Why I Didn't Like The Great Mouse Detective As A Kid (And Still Don't Today) (Part 1)

 

I hated The Great Mouse Detective from the moment I first saw it as a kid. I watched it on VHS completely astonished with what I've watched and had this suspicion that this was a phenomenal flop. I mean, no one could possibly like this movie right? What's there to like? Well, my suspicions were wrong. The movie was a moderate critical and commercial success, was often credited for laying the groundwork for the Disney Renaissance, and it currently has a cult following to this day.

I was initially dumbfounded at first, but doing some research on the film's production, I realized that Disney didn't have high hopes for the movie either. The movie had a somewhat troubled history and the creative team behind it were not given the full support from the studio at the time. It was produced around the same time as the notorious flop that was The Black Cauldron and the animation department was expected to shut down if this movie suffered the same fate. The then-new management at Disney were getting worried about the company's legacy and they didn't fully back the project at all. So the movie opened in the summer of 1986 and it did well enough to convince Disney to make more animated features.

So that means that the film's minor success came from people, either professional critics or ordinary moviegoers, who saw it as a genuinely good film without any hype or high expectations at all. I'm honestly impressed and sincerely happy with what they did, this movie proved Disney wrong. Hell, even nine years before I was born, it proved me wrong, and that's a genuine accomplishment that I can't take away. 

But even though I can acknowledge the good it has done for Disney, I still don't think it's a good movie. I had so many fundamental issues with the story and characters that I just didn't like it as a kid and I still dislike it today for the same reasons. So without further ado, here's an in depth look at why I don't like this one.   

My First And Biggest Problem With The Movie

The movie is set in Victorian London and it opens when the toymaker Hiram Flaversham gets kidnapped. His daughter, Olivia, leaves home to find Basil of Baker Street, the titular mouse detective. Along the way, she is accompanied by Dr David Q Dawson, an army surgeon who had just returned home from Afghanistan. We meet Basil for the first time and... let me play a song that sums up the character perfectly.

This is one of the biggest problems I have with this movie, Basil is an egotistical narcissist with no respect for his clients, tells people that they have no time for their problems, does his job as a detective to satisfy his ego, and endangers two innocent bystanders. 

I've gotten plenty of objections from GMD fans I've talked to elsewhere online, many of them believe that I'm criticizing him in bad faith, that he's not this terrible person I make him out to be, and many of my complaints were dismissed as hyperbole. So is this true? Am I taking Basil out of context and criticizing him in bad faith? Well... no! I'm sorry, there's nothing out of context about this. Here's all we see Basil do in the first act of the film!

Ignores people in need!

Tells a kid that he has no time for her problems!

Endangers two innocent bystanders, including said child!

Now all of the clips and stills are condensed of course, but the context is clear. You will note that not one of these scenes I've shown you contains anything other than Basil doing one of three things, acting entitled, being only loyal to himself, or doing his job for his personal gain. None of this is coming from me or what I think of the character, it's in the movie itself. Nothing out of context, nothing in bad faith!

When it comes to most Disney heroes and heroines, they have one thing in common, they're generally good people regardless of their flaws and they cared about the people in their lives. The only Disney character I can easily compare Basil to is Gaston from Beauty and the Beast, but from a non-Disney example, I thought of one character who instantly reminded me of Basil.

He's so close to Denzel Washington's character in Training Day, it's just insane. Both are amoral narcissists who do their jobs as detectives for their personal gain and endangered the lives of innocent people, but why no one acknowledged this about Basil, I don't get it. Yes, there are detectives both in media and real life who act like this, and we have a word for these people too, we call them "assholes"! Just because a detective has negative traits, it doesn't always mean it can piss you off when it's happening!

Usually, in good stories, there's some circumstances to that kind of behavior. Take Eddie Valiant from Who Framed Roger Rabbit. We see him being a jerk from the moment he was introduced, but there's another side to that. Eddie's brother was murdered by a cartoon and that led to his prejudice towards cartoons until the end of the movie. The only reason we see Basil do everything he did in he first act was to bolster his ego and impress Olivia and Dawson with how great he is, and I'm sorry, there's nothing heroic and good about any of this. That's just someone being a jerk for no reason and therefore giving the audience no reason to like him.

