlie Chan at Monogram: Charlie Chan in the Chinese Cat; Part 2: The Transitional Years (late 1940s - late 1960s); Chapter 3: Independence by Force: The Effects of the Paramount Decree on Independent Film Production; Case Study: Stanley Kramer's Lomitas Productions and United Artists: The Defiant Ones, On the Beach and Inherit the Wind; Chapter 4: An Audience for the Independents: Expolitation Films for the Nation's Youth; Case Study: Sam Katzman and Rock Around the Clock; Part 3: Contemporary American Independent Cinema (late 1960s - present); Chapter 5: The New Hollywood and the Independent Hollywood; Case Study: John Cassavetes and Shadows; Case Study: Dennis Hopper and The Last Movie; Chapter 6: American Independent Cinema in the Age of the Conglomerates; Case Study: American International Pictures and Foxy Brown; Case Study: John Sayles and The Return of the Secaucus Seven; Chapter 7: Mini-Majors and Major Independents; Case Study: Orion Pictures, Filmhaus Productions, David Mamet and House of Games; Chapter 8: The Institutionalisation of American Independent Cinema; Case Study: Steven Soderbergh and Sex, Lies and Videotape; Case Study: Kevin Smith and Clerks; Epilogue: From Independent to 'Speciality' Cinema; Bibliography.

Editorial Reviews

A substantial and insightful examination of the infrastructure of independent American cinema. This is a true advance on previous studies and deepens the reader's understanding of how independent films get made and distributed. For this reason the book will be an invaluable addition to the literature on Independent American Cinema.

editor of The New Review of Film and Television Studies - Professor Warren Buckland

This is a good history and should help to ensure a much more detailed understanding of ‘independence’ in American cinema.

Roy Stafford