Lost Illusions - American Cinema in the Shadow of Watergate & Vietnam 1970-1979

Acknowledgments xi Contributors xiii Preface: A Time of Illusion xv A Note on Box-Office Revenues xix A Note on Aspect Ratios xxi Introduction: A Decade of Change 1(8) Formative Industry Trends, 1970-1979 9(16) Manufacturing the Blockbuster: The ``Newest Art Form of the Twentieth Century'' 25(42) The Auteur Cinema: Directors and Directions in the ``Hollywood Renaissance'' 67(92) Genres I: Revision, Transformation, and Revival 159(100) Genres II: Exploitation and Allusion 259(42) Orders of Magnitude I: Majors, Mini-Majors, ``Instant Majors,'' and Independents 301(36) Orders of Magnitude II: Costs, Agents, Stars 337(18) Technological Innovation and Aesthetic Response 355(42) Motion Picture Exhibition in 1970s America 397(20) Douglas Gomery Looking Back and Turning Inward: American Documentary Films of the Seventies 417(36) William Rothman Avant-Garde Cinema of the Seventies 453(26) Robin Blaetz Avant-Garde Cinema Filmography 479(36) Appendixes: Appendix 1 Annual U.S. Box Office Receipts, 1970-1979 489(1) Appendix 2 Average Weekly Attendance, 1970-1980 490(1) Appendix 3 Inflation 1970-1980, According to ``Consumer Price Index'' Figures Compiled by the U.S. Department of Commerce 490(1) Appendix 4 Average Ticket Price in the U.S. Each Year, 1970-1980 491(1) Appendix 5 Number of Movie Theaters in the U.S., 1970-1980 491(1) Appendix 6 Major Company Share of New Releases Handled by National Distributors, 1970-1980 492(1) Appendix 7 Market Domination by Six Leading Distributors of Theatrical Films, 1977 and 1980 493(1) Appendix 8 Marketing Expenses for Major Releases, 1970-1980 493(1) Appendix 9 Major Studio Revenues and After-Tax Profits, 1970-1980 494(2) Appendix 10 Late Sixties Flops 496(1) Appendix 11 Hit Movies of the 1968-1696 Season 497(1) Appendix 12 Top Twenty Rental Films, 1970-1980 497(6) Appendix 13 North American Rentals in Excess of $22.25 Million, 1970-1980 503(3) Appendix 14 Major Academy Awards, 1970-1980 506(9) Notes 515(46) Bibliography 561(34) Picture Sources 595(2) General Index 597(74) Index of Films 671