And they didn't make Basil this way to make him relatable, they did it because they thought it would be cute, because someone read the Sherlock Holmes books and decided "hey, people love Sherlock Holmes, so let's take that character, make him into a mouse, and BOOM! Instant laughs from the audience!" That's the problem, cute is all they were thinking of when they were creating Basil the way he was. No one was really thinking about what this implies about Basil as a person or how it impacted anything! There's, fundamentally speaking, nothing to like about this dude! What is there to care about other than that? 

But the worst part is that Basil being an asshole wasn't actually my biggest problem. My biggest problem is that his pride, narcissism, and ego in the first act felt so completely pointless and had nothing to do with the rest of the movie. Take the Beast from Beauty and the Beast and Woody from Toy Story. These movies established both of these characters as flawed men and their selfish moments were essential to their character developments. We actually see their transformations from flawed individuals to selfless and kind people. But we don't see that in The Great Mouse Detective. It starts with Basil as a narcissist and moves on to something totally unrelated. We'll see how in part 2.

Why I Don't Find Ratigan A Great Villain

Now before I criticize the character, I have nothing against Vincent Price. There's obviously some joy with his performance, but I have problems with Ratigan in terms of how he was written. My problem with the character is that he's the reason why every other character in the film just comes across as stupid to me, and his plan for taking over Mousedom doesn't make much sense.

To put it simply, Ratigan has his peg-legged Gremlins rip off bat named Fidget kidnap Hiram so he can coerce the toymaker into building a robot version the the mouse queen, assassinate the actual queen by feeding her to his pet Power Ranger monster sized cat named Felicia, and trick the rodent population into believing that the queen would accept him as her royal consort. 

One of the basic problems with the character is how direct and obvious he is about his intentions, and yet everyone but Basil seems to be completely oblivious to this. The rat committed these crimes for years with obvious intent of ruling Mousedom, and yet with all of this deliberate obviousness, everyone goes about their business like they have no idea that he could possibly up to something nefarious. When he does attempt to take over Mousedom, it doesn't occur to anyone that there could be something fishy about it (more on that in part 2), and when his lies were exposed, they act like this is the most surprising thing on Earth. I honestly believe that most of these rodent bystanders didn't catch on to an evil scheme just because the script didn't allow them too.

It's obvious. It's so laughably obvious with what he plans to do that it just boggles the mind, and what's even more mind boggling is the fact that he uses a toy maker as part of his plan. Like... he doesn't really need him right? I mean he's a professor, he could have built the machine himself. He has henchmen who are willing to do his devious crimes for him and we don't see them do much. Not really sure how kidnapping a toymaker benefits him! He'd probably carried his plan on time and on schedule if he hadn't kidnap Hiram, since he's clearly unwilling to do his crimes for him! Hmm..

I mean come on! Is Ratigan stupid? The dude had an airtight plan that no one in London saw through. He would've taken the throne with no one questioning this and he wouldn't have owed anyone! What did he need the Flavershams for? What could they possibly do for him other than building some stupid robot that either he or his henchmen could have built for themselves? Seriously, is he... I'm answering my own question. Yes! Ratigan is stupid! It's The Great Mouse Detective! Everyone is stupid!

What Is Up With The Infamous Burlesque Scene?

Before I end part one of this review, I have a question to ask GMD fans. If the movie is intended for kids, why is there a sexualized, overly sensual burlesque scene in the movie? Her revealing appearance is blatantly inappropriate for children and even worse, it has no effect on the plot, as with the rest of the first act, which we will explore in part two.

Nashville (Robert Altman's Love Letter To America)

In response to America's 250th anniversary this summer, I decided to watch Robert Altman's 1975 movie Nashville to see if it holds up and I think it does. This is one of the best movies ever made and a genuine work of art from a masterful director. It's a rare kind of movie that works in all sorts of ways. It works as a musical, as a satire, as a comedy, as a political parable, and most importantly, as a love letter to America.  

The movie takes place in Nashville Tennessee during the country's bicentennial and it focuses on 24 characters who crossed paths with each other. Rather than using a traditional three act structure, the film uses a mosaic to tell these 24 individual stories in 160 minutes. Rather than using traditional good guys and bad guys, the film uses flawed, three dimensional characters the the audience is supposed to care about. 

