American Independent Cinema
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.
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.
Introduction : problems of definition and the discourse of American independent cinema
Part 1. American independent cinema in the studio years (mid-1920s-late 1940s).
1. Independent filmmaking in the studio era : tendencies within the studio system
2. Independent filmmaking in the studio era : the Poverty Row studios (1930-50s)
Part 2. American independent cinema in the post-studio era (late 1940s-late 1960s).
3. Independence by force : the effects of the Paramount Decree on independent film production
4. An audience for the independents : exploitation films for the nation's youth
Part 3. American independent cinema and the 'New Hollywood' (late 1960s to late 1970s).
5. The new Hollywood and the independent Hollywood
6. American independent cinema in the age of the conglomerates
Part 4. Contemporary American independent cinema (1980s to date)
7. Mini-majors and major independents
8. The institutionalisation of American independent cinema
9. American independent cinema in the age of media convergence
Epilogue : from independent to 'specialty' cinema
