Many consider 1939 to be Hollywood's greatest year ever. The best movies included The Wizard of Oz, Stagecoach and Gone With the Wind. Few years in movie history are quite as beloved as 1939.
1939 is considered by many to be the best year in movie history, and when you look at all the classics that were released, it's hard to argue against it.
Why is the 1930's considered the golden age of film?
During the 1930s, the entire film industry transformed and “Hollywood” became synonymous with big studio pictures and became the standard for movies around the world. Films became cheaper to produce as studios vertically integrated the production process, which allowed the price of film attendance to go down.
From the rise of auteur directors to the emergence of the New Hollywood movement, the 1970s saw groundbreaking films that continue to captivate audiences and influence modern cinema. The era was characterized by social and political relevance, genre innovation, and the talent of visionary filmmakers and actors.
When was the golden age of movies and why was it considered so golden?
Historians are actually pretty divided on the exact timeframe of Hollywood's so-called Golden Age. Many mark the advent of "talkies" with The Jazz Singer in 1927 as the start. And the end is marked by the beginning of World War II in 1939, though some extend that period through the end of the war to 1945.
Hollywood's Golden Age finally came to an end due to two main factors: antitrust actions, and the invention of television. The iconic Hollywood sign. Reprinted from Hollywood 1940 – 2008 by Marc Wanamaker (pg. 19, Arcadia Publishing, 2009).
The Origin of the phrase "Golden Years" can be traced back to classical antiquity. In ancient Greece, the concept of the "Golden Age" was used to depict a period of peace, prosperity, and harmony.
The Golden Age thus began during the Great Depression in the late 1920s and continued throughout the early 1960s. Can you imagine that? About forty years of movies, great soundtracks, and iconic actors. This Golden Age is when the cinema experienced great advancement in picture quality and sound.
The 1970s movies were still using film while the 1980s were going video. This makes everything look brighter. The cuts are also neater and sound is better. The 1970s movies aimed for looking gritty.
These were five major film studios that were responsible for the classical Hollywood system. They included Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros., Paramount, Fox, and RKO. All of which were "vertically integrated" meaning that production, distribution, and exhibition were handled "in-house."
The golden age of Hollywood ended for a myriad of reasons; chief among them were the growing popularity of television, the blacklisting of prominent screenwriters, the rising costs of film production, and the “Big 5” anti-trust legislation.
Making movies and TV has become a very expensive game. We've seen blockbuster budgets balloon, and many times they do not feel justified. These high budgets mean movies have to earn billions to be profitable. There's so much pressure on studios to make these tentpoles, they're leaving smaller titles behind.
Did you know that A Visit to the Seaside (1908) was the first commercially produced film in natural color? This eight-minute British short film used the Kinemacolor process to capture Brighton Southern England seafront shots.
Film grain used to be a natural part of filmmaking. That textured, “noisy” look of old movies was a side effect of shooting and recording onto celluloid film. It was a natural part of the process, and so it became something people automatically associated with watching a movie. Flashforward to 2020.
Many of the films of the '90s incorporated new technologies and tackled issues that were previously thought of as taboo on film. It was another golden decade for Hollywood, as it seemed like there were more and more classic dramas, comedies, action thrillers, and documentaries coming out every year.
Hollywood started to capture films digitally in the 2000s, but it wasn't until 2013 that digitally shot films were more common than celluloid productions.
Biskind's book Easy Riders, Raging Bulls argues that the New Hollywood movement marked a significant shift towards independently produced and innovative works by a new wave of directors, but that this shift began to reverse itself when the commercial success of Jaws and Star Wars led to the realization by studios of ...
It shifts as time progresses, and it depends how old you are and when you started watching films. An old movie for me is anything roughly pre-1980s, although I started watching films really from the late 1970s/early 1980s, when my answer would probably have been anything pre-1970.
Who is Defined as Elderly? Typically, the elderly has been defined as the chronological age of 65 or older. People from 65 to 74 years old are usually considered early elderly, while those over 75 years old are referred to as late elderly.
Turning 50 has also been considered a golden birthday year, and many people choose to decorate with black and gold. Any of the above ideas can be easily translated to a 50th birthday party—just go extra big on the 50th birthday invitation, golden birthday gift, and cake!
A golden age is a period considered the peak in the history of a country or people, a time period when the greatest achievements were made. The term originated from early Greek and Roman poets, who used it to refer to a time when mankind lived in a better time and was pure (see Golden Age).