Among these interlocking stories are Lily Tomlin as a married woman who is having an affair with a local country singer (Keith Carradine), Ronne Blakely as a country singer who gets sent to the hospital after a supposed nervous breakdown during her arrival in Nashville, Ned Beatty as a lawyer who is married to the Lily Tomlin character and is a local organizer for a political candidate, Geraldine Chaplin as a BBC journalist who is covering the music scene, and Shelly Duvall as a groupie who deliberately missed out on her late aunt's funeral. Each of these stories were given and equal amount of screentime to the point where it doesn't get confusing to the audience.

The film covers topics like adultery, success, and American politics to the degree that the film accurately depicts what American life is like, even though the movie is fiction. The movie's docudrama approach gives the movie more realistic weight and helps make the characters more human than other traditional Hollywood films.

What further elevates the movie is the great performances from an ensemble cast. Altman was known for encouraging his actors to improvise their lines and they even wrote their own music, making their performances more real and naturalistic. Some of the actors themselves are even convincing as country singers, making their songs more authentic to their characters. These naturalistic performances help give these characters depth and not come across like they were just reading lines from the script. 

Speaking of the dialogue, Altman uses overlapping dialogue to make the characters' conversations feel natural. He achieves this by wiring his actors with hidden microphones, then he records them talking over each other. This innovative technique enhances the realistic nature of the film and makes the audience active spectators because overlapping conversations do happen in real life.

The movie is shot in widescreen by cinematographer Paul Lohmann and he beautifully captures the essence of Nashville by giving the city a sense of scale. There are large crowds, concerts, car races, and a traffic collision that opens the movie. It gives Nashville a more panoramic feel and a sense of realism to the visuals. It must be seen on better formats like DVD or Blu Ray, since VHS tapes often pan and scan widescreen images to fit 4:3 TV screens, so it's for the best not to watch this movie on VHS and no one really uses the format today anyways.

Apart from it's cinematic innovations and and strong performances, the movie's core strength is that it's a love letter to America but its not patriotic about its message and blind to its faults. This movie was made when the country was in a state of turmoil with the Vietnam War and the Watergate scandal and not much has changed in 50 years. Since then, we had the wars in the Middle East, the presidential scandals of people like Bill Clinton and Donald Trump, the assassination of John Lennon, and even COVID-19. The fact that history repeats itself makes this movie more relevant, timely, and meaningful today. 

 

Overall, this is a great movie. It's one of the greatest movies of the 1970s (and the New Hollywood period in general), it's one of the greatest American stores ever told, it's one of the greatest works of art period. The late great Roger Ebert said it best when he said "this is a film about America. It deals with our myths, our hungers, our ambitions, and our sense of self. It knows how we talk and how we behave, and it doesn't flatter us but it does love us."

Spider Man 2 (How A Sequel Can Improve On The Original)

In the summer of 2004, Spider Man made his second leap on the big screen. Critics and audiences alike have praised the film for its emotional depth, strong performances from Tobey Maguire and Alfred Molina, and its improved special effects and action sequences. Since it’s release, it has been considered to be one of the best superhero movies ever made, a rare sequel that is superior to the original. Let's examine the case of why that is!

The Film’s Emotional Core 

Director Sam Rami has not made a mindless summer popcorn movies that panders to the audience. The heart of the movie is Peter Parker's dilemma and his decision to either live his life as an ordinary man, or fight crime as Spider Man. 

We see Peter struggling with his ordinary life in the first half of the movie. He’s late for class, he gets fired from the pizzeria and goes back to the Daily Bugle, his rent is over due, and Mary Jane wants little to do with him after he misses her play. But when he chooses to live the rest of his life as Peter Parker, things seem to be going well for him, yet the city has been in decline since he stopped being Spider Man. After Mary Jane gets kidnapped by Doc Ock, Peter gets his powers back and decides to become Spider Man again and accepts it as his destiny. 

It also handles his guilt over Uncle Ben’s death remarkably well. The scene where Peter tells Aunt May the truth of what happened that night is one of the most heartbreaking and honest scenes in the history of superhero movies. There’s a real heart to this film.

It also handles his guilt over Uncle Ben’s death remarkably well. The scene where Peter tells Aunt May the truth of what happened that night is one of the most heartbreaking and honest scenes in the history of superhero movies. There’s a real heart to this film..

The Film's Far Superior Villain

Among the movie's strengths is a superb performance from Alfred Molina as Doc Ock. After Willem Dafoe’s over the top performance as the Green Goblin, we have a villain who is more sympathetic and relatable.

