The Conjuring of the Blockbuster

Paper by Angela Ostermeier. Viewed on DVD.

The 1970s were considered the era of rejuvenation in the film industry. It was a time where directors were expanding on the concepts of exploitation cinema to create what has been coined as the “Golden Age” (Hammond and Williams, 192). The roots of exploitation cinema have stemmed to the development of a new type of film known as the Blockbuster. While exploitation film is best credited to have arose in the 1960’s it was the 70’s that fully reaped the economic benefits from this genre of film. The exploitation years were a vivid representation of the film industry prior to the emergence of the Blockbuster. Hollywood was in a financial crisis and although it was staying afloat due to these low budget audience oriented films it was looking for a kick-start back to the days of success and glamour. The power that exploitation film had caused movie studios to lean towards making youth oriented films and marketing them in new creative ways such as the Blockbusters did. Without exploitation cinema, which gave rise to the Blockbuster, the reinvention of Hollywood would not have been as monumental.

While this paper will focus on the rise of the Blockbuster it is important to give background information on why exploitation cinema had a huge influence in the reshaping of the film industry. A brief history of exploitation film will be included to demonstrate the strategic allure these films had to directors in the 1970’s and their movement towards the Blockbuster including “Blaxploitation” that will be discussed further on. Various terms will be defined to assure complete understanding of the topic at hand. While multiple examples from films in the decade will be included to show what makes them interesting to audiences as well as those involved in the behind the scenes aspect the industry. Overall, this paper will examine the evolution of Hollywood during the 1970s.

Exploitation cinema has been around for decades, but it really took off in the 1960’s thanks to filmmaker Roger Corman. Corman has been a well-known contributor to this genre and his work in the industry made way for the “modern period” of exploitation film (Mathijs, 2011). Typically, these films are produced by smaller studios with significantly lower budgets and are made relatively quickly compared to other films. The most noted of these independent studios was American International Pictures (AIP) that produced many exploitation films including some of Corman’s earliest work (Maestu, Unit 3). These films are generally very raw and memorable. They are considered to be the beginning of “cult classics” that avoided the “mainstream” aspects that other films of the period tended to include (Jancovich, 1). Exploitation movies are famous for their graphic displays of vulgarity and tend to be offensive to a certain degree.

According to Ric Meyers, the author of For One Week Only: The World of Exploitation Films, there are “five major exploitation film genres” (14). These five categories include violence, sex, rock ‘n’ roll, horror, and drugs. These films generally shocked and stirred filmgoers generating intrigue that lead to revenue boosts which was the defining cause for the creation of Blockbusters. The most interesting characteristic of these films were that they were usually designed for specific demographics. For instance, most of the films made during this era were targeting younger viewers, especially teens (Schaefer, 2). A few good examples of these films would be “The Graduate” or “Bonnie and Clyde.” These two films depicted various characteristics of exploitation genres including sex and violence especially (Hammond and Williams, 34). For the most part these films have been viewed as being done in poor taste and while many would agree that is correct it is impossible to discredit that they have left a lasting impression for audiences everywhere.

While there are many interpretations of the term “exploitation” it is important that we try and narrow in on one that is most commonly used. According to Thomas Doherty exploitation cinema is frequently considered films depicting three key components. (1) Controversial, bizarre, or timely subject matter amenable to wild promotion (“exploitation” potential in its original sense); (2) a substandard budget; and (3) a teenage audience. Movies of this ilk are triply exploitative, simultaneously exploiting sensational happenings (for story value), their notoriety (for publicity value) and their teenage participants (for box office value) (7).

The next term worth defining would be the Blockbuster. Blockbusters were produced with higher budgets and newer advertisement strategies. Just as exploit films, they are marketed to certain demographics and are usually based on best selling novels (Hammond and Williams). In the 1970s the directors of these films were seldom known and had lots of creative control over their movies. The rise in Blockbusters also expanded on a few old genres including “horror, gangster, syfy, and disaster films” (Maestu, Unit 6). These films were safer bets for studios because they were almost guaranteed to bring in revenue which is exactly what Hollywood was hoping to capitalized on through new marketing techniques and merchandising. The shift from platform release to saturation release definitely helped achieve that (Maestu, Unit 5). Saturation release is when the film is released to many different theaters when it is first released for the purpose of making more money in a shorter period of time. The industry was now able to experiment with television advertising and ancillary markets. Ancillary markets also helped create revenue since consumers were buying products that were tied to the films being released. For example, when George Lucas’s “Star Wars” came out they had 40 percent of the merchandising rights meaning that when other products such as clothes, posters, comic books came out the company received and continues to receive profits from it. The sole purpose of the creation of Blockbusters was to ensure Hollywood’s survival the perks that followed from these films definitely did that.

