American Cinema(1994)
Documentary
First Air Date: 1994-01-01
Average Runtime: 55m
Rating: 8.3
Votes: 3
Seasons: 1
Episodes: 13
13 episode series created by PBS to commemorate 100 years of movie-going. The history of Hollywood and filmmaking comes alive in this spectacular celebration of movie magic. It's a mesmerizing, epic analysis that combines rare archival film, key scenes from immortal movies, interviews with leading filmmakers and commentary from noted film scholars and critics. As seen on PBS, this series is the definitive chronicle of the American cinema, from its beginning to today. Includes interviews with Robert Altman, Clint Eastwood, Harrison Ford, Spike Lee, George Lucas, Sidney Lumet, Julia Roberts, Martin Scorsese, Gene Siskel, Steven Spielberg, Oliver Stone, Quentin Tarantino, and many more.
Top Cast
Seasons & Episodes
Season 1
Episodes: 13E01
The Hollywood Style
Air Date: 1995-06-07
In the classical Hollywood film, the story is primary. Filmmakers rely on style — structure, narrative, and visual el...
E02
The Studio System
Air Date: 1995-06-14
This program surveys Hollywood's industrial past during the era of contract players and directors, studio police forc...
E03
The Star
Air Date: 1995-06-21
Greta Garbo, Cary Grant, Dustin Hoffman — these among many others are names synonymous with Hollywood. Early on, Holl...
E04
The Western
Air Date: 1995-06-28
The western is an American myth that has been translated by other cultures and reinterpreted time and again, but neve...
E05
Romantic Comedy
Air Date: 1995-07-05
Breezy and silly to witty and intelligent, romantic comedies have been with us since the 1930s. But the surface humor...
E06
The Combat Film
Air Date: 1995-07-12
Beginning with World War II combat films — produced under directives from the federal government — this program exami...
E07
Film Noir
Air Date: 1995-07-19
These cynical and pessimistic films from the 1930s and '40s touched a nerve in Americans. Historians link the genre's...
E08
Film in the Television Age
Air Date: 1995-07-26
Television first arrived in American homes just as the Hollywood studio system was collapsing. As the new medium took...
E09
The Film School Generation
Air Date: 1995-08-02
Maverick filmmakers of the 1960s and '70s, including Brian DePalma, Martin Scorsese, and Steven Spielberg, capitalize...
E10
The Edge of Hollywood
Air Date: 1995-08-09
While many of the old rules are still in force, independent filmmakers today often add their dissenting voices to the...
E11
Film Language
Air Date: 1996-08-22
"Film Language" illustrates basic terms such as tracking shots and zooms and also provides a primer on editing techni...
E12
Writing and Thinking About Film
Air Date: 1996-08-22
"Writing and Thinking About Film" provides a formal and cultural analysis of a classical film sequence. It serves as ...
E13
Classical Hollywood Today
Air Date: 1996-08-22
"Classical Hollywood Today" offers interviews with contemporary directors, European filmmakers, scholars, and critics...
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