As Otto Octavius, we see a benevolent man who wants to make scientific discoveries for the good of mankind, but after his experiment goes wrong, he worsens when he turns to a life of crime to do the experiment again. Rather than being the over the top villain he could have been, Molina carries the role with subtlety and nuance, especially when he talks to his robotic tentacles. This is a great performance that ranks among the great movie villains.

Improved Special Effects And Action Scenes

Looking back on the first movie, the special effects hadn't aged well and looked more like video game cutscenes, so there was room for improvement and it paid off tremendously. There isn't a wasted shot or a moment where it was obvious that they used CGI. It's like they took what didn't work in the first movie and worked around it by creating more inventive fight sequences. 

The subway train sequence is a superb example. It’s well choreographed, tightly edited, and the CGI is more convincing this time. This ranks as among the greatest action sequences of all time.

Conclusion 

Spider Man 2 is a rare example of how a sequel can improve over the original. It takes what works best with the original film and expands upon it with it's strong emotional core. It is truly one of the best superhero movies ever made!

The Princess Bride (A Tribute to Rob Reiner)

                                                  In Memory of Rob Reiner (1947-2025)

On December14, 2025, something terrible has happened! Legendary director Rob Reiner and his wife were murdered by his son! In honor of him, I revisited two of his best films, This is Spinal Tap, and The Princess Bride. I have yet to revisit Stand By Me, When Harry Met Sally, Misery, and The American President and I plan to watch The Sure Thing and A Few Good Men, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be his 1987 fantasy, The Princess Bride.

Based on the book by William Goldman, who also wrote the screenplay, the movie opens with a kindly old grandfather (Peter Falk) who reads a storybook for his sick grandson (pre-Wonder Years Fred Savage). Then the movie establishes its fairy tale setting where the beautiful Princess Buttercup (Robin Wright) falls in love with a farmhand named Westly (Cary Elwes). After Westly was presumed to be killed by pirates, Buttercup is forced to marry the vain and egotistical Prince Humperdinck (Chris Sarandon). Buttercup runs away from her kingdom, but was captured by a notorious criminal (Wallace Shawn) and his two henchmen, a Spanish swordsman who wants to avenge his father's death (Mandy Patinkin), and a giant with a heart of gold (Andre the Giant). Westly survives the pirate attack, dresses up and fights like one, and saves Buttercup. Now Buttercup has two choices, will she marry the evil Prince Humperdinck, or will she stay with the true love of her life, Westly?

This movie works on any level. It works as a fairy tale, a romance, a comedy, and an adventure film. But the most special and important quality is that while the movie is made for kids, it doesn't talk down to them. It treats the audience with the utmost respect with its memorable characters, great sense of humor, heartwarming romance, and its adventurous story. This is my personal favorite film from Rob Reiner and it's a shame that we lost him. May he rest in peace!

NOTE: Sorry for another year where I haven't written an article in a year due to my busy schedule, but I promise that I will be more active in 2026!

The History of Roger Ebert's Movie Home/Video Companion

NOTE: I'm sorry that I haven't written an article in about a year. A lot has happened since I wrote about the 90s indie scene in November 2023. Earlier this year, I wrote a play for a repertory theater company. It was picked up, it was a success, and I made a lot of money off it, but I neglected my abilities to write insightful blog posts about the movies, but now I'm back! This time, I'm writing about movie books and what better way to start than with Roger Ebert! 

Roger Ebert was widely regarded as one of, if not, the most influential film critic who ever lived. Primarily known for his televised debates with his partner Gene Siskel, he helped to make film criticism more accessible for a wider audience. But during his time on television, and way before the Internet, he transferred his in depth newspaper reviews into a series of video guide books, encouraging his audience to find high quality movies on home video. We'll address how these books have a place in home video history and what made Roger's reviews accessible to the general public. 

A Brief History of Home Video

In the late 70s and early 80s, the home video revolution has started to take shape. Before that, if you missed a movie in it's original theatrical run, you'll never be able to see it unless if it opens in your local revival theater, or if it airs on broadcast TV. But then home video came along, giving you the opportunity to not only own a film, but to watch it over and over again. 

Most people were initially skeptical of home video, as they feared that it might replace the theatrical experience (similar to the current streaming revolution), but that didn't happen, as home video has seemed to generate a new generation of movie fans. 

