Jazgol: Classical Hollywood

Interested in classics? Ever fancy watching a old black and white, film grain Hollywood classical? Do you ever wonder what characterizes the classical Hollywood film, both in plot and the visual style? Do you reckon there has been a lot of change since the time of ‘Gone with the wind’ and the blockbuster, computer stylized and visually ground braking ávatar’? Is it just the ‘era of technology’ and the contributions it has offered to the film industry or maybe it also a matter of difference in plot development since then?

Well, if you look closely enough From the lighting of the scenes and the set design, everything from A-Z was somehow slightly different in that period of time which was called the Hollywood Golden Age.

The studio system in American film industry was dominated during the classical Hollywood era, during that time 5 major and most powerful studios reached a status in Hollywood to create a set of codes in visual design and to control it. Everything from a time a film is produced to a time when it gets released was controlled by these massive Hollywood studios that ruled the American film production. This golden era took place in years between 1930- 1948.

One particular trait about the American film production would be its ’over determined’ planning about its every single detail elements, which to put in simple forms is the idea that American films are pre-determined by a number of economic , social and cultural factors and that is seen in different times throughout the history of American film production.

The two key elements that controlled that set of codes and over determined outlook in the American film production were the: advent of sound and the business ideal of vertical integration.

In this section and the upcoming post we’ll be discussing and analyzing those elements in Hollywood golden age and how a film could be made during that time.

here is a video which i personally liked and thought would be a good representation of classical Hollywood movie.. of course! Gone with the wind!