The Historical Film in the Era of New Hollywood, 1967-1980. Symmons, Tom For additional information about this publication click this link. http://qmro.qmul.ac.uk/jspui/handle/123456789/8630 Information about this research object was correct at the time of download; we occasionally make corrections to records, please therefore check the published record when citing. For more information contact
[email protected] 1 The Historical Film in the Era of New Hollywood, 1967-1980 Tom Symmons PhD 1 2 Abstract This thesis is the first sustained analysis of historical films made in the New Hollywood era (1967-80). It explores the mediation of the era’s social, cultural and ideological concerns in feature films that represent key periods in American history. The terms New Hollywood and the historical film are utilised with revisionist aims. As well as considering the new wave of ‘auteur’ cinema synonymous with the New Hollywood, the thesis demonstrates the diverse range of films produced in this era. Similarly, it rejects the boundary drawing practiced by many studies of history and film, and submits that any film set in the past can be used to explore the values, assumptions and ideological conflicts of the present. Furthermore, the thesis contends that analysis of historical films allows us to understand how audiences of a given period engage with the past in emotional, moral and aesthetic terms. The method and approach of this research is robust and wide reaching, providing evidence based analysis of each film’s production and reception, as well as close readings of individual texts.