As home video grew into popularity, many film critics and experts have written video guide books, and Roger Ebert was one of them.

The History of Roger Ebert's Movie Home/Video Companion

Since 1967, Roger Ebert became one of the most prominent film critics and one of the most trusted tastemakers who ever lived. Known for his wit, intelligence, and genuine passion for movies, his reviews have touched the hearts of the newer generation of both regular moviegoers and hardcore movie lovers. With his influence greatly increasing on television, he began writing books.

In 1984, Roger wrote a book compiling his interviews called A Kiss Is Still A Kiss. It contains essays and interviews with directors and stars like Groucho Marx, Lee Marvin, Martin Scorsese, Sylvester Stallone, and dozens more. The book was a success and led to a publishing partnership with Andrews McMeel Publishing. According to editor and colleague Donna Martin, she proposed Ebert to make a compilation of his reviews of movies available on home video. 

The first volume was published in October 1985. Both due to his initial reluctance to embrace home video and his observation that most video stores have a recency bias towards the new releases, the book chronicles his reviews written between 1980 to 1985, but the book became successful enough that it became an annual series, with updated reviews, essays, and interviews.  

By 1990, the books have sold 65,000 and 75,000 copies  in the first five years, making them best-sellers. As the years went on, the books have gotten bigger and bigger to the point that there's barely enough room for newer reviews and the format needed to change. The last volume of the Companion series was published in 1997 and the format was replaced by "Roger Ebert Movie Yearbook" the following year, this time covering two years of movies per volume. The last Movie Yearbook was published in 2012.

With his influence in the film community greatly increasing over time, Roger Ebert had become the go-to film critic up until his death on April 4, 2013. 

What Makes It Stand Out From Other Video Guide Books?

Most video guides written during that time often provide short, surface level paragraphs. Roger’s reviews are his in-depth newspaper reviews from the Chicago Sun Times, and they’re his firsthand accounts to huge changes in Hollywood. There’s the New Hollywood period in the 70s, the advent of the summer blockbuster in the 80s, and the indie film explosion in the 90s, and he covered as many films as possible. More than just mainstream Hollywood films and box office hits, he's also covered foreign films, independent films, documentaries, cult films, animation, and restored classics. 

In addition to his reviews, he has also written interviews and essays highlighting trend and issues within the film industry. He has written about why colorization of black and white films is inherently wrong, why Laserdiscs are better than VHS, how the MPAA rating system is flawed, why letterboxing widescreen movies on video is better than panning and scanning, and how the blockbuster mentality that was established by Star Wars was antithetical to the creative freedom and experimentation in the late 60s and early 70s. 

But the primary takeaway from these books is that Roger is a genuine lover of cinema. It doesn't matter if you agree with his reviews or you don't, his enthusiasm for great movies really shines through in his reviews. This is why these books primarily focus more on his positive reviews, as it's his way to encourage his readers to seek out high quality movies and decide for themselves. 

Conclusion 

Roger Ebert’s Movie Home/Video Companion is a thoughtful, passionate series of books about the movies, and it further showcases how much of a passionate and intelligent critic he was. A true film critic for the people.

How The 90s Indie Boom Changed And Challenged American Cinema?

In the 90s, a new generation of younger filmmakers were making their most renowned works either in or out of the major Hollywood studios. Their body of works took chances, expanded their scope, and experimented with new ideas on what movies should be. But that all ended in the turn of the new millennium when the studios began hyping smaller films with awards hype and Oscar potential. Let’s examine the rise and fall of the 90s indie film boom.

How It All Began?

The 90s indie boom was Generation X's answer to the New Hollywood movement of the late 60s and 70s, when a new generation of directors have gained power and made their most renowned works year after year. But in the late 70s and early 80s, George Lucas and Steven Spielberg have created the summer blockbuster trend with Jaws, Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, while remaining director-driven Hollywood films like Heaven's Gate and One from the Heart turned out to costly box office bombs. As a result, the major studios regained control, and concentrated on selling high concept, crowd pleasing blockbusters. This also meant making endless sequels, planting the seeds of Hollywood's current obsession with franchises.

Many critics and film historians have considered the 80s to be the worst decade for American movies because of this, but amidst of all of Hollywood's hunger for the opening weekend, there's a smaller window for other types of movies and directors like The Coen Brothers, David Lynch, John Sayles, John Singleton, Spike Lee, Oliver Stone, Gus Van Sant, Richard Linklater, and Jim Jarmusch have rose to prominence in the late 80s and early 90s.

