Questions for Review
- What are the key technological milestones
that laid the foundation for the invention of
the movies?
- How do the three filmmaking technologies—
film, video, and digital—differ from each other?
- What are the strengths and weaknesses of
film, video, and digital technology?
- Why are some filmmakers less than enthusi-
astic about digital technology?
- What are the challenges and benefits involved
in converting the film industry to digital tech-
nology in the areas of production, distribu-
tion, and exhibition?
- How was the studio system organized in
the golden age, and what factors contributed
to its decline?
- In what major ways does the independent
system differ from the studio system?
- What are the principal activities in each
of the three basic phases of making a
movie: preproduction, production, and
postproduction?
- How is a movie financed, and why are today’s
movies so expensive to make?
- How are movies marketed and distributed?
Have these aspects changed between the stu-
dio and independent systems?
- Who were three major Hollywood producers—
in both the studio and independent systems—
and what are the similarities among them?
Movies Described or Illustrated in This Chapter
The African Queen(1951). John Huston, director.
After the Thin Man(1936). W. S. Van Dyke, director.
Apocalypse Now (1979). Francis Ford Coppola,
director.
The Artist(2011). Michel Hazanavicius, director.
The Best Years of Our Lives(1946). William Wyler,
director.
Blondie of the Follies (1932). Edmund Goulding,
director.
The Bridge on the River Kwai(1957). David Lean,
director.
Brokeback Mountain(2005). Ang Lee, director.
Bubble(2005). Steven Soderbergh, director.
Camille(1936). George Cukor, director.
Casablanca(1942). Michael Curtiz, director.
Cast Away(2000). Robert Zemeckis, director.
Citizen Kane(1941). Orson Welles, director.
Collateral(2004). Michael Mann, director.
Conquest(1937). Clarence Brown, director.
The Constant Nymph (1943). Edmund Goulding,
director.
Dark Victory(1939). Edmund Goulding, director.
The Da Vinci Code(2006). Ron Howard, director.
The Dawn Patrol(1938). Edmund Goulding, director.
The Descendants(2011). Alexander Payne, director.
L’Enfant(2005). Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc
Dardenne, directors.
Eyes Wide Shut(1999). Stanley Kubrick, director.
Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close(2011). Stephen
Daldry, director.
The Flame Within(1935). Edmund Goulding, director.
Funny Games(1997; remake, 2007). Michael Haneke,
director.
G. I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra(2009). Stephen Sommers,
director.
Gods and Monsters(1998). Bill Condon, director.
Gone with the Wind (1939). Victor Fleming,
director.
Grand Hotel(1932). Edmund Goulding, director.
The Great Ziegfeld(1936). Robert Z. Leonard, director.
The Help(2011). Tate Taylor, director.
Hugo(2011). Martin Scorsese, director.
Inception(2010). Christopher Nolan, director.
Intermezzo(1939). Gregory Ratoff, director.
MOVIES DESCRIBED OR ILLUSTRATED IN THIS CHAPTER 519
StudyspaceGo to wwnorton.com/movies
to test and expand your knowledge of the key con-
cepts in this chapter.
