A Decade Under the Influence

Amazon.com How did Hollywood make so many great, challenging, offbeat films in the 1970s? A Decade Under the Influence lists the reasons--or rather, lets the people who did the filmmaking list the reasons. The decade-shaping interviewees include Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Francis Coppola, et al. The film's argument has actually been conventional wisdom for at least 10 years, but it's well-supported by an abundance of clips, which should inspire even hardcore film buffs to seek out rarities such as Thunderbolt and Lightfoot or The King of Marvin Gardens. One might observe that the scarcity of women directors or black filmmakers suggests that the decade was not entirely golden, and the memories may be burnished a bit by nostalgia. But there's no question that the big studios were far more adventurous back then, and this briskly moving survey gives a lively Film 101 lecture in exactly why. --Robert Horton Product Description -A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE will air as part of a three-part television series on IFC August 20, 21, and 22, 2003.- Featuring interviews with a cast of film greats, including Robert Altman, Martin Scorsese, Peter Bogdanovich, Dennis Hopper, Ellen Burstyn, William Friedkin, Jon Voight, and Julie Christie.- Television broadcast will be supported by a national advertising campaign, Media presence during the month of August to include: Full Page Color Ads in Entertainment Weekly, Premiere, NY Times Magazine, Time Out New York, US Weekly, Newsday, Weekly Variety; 15 & 30 second radio spots; Outdoor national marketing campaign.- A standout at Sundance, A DECADE UNDER THE INFLUENCE had a limited theatrical run in 2003 playing to great critical acclaim in New York, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Boston.