The turning point of independent cinema came in August 1989 with the release of Steven Soderberg's directorial debut, Sex, Lies, and Videotape. Released in a summer season dominated by sequels and Tim Burton's Batman, Sex, Lies, and Videotape was a critical and commercial success, made Miramax (which was in its tenth year) a prominent distributor for smaller films, and gained Robert Redford's Sundance Film Festival widespread media attention. All of this has led to the indie revolution of the 90s. 

How It Expanded In The 90s (And How It Fell)

In the 90s, the big six major studios were Warner Bros, Disney, Universal, Paramount, Sony (which purchased Columbia/TriStar Pictures in 1989), and 20th Century Fox, and they continue to make crowd pleasing blockbusters. But what changed is that the major studios have created their subsidiaries (Sony Pictures Classics, Fox Searchlight Pictures, and Gramercy Pictures) specializing in indies and foreign films while smaller companies like Miramax, Trimark, PolyGram, Artisan, October Films, NewMarket Films, and IFC Films were distributing niche titles. 

Part of what drew to the arriving interest in indies in the 90s were films like Quentin Tarantino's Reservoir Dogs, Neil Jordon's The Crying Game, and Robert Rodriguez's El Mariachi, proving that smaller films can be more than just highbrow, arthouse cinema.

Then in 1994, Tarantino took independent cinema to the next level with the release of Pulp Fiction. It was financed by Miramax, which was acquired by Disney in 1993 and it was the first movie to be greenlit after the acquisition, so it's debatable if it's a genuine indie. But the movie is made in the spirit of an indie and it costs $8 million to make. That's less money than most mainstream movies at that time, but it paid off excellently. Pulp Fiction opened to critical acclaim for Tarantino's unique storytelling, awards hype, and it grossed over $200 million, making it one the first low/mid budget films to make 9 figures at the box office. 

It could be argued that the success of Pulp Fiction helped turned independent films into a full fledged phenomenon in the mid and late 90s and more rising directors have emerged like Paul Thomas Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, David O Russel, Ang Lee, Atom Egoyan, Spike Jonze, Sofia Coppola, The Wachowskis, Wes Anderson, Alexander Payne, Todd Solondz, David Gordon Green, Christopher Nolan, Neil LaBute, Noah Baumbach, and Kevin Smith. Many of these directors went on to have successful careers in the years to come and their works have acclaimed by critics, audiences, and the awards circuit. But of course, nothing lasts forever.

The spirit of the 90s indie film movement have gradually died out thanks to Oscar campaigns from Miramax co-founder Harvey Weinstein. First The English Patient won over Fargo, then, most infamously, Shakespeare in Love won over Saving Private Ryan. Even though they were financed by Miramax, they're not really indie films. Both movies have been development hell for years from the major studios and cost more money than Sex Lies and Videotape and Pulp Fiction combined. 

As a result of both victories, the 90s indie boom is coming to an end. Though the Weinstein brothers moved away from Miramax to form The Weinstein Company in 2005, Harvey became increasingly obsessed with his awards lust. This does not sound like an artistic goal for producing films. And even before his criminal misconduct and sexual abuse allegations (which led to the MeToo movement in the late 2010s), he became notorious with meddling in the editing room and clashing with directors, which is the same kind of studio interference promising filmmakers are trying to avoid.

On top of that, the indie subsidiaries of the major studios like Fox Searchlight Pictures, Universal's Focus Features (formerly Gramercy), and Sony Pictures Classics have been releasing critically acclaimed, mainstream titles with awards hype (Brokeback Mountain, No Country For Old Men, Birdman, Little Miss Sunshine, Sideways, Slumdog Millionaire, and dozens more) while most genuine indie companies were forced to pack up and move out. By the turn of the new millennium, the 90s indie film movement has officially ended, spiritually speaking. 

Aftermath (Hollywood's Increasing Blockbuster Mentality)

After the 90s indie boom fizzled out, the major studios started focusing on blockbusters and franchises again, while many directors associated with the indie film movement went on to direct mainstream awards contenders and popular hits. At the same time, most of today's indie filmmakers either sign up to do a big budget franchise movie or sell their smaller films to streaming platforms like Apple tv, Netflix, and Hulu.  

