Star Wars, Animal House, Halloween, Superman and Alien.

You could argue it was the mid 70s because Jaws in 1975.

Something to remember about movie history: prior to the 1970's, movies had no ratings.  Before then, movies were largely aimed at an "all ages" audience, save perhaps certain "B-movies".  The MPAA rating system was instituted in 1968 and went through a number of gyrations throughout the 70's until a system much like the current system was set up around 1984.  That is when the PG-13 rating was established.  It doesn't seem like a big deal, but it mattered - especially in the beginning.

Star Wars, Animal House, Halloween, Superman and Alien.


Animal House, Halloween, Superman, and Alien are early '80s flicks.

Animal House, Halloween, Superman, and Alien are early '80s flicks.


Well you could say Jaws, Rocky, Star Wars, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, and Saturday Night Fever since those all came out in your late '70s, and are the first real blockbusters, with the later showcasing the importance of a pop musical soundtrack that lasted well into the '80s and '90s. The VCRs first became available to the public as well between 1975 and 1977 in most places, meaning that home video allowed people to watch flicks without needing to stop at the box office. Multiplex cinemas that appears in malls first popped up around this time, gradually replacing the neighborhood single and maybe double screen theaters, and this was also when TV spots first became common on television, especially on shows like Saturday Night Live.

Old Hollywood was dead by 1967. Makes sense that it would take some time for 'New Hollywood' to come along.

Old Hollywood was dead by 1967. Makes sense that it would take some time for 'New Hollywood' to come along.


I sort of see "New Hollywood" spanning from 1966 (the first year that isn't included in Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide) up until sometime in the early '80s, though the later portion of this era still feels considerably more modern than the pre-Star Wars (and especially Pre-Jaws) leg of it. Even the late '60s and mid-'70s are quite a bit distinct, with the former being the tail end of the Double Feature/animated cartoon era, with the later either stocking reruns or having none at all. I've even noticed that many ads around 1967/early 1968 mention "Suggested for mature audiences" as a preliminary designation of the more violent/crude films that would get those R ratings. I wasn't around then, but I think that local advertisers may have replaced those special features at the time. 1983 is the first year that feels totally removed from New Hollywood with the pattern of summer blockbusters, holiday season "Oscar Bait" mixed with more blockbusters, the gradual dependence of visual effects, and the renaissance of the small studio/indie film companies, led by Orion, Vestron, New World, Republic, and Tri-Star. Other little things like the credits moving from the start of the movie to the end and later fading to black with the addition of features like the songs on the soundtrack got their start also occurred during the '70s and early '80s. I tend to find this as my favorite era of Hollywood (along with the first several years post-New Hollywood), since its sort of falls in that zone between those old timey films and the style over substance flair that has dominated since the late '80s/early '90s.

... VCRs first became available to the public as well between 1975 and 1977 in most places, meaning that home video allowed people to watch flicks without needing to stop at the box office...


True - but until the early/mid '80s, VCRs were not "mainstream", meaning very few people owned them:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/2299078244_1646182f5f.jpg

My family got our first one in 1985 - I recall it being relatively pricey, but it was a "Beta Hi-Fi" model  :)

True - but until the early/mid '80s, VCRs were not "mainstream", meaning very few people owned them:

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3209/2299078244_1646182f5f.jpg

My family got our first one in 1985 - I recall it being relatively pricey, but it was a "Beta Hi-Fi" model  :)



What did they own before that? ???

What did they own before that? ???


Re-quoting this:


I'm taking a different track, toward things that "grew up" or "matured" in the 80's...
- VCRs - they gave us control over our watching experience like never before.  Prior to that, catching your favorite show meant setting an alarm - now it merely meant setting the VCR timer...


IMO there were no consumer options available before VCRs that had their functionality.  They really were a game changer.

Old Hollywood was dead by 1967. Makes sense that it would take some time for 'New Hollywood' to come along.

Old hollywood (OR ORIGINAL) was much better in every way!!