Based on the memoir by Washington Post reporters Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein about political dirty tricks in the nation’s capital, the Alan J. Pakula drama that starred Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman is a rare example of a best-selling book that was transformed into a hit film and a cultural phenomenon in its own right.
The much anticipated continuation of the Star Wars saga, Irvin Kershner’s sequel sustained the action-adventure and storytelling success of its predecessor and helped lay the foundation for one of the most commercially successful film series in history.
One of the most successful and influential horror films of all time, the influence of William Friedkin’s pic, both stylistically and in narrative, continues to be seen in many movies of the 21st century. The film’s success, both commercially and cinematically, provides a rare example of a popular novel being ably adapted for the big screen.
The influential cinema verité documentary by Albert and David Maysles has provided inspiration for creative works on the stage and in film. Through its close and sometimes disturbing look at the eccentric lives of “Big Edie” and “Little Edie” Beale, two women (and cousins of Jacqueline Kennedy) living in East Hampton, N.Y., the film documents a complex and difficult mother-daughter relationship and a vanished era of decayed gentility.
The popularity and influence of W.C. Fields continues with each succeeding generation, distinguishing him as one of the greatest American comedians of the 20th century. It’s a Gift has survived a perilous preservation history and is the third Fields film to be named to the National Film Registry. The film’s extended comic sequence featuring Baby LeRoy, and depicting Fields’ travails while trying to sleep on the open-air back porch of a rooming house, was adapted from one of his most successful live theatrical sketches.
Spike Lee’s biographical film about the life of civil rights leader Malcolm X was produced in the classical Hollywood style. Featuring an Oscar-nominated performance by Denzel Washington, the film exemplifies the willingness of the U.S. film industry in the early ’90s to support the making of mainstream films about earlier generations of social leaders.
John Huston directed three classic war documentaries for the U.S. Army Signal Corps from 1943-46: Report From the Aleutians, Battle of San Pietro and this one, which was blocked from public distribution by the War Department for 35 years because no effort was made during filming to disguise or mask the identities of combat veterans suffering from various forms of psychological trauma. The film provides important historical documentation of the efforts of psychiatric professionals during World War II to care for emotionally wounded veterans and prepare them to return to civilian life. Let There Be Light was filmed by cinematographer Stanley Cortez with a score by Dimitri Tiomkin.
A sensitive, progressive, issue-oriented Depression Era film by director Leo McCarey, the film concerns an aged and indigent married couple forced by their self-absorbed children to live separately in order to save money. The final scene, depicting the husband and wife parting company in a train station, counters the belief that late-’30s Hollywood films always had happy endings. Tomorrow deftly explores themes of retirement, poverty, generational dissonance and the nuances of love and regret at the end of a long married life.
This aesthetically acclaimed film demonstrates why the Western genre, especially when reinvented by the acclaimed Robert Altman, endured in the 20th century as a useful model for critically examining the realities of contemporary American culture. The film includes notable cinematography by Vilmos Zsigmond and a score by Leonard Cohen.
A leading figure in the California Bay Area independent film movement, Lawrence Jordan has crafted more than 40 experimental, animation and dramatic films. Jordan uses “found” graphics to produce his influential animated collages, noting that his goal is to create “unknown worlds and landscapes of the mind.” Inspired by The Tibetan Book of the Dead, Our Lady of the Sphere is one of Jordan’s best known works. It is a surrealistic dreamlike journey blending baroque images with Victorian-era image cut-outs, iconic space age symbols, various musical themes and noise effects, including animal sounds and buzzers.
This comic masterpiece by Blake Edwards introduced the animated Pink Panther character in the film’s opening-and-closing credit sequences and actor Peter Sellers in his most renowned comic role as the inept Inspector Clouseau. The influence of the great comics of the silent era on Edwards and Sellers is apparent throughout the film, which is recognized for its enduring popularity. The musical score composed by Henry Mancini is memorable as well.
Produced long after the heyday of classic Hollywood musicals, this cinematic cultural touchstone incorporated set-piece music and dance numbers into a story of dramatic realism. With its success, Saturday Night Fever proved that the American movie musical could be reinvented. The film’s soundtrack, featuring hits by the Bee Gees, sold millions of copies and gave musical life to a movie significant for much more than just its celebration of the mid-’70s disco phenomenon.
Elia Kazan’s first feature film, based on the novel by Betty Smith, focuses on a theme that he returned to many times during his career: the struggle of a weak or ill-prepared individual to survive against powerful forces. A timely film, Brooklyn was released at the end of World War II, helping to remind post-war audiences of the enduring importance of the American dream.