Today, film companies like A24 and Neon have helped keep the indie spirit alive by producing art driven films made by younger filmmakers for younger audiences who want to go far beyond conventional Hollywood fare. But the market is still dominated by blockbusters and franchises, as evidenced by the successes of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the recent Star Wars films. 

In late 2019, Martin Scorsese has dismissed Marvel films as "not cinema" and compared them to amusement park rides, fearing that big budget superhero movies might crowd out smaller films. After receiving backlash from comic book fans, Scorsese further explains his point in an op-ed for the New York Times, stating that "Many of the elements that define cinema as I know it are there in Marvel pictures. What's not there is revelation, mystery, or genuine emotional danger. Nothing is at risk." He sees them as corporate products that are "market-researched, audience-tested, vetted, modified, revetted and remodified until they're ready for consumption." 

With the increasing blockbuster mentality, smaller films going to streaming platforms, and the CO-VID pandemic affecting movie theaters, it would seem like the American cinema is at death's door, but with Oppenheimer and Barbie opening to critical acclaim and commercial success this past summer, only time would tell that another creative renaissance in Hollywood might actually happen.

Legacy

The 90s indie film movement remains influential to this day. It shows that quality movies can be made regardless of what it costs or what type of movie it is. It shows that smaller films can have universal themes audiences identify with. It shows that movies can be more that just escapist entertainment. Like the New Hollywood movement of the 1970s, the 90s indie explosion is a monument of creative experimentation, exploring new ideas, expanding their scope, and keeping up with the times. 

How American Cinema Has Changed: From New Hollywood To The Rise Of The Blockbusters (1970s to the 1980s)

WHERE HAVE I BEEN: 2022 was a really busy year for me. I've been through four family weddings in the past summer and fall. It's also a rough year for me as well, as my cousin just died at the age of 21. I've been to so many family events to the point that I've forgotten my strengths as a writer. But now I'm back, and I'm ready to do what I do best, write passionately about the movies.

In the late 1960s, the major Hollywood studios seem to be out of touch with what the current generation of movie goers wanted to see. The old guards that were running the studios had either died or retried, and audiences were tired of the big budget epics and musicals that have been dominating the market since the 1950s, when Hollywood was threatened by television. Change was very much needed and that change came in 1967 with the release of Bonnie and Clyde.

How Bonnie And Clyde Changed American Cinema

The film's origin was a story of Hollywood legend. Studio executive Jack Warner, after viewing a rough cut, hated the movie. He felt that the movie was overly violent and dumped it in small amounts of theaters around the country. It opened to a mixed critical response, but audiences seem to fell in love with this film. With it's frank depiction of sex and violence, anti-establishment themes that resonated with countercultural audiences, and filmmaking techniques that have been borrowed from European arthouse cinema (notably The French New Wave), Bonnie and Clyde, alongside other late 60s hits like 2001: A Space Odyssey, Easy Rider, The Graduate, Midnight Cowboy, and The Wild Bunch, have opened the floodgates of director driven cinema in the 1970s.

The Rise of the American Auteurs

With the major Hollywood studios diminishing power, a new generation of directors have gained more artistic freedom than directors have ever had before. Directors like Robert Altman, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bagdanovich, Francis Ford Coppola, William Freidkin, Woody Allen, Hal Ashby, and dozens more, have spoke for a generation that have been disillusioned with The Vietnam War and the Nixon administration, an audience that have become increasingly alienated from past generations. 

These ambitious directors were influenced by European and Japanese art house cinema, as well as classic Hollywood filmmakers like Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, John Ford, and Howard Hawks. And in taking inspiration from great directors while trying new things, the newer generation of directors have become authors, or as the French call, "auteurs."  

As a result of all of this creative power, many film historians and critics have considered the 1970s to be a golden age for American cinema. Of course, any golden age wouldn't last as long as it should have. In the late 70s, Steven Spielberg and George Lucas have inadvertently created a new trend in Hollywood that has had a severe impact in director driven filmmaking: the summer blockbusters.

The Creation of the Summer Blockbusters

In March 1975, Steven Spielberg's upcoming monster movie, Jaws, have heled two successful test screenings in Dallas and Long Beach respectively. Studio executives and producers Richard D. Zanuck and David Brown knew they had a hit on their hands, so they've done something unprecedented in the history of film distribution. Prior to Jaws, films would open in selected cities, then it would open in more theaters across the country based on critical acclaim and positive word of mouth from audiences. Jaws however, was an entirely different matter. It was the first film to open in wide release on its opening weekend, a distribution process most common for exploitation and grindhouse movies.

