CLASSICAL+HOLLYWOOD+&+THE+HOLLYWOOD+STUDIO+SYSTEM

=**Classical Hollywood Cinema**=

**Classical Hollywood Cinema** is a term coined by David Bordwell, Janet Staiger and Kristin Thompson in their seminal study of the same name. In this study the authors analysed 100 Hollywood films from 1917 to 1960. They came to the conclusion that during this period, a distinctive cinematic style developed that they called Classical Hollywood style. Furthermore the authors claimed that this style has become paradigmatic because of the global dominance of Hollywood cinema. The most controversial claim of the authors has been that filmmakers anywhere basically face a choice between two alternatives. Either they succumb to the classical Hollywood style and follow its example, or they revolt against it and try to consciously subvert the norms of that style as an //alternative cinema//.

**Key elements of the classical Hollywood style**
 * Narrative **

In Classical Hollywood Cinema, narrative follows building blocks that are part of most Western narratives. The classic narrative is structured with an unmistakable beginning, middle and end, and generally there is a distinct resolution at the end. The use of actors, events, l inear chains of cause and effect, main points and secondary points are basic characteristics of this type of narrative. The characters in Classical Hollywood Cinema have clearly definable traits, are active, and goal oriented (major characters are causal agents). The characters goals are usually psychologically rather than socially motivated.

In the classic film noir, D.O.A., Frank Bigelow is an average guy who is poisoned and must find out who has murdered him. He wants to know why he has been "murdered" and must unravel the mystery one step at a time. In the end, he is successful and can die "fulfilled."

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Though conventional in many respects, Psycho (dir. Alfred Hitchcock, 1960), deviates radically from conventional Hollywood Cinema in killing off the "main character" just 46 minutes into the film (Narrative). This shocked audiences at the time and refocused the film on the character of Norman Bates (the killer). The fractured, rapid editing and jump cuts of the shower sequence represent a distinct and influential change in film style to come (Editing).

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 * Editing **

Maybe the single most important and most influential element of cinematic form that characterizes Classical Hollywood Cinema is continuity editing. The most important goal of continuity editing is to make the cut invisible. This is achieved by devices such as the shot / reverse-shot or the eye-line match. The editing is subservient to the flow of the narrative and is usually constructed in a way that it does not draw attention onto itself.

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 * Cinematic Space and Time **

Both space and time are artificial constructs in cinema. In the Classical Hollywood style, space and time appear unified, continuous and linear. This style seems to match our perception of time and space in reality. This illusion is achieved through elements of continuity editing such as the use of //the 180º rule, match on action,// or by the relative lack of //jump cuts// (cuts that leave out a time period of a continuos action).


 * Summary**

The unifying force behind the classical Hollywood style is motivation and conventions. In the development of the narrative every event is motivated, i.e. follows a causal relationship. In the same way the use of cinematic style is generally motivated by the narrative. The connection between narrative and cinematic style is highly conventional. Due to the dominance of the style viewers come to expect certain stylistic choices for certain narrative situations. For example if you have a hostage situation there will invariably be a cross-cutting between the rescuers and the hostage. All of the above results in what Bordwell has called "an excessively obvious cinema,". in that it follows a set of norms, paradigms, and standards that match and gratify viewers expectations. In other words by the end of a classical Hollywood film answers for all questions have been provided and one doesn’t leave the cinema perplexed and startled as one would after some New Hollywood films or European Art films. From an[| ideological] perspective, these practices discourage viewers critical inquiry of any particular film as well as the underlying practices of mainstream cinema in general. Although the authors do not support the anti-humanist arguments of theorists who applied the concept of [|interpellation] to cinematic spectatorship, their conclusions in fact provide strong evidence for at least a serious consideration of interpellation and the power of classical Hollywood cinema.

Text Source: https://faculty.washington.edu/mlg/courses/definitions/classicalHollywoodcinema.html
= The Studio System =

The studio system was a big part of the success of Classic Hollywood. It was a system that made sure that the biggest studios in Hollywood were in total control of the movies they made and that the movies would be distributed.

The biggest studios at that time were divided in two groups. ‘The Big Five’: MGM, Paramount, Warner Bros., RKO and Fox and ‘The Little Three’: Universal, Colombia and United Artists.
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An important part of the studio system was a practice known as ‘block booking’. A studio would sell multiple films to theatres as a unit. This would typically include only one attractive, A-budget movie that the theatres really wanted and the rest would be a mix of A-budget pictures of dubious quality and lower budgeted B-movies. Because of block booking studios could make a lot of movies, most of them with a low budget and of low quality, and still be sure that they would be seen in theatres. Most film blocks contained about 20 or more features, but some theatres complained that in the most extreme cases one block had predetermined the playbill for an entire year.

Another vital part of the studio system was the fact that ‘The Big Five’ had controlling stakes in their own theatre chains, which were exempt from block booking. In some cases, one studio would even control all the theatres in a city. This ensured that their films would be distributed, no matter the quality. ‘The Little Three’ would never own more than small theatre circuits. By 1945, the studios owned either partially or outright 17% of the theatres in America, accounting for 45% of the film-rental revenue.

So the studios had a guarantee that their movies would be distributed. But it didn’t stop there: they also controlled the process of making the movies. They usually had the actors, producers, directors and writers under contract, owned the film processing and laboratories and created the prints. The studios were also infamous for ‘owning’ their stars, a practice that is known as the star system.

The decline of the studio system began in 1948 with the verdict in the antitrust case United States vs. Paramount Pictures, inc. This decision outlawed the practice of block booking and forced the studios to sell their theatre chains. A lawsuit had already been filed in 1938 by the U.S Department of Justice, but it was settled with a consent decree in 1940, which allowed the government to reinstate the lawsuit if it had not seen a satisfactory level of compliance.

The end of the studio system also marked the beginning of the end of Classic Hollywood. A period of time from the late 20’s to the early 60’s, which is now known as The Hollywood Golden Age.

‘The Big Five’ suffered after the court decision. Because they didn’t have the assurance that their movies would be seen anymore, they had to cut back on productions and their list of stars, producers, directors and writers and made fewer movies. Paramount’s profits dropped from 20 million to 6 million dollars in one year.

But a lot of people profited from the end of the studio system. For instance: independent filmmakers and minor studios finally stood a chance and could distribute a movie without the eternal interference of ‘The Big Five’. ‘The Little Three’ became more successful as well. But soon enough the movie industry suffered a final blow that would change Hollywood forever: the rise of television……