The Sixties

Amid the turbulence of political assassinations, the civil rights struggle, and antiwar protests, American society was experiencing growing affluence and profound cultural change during the 1960s. The film industry gradually redirected its energies, resulting in a distinctive break from traditional business and stylistic practice and emergence of a new "cinema of sensation." Feature films became faster-paced and more graphic, the antihero took his place alongside the classic Hollywood hero, and "downer" films like Midnight Cowboy proved as popular as those with upbeat fare. Paul Monaco gives a sweeping view of this exhilarating decade, ranging from the visceral sensation of Bonnie and Clyde, to the comic-book satire of Dr. Strangelove, to the youthful alienation of The Graduate.

Paul Monaco is Professor of Cinema/Video at Montana State University, Bozeman. Among his books are Understanding Society, Culture, and Television (1998) and Ribbons in Time: Movies and Society since 1945 (1987). He has twice received Fulbright fellowships to Germany.

Acknowledgments
Contributors
Introduction

1 Hollywood Faces New Challenges
2 Changing Patterns of Production and the Arrival of the Conglomerates
3 The Runaway Audience and the Changing World of Movie Exhibition
4 The Waning Production Code and the Rise of the Ratings System
5 The Camera Eye
6 The Cutter's Room
7 Sound and Music
8 The Twilight of the Goddesses: Hollywood Actresses in the 1960s
9 Male Domination of the Hollywood Screen
10 The Establishment Judges: Academy Awards for Best Picture
11 Landmark Movies of the 196os and the Cinema of Sensation
12 The Nonfiction Film
    Richard M. Barsam
13 "What Went Wrong?": The American Avant-Garde Cinema of the 196os
    Walter Metz
    
Conclusion
Appendixes

APPENDIX 1 NUMBER OF FEATURE FILMS RELEASED BY THE SEVEN
           MAJOR DISTRIBUTION COMPANIES, 1960-1968, 1970
APPENDIX 2 NUMBER AND FREQUENCY OF THEATRICAL AND MADE-FOR-TV
           FEATURE FILMS ON U.S. NETWORK TELEVISION, 1961/62-1970/71
APPENDIX 3 NUMBER OF MOTION PICTURE THEATERS IN THE UNITED STATES
APPENDIX 4 CONSTRUCTION OF NEW MOTION PICTURE THEATERS
           IN THE UNITED STATES, BY TYPE
APPENDIX 5 MOTION PICTURE BOX OFFICE RECEIPTS IN THE UNITED STATES
APPENDIX 6 RELEASES IN WIDESCREEN PROCESSES, 1960-1968
APPENDIX 7 ACADEMY AWARD NOMINATIONS AND WINNERS (IN BOLD) FOR
           BEST PICTURE, 1960-1969
APPENDIX 8 SELECTED AMERICAN AVANT-GARDE FILMS OF THE SIXTIES, BY YEAR

Notes
Bibliography
Picture Sources
General Index
Index of Films