Universal Studios also spent $2 million on marketing Jaws, from 30 second ads on prime-time TV, to its elaborate merchandising campaign. Companies have sold beach towels, blankets, books, board games, toy sharks, squirt guns, the soundtrack album, and other tie-in merchandise. 

On June 20th, Jaws opened in over 400 theaters in North America. By July and August, distribution has ranged from 700 to 950 theaters. By the end of the year, it overtook The Godfather as the top grossing movie of all time, grossing over $100 million domestically. The summer blockbuster has been born.

If Jaws created the high concept, amusement park trend in Hollywood, then Star Wars certainly cemented that on May 25, 1977. It eventually beaten Jaws as the most successful movie ever made, sending Hollywood the message to sell as many crowd pleasing blockbusters to mass audiences as possible. By the late 70s and early 80s, the summer blockbusters were about to dominate the film industry and the auteur era was coming to an end, with Michael Cimino's expensive Western, Heaven's Gate, being the final nail in the coffin. 

How Heaven’s Gate Ruined Everything 

After The Deer Hunter won the Academy Awards for Best Picture, director Michael Cimino has been given carte blanche from United Artists for his next project, Heaven's Gate. Unfortunately, things went south once the cameras started rolling.

Cimino was a notorious perfectionist and a stickler for authenticity. He would often build, destroy, and re-build sets to his liking, causing massive cost overruns. He also demanded massive retakes to get the performances he wanted, and there's even allegations of animal abuse. Cimino reportedly shot over 220 hours of footage, costing the studio million of dollars.

After production had been completed, a four hour version of the film premiered in New York City on November 1980. By all accounts, the premiere was a complete disaster. It lasted only one week due to negative word of mouth from audiences and critics, including Vincent Canby of The New York Times. 

United Artists pulled the movie from theaters so it would be re-cut at a shorter length. A two hour and twenty nine minute version opened to 810 theaters in April 1981, and it had a worse reception as well, with Roger Ebert calling it "the most scandalous cinematic waste I have ever seen." It ended up being one of the biggest bombs of all time, grossing $3.5 million out of it's $44 million budget.

As a result, United Artists have faced financial difficulties that led to its merger with MGM, and other studios no longer give directors the same creative control they had in the 70s. The Hollywood auteur era is over.

Aftermath (The Blockbuster Mentality Of The 1980s)

After the failure of Heaven's Gate, the American film industry shifted its focus on high concept, spectacle driven, crowd pleasing blockbuster films of the 1980s (Superman, Indiana Jones, Ghostbusters, Who Framed Roger Rabbit, Back to the Future, Rambo, Beverly Hills Cop, and dozens more). This also meant making sequels, giving birth to Hollywood's franchise obsession that is still going on today.  

The remaining 70s auteurs like Scorsese, Altman, and Coppola have struggled to stay relevant, the independent film boom was in its early stages, and foreign films were given limited distribution in North America. As a result, the blockbuster mentality have created a monoculture, leading to the consensus among many critics and film scholars that the 80s was the worst decade in the history of American cinema. 

What made the groundbreaking director driven films so popular with critics and audiences during the 1970s was the sense of dread and cynicism that was going on in America. But with The Vietnam War and Watergate scandal now behind them, and with Ronald Regan inaugurated as president in 1981, the American public has become accustomed to the big budget Hollywood blockbusters. 

The most interesting thing is that while many critics consider the 1980s to be a creative dead zone, you still have many beloved films of tremendous quality. Films like Raging Bull, Do The Right Thing, Platoon, The Right Stuff, Scarface, and Brazil. While these films were seen as masterpieces today, things couldn't be farther than the truth on their initial releases. Even John Carpenter's The Thing, a film that it iconic as his 1978 film Halloween, was incredibly controversial. Critics panned it for graphic violence and shocking images, and audiences flocked to see E.T. These high quality films didn't seem to be connecting with audiences that have become accustomed to simplicities and spectacles of the blockbusters. 

There is a silver lining to all of this. Things were going to change in the 1990s with the independent film boom and a reviving interest in foreign films. And that's a story for another day.