Before fully delving into the history of Blockbuster’s and its reinvention of the film world it is important to look at the steps that lead to that. The first step in that journey would be a period known as “Blaxploitation.” This was a time where films were being directed towards African American Urban audiences in an attempt to revamp the industry. These films typically resulted in white audiences being offended due to their graphic nature. However, these films made way for the Blockbuster and had many qualities that the previous exploitation genres had. Some of these qualities included low budgets, controversial themes, and extremely marketable (Hammond and Williams, 189). One of the films that will be discussed later is considered to have a lot to do with the concepts that blaxploitation cinema grasped at. These aspects of exploitation films carried into the short-lived blaxploitation period then on to the Blockbuster in hopes of getting Hollywood out of a great financial slump.

The Blockbuster gave Hollywood what it needed to get out of financial crisis and two films in particular truly express that. Taking a look at two films from that era that perfectly exemplified those ideal traits directors and studios were looking for will be extremely helpful. These two films are Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” and Steven Spielberg’s “JAWS.” These two movies are credited with reviving the industry and solidifying the term Blockbuster. Both these movies were based on best selling novels, which was a significant component of the Blockbuster. By making movies that were already popular with audiences of the book they could ensure that there would be a form of revenue. Enthusiast of the novel would most likely check out the film adaptations as well.

The 70s showed a time in history where Hollywood was going back to its original ideals of quality over quantity by changing marketing styles and increasing budgets. “The Godfather” depicts that to the fullest extent. It was a film that spark intrigue in going to the movies again and it did so by making going to the theaters an “event” once more and box office’s everywhere were seeing a shocking increase in attendance (Shone, 31). This rise in viewership occurred for many reasons, one being the advances in marketing and disbursement techniques. Typically studios used platform releasing which was also known as limited releasing at an attempt to make it seem like a must see. The development of saturation and seasonal releasing took the industry by storm. Studios capitalized on this by releasing films in many different theaters across America at the same time while also advertising on television making them easily recognized to audiences everywhere. “The Godfather” was released on March 27th, 1972 and made over 80 million dollars in a surprisingly short period of time (Brown, 34). This was the start of a shift towards films being more than something you watch for an hour and a half and becoming a motion picture event. Films were becoming a “high-end, no-expense-spared, red-carpet affair” (Shone, 31). Movies were becoming magical again and that was thanks to the Blockbuster. However, releasing was not the only attribute that “The Godfather” had.

The allure that movies such as “The Godfather” had to Hollywood was the fact that it minimized risks and spurred two more films. It is considered the first big Blockbuster in that time period (Maestu, Unit 5). It did not take too much to create Coppola’s masterpiece on the scheme of things. “The Godfather” had a budget of 8 million dollars, which it made back and much more after its first release (Maestu, Unit 5). Since the premise of the film was based on a previous best selling novel it was almost guaranteed to make a substantial amount of money. “The Godfather” trilogy brought in over 550 million worldwide and left a lasting impression in Hollywood’s history.

While “The Godfather” does represent an ideal Blockbuster, it clearly has some characteristics of exploitation films. For instance, it closely follows the genres that exploit films have especially sex and violence. This film definitely appealed to mass audiences, but it primarily targeted younger viewers. Exploitation films were meant to show the dark side of the world during the time period and “The Godfather” cashed in on the gangster film genre as well. We can compare this film to having stemmed from blaxploitation film as well. According to the textbook, the film was “extremely popular with black audiences” due to the fact that it contained many of the same qualities that those films had (192). This film was very unique and did kick-start the crime genre once again.

If there was any film in the 1970s that truly represents the key qualities that a Blockbuster has it would be the movie “JAWS.” Steven Spielberg fully captured all aspects of a Blockbuster and created a film that has haunted the nightmares of anyone afraid of sharks or the ocean. A study by the Cinema Commission of Inquiry stated that “many vacations at the seashore” were ruined (Cantor, 180). It is impressive to see a film have such a power in the world, but then again that is what Blockbuster’s had the power to do. The use of promotional posters that depicted a shark closing in on a woman swimming induced fear. It capitalized on the fears of viewers and “exploited” them in the hopes of generating revenue. However, it was more than just a scary movie it was a phenomenon.

This lured in American’s causing a rise in ticket sales because the topic of the movie was so appealing. What the studios were starting to understand was the importance of timing. This was exemplified by the start of seasonal releasing. “JAWS” was released on June 20th, 1975 and finally Hollywood understood what finding the perfect match with summer could mean and they made great financial partners. The “fourteen weeks in the summer between Memorial Day and Labor Day when school is out” became the prime to strike when releasing the Blockbusters (Film Reference). Hollywood would purposely advertise their films prior to the summer months so that when that time period came more people would be attending the movies since they were on vacation. It became the first movie in the history of the film industry to make over 100 million dollars at the box office (Maestu, Unit 5). This was monumental because making money was the whole reason why Hollywood was looking for a new way to reinvent them in the first place.

Just as “The Godfather” had multiple components of exploitation cinema “JAWS” was no exception. It took concepts from exploit films, but expanded on it. “JAWS” uses fear tactics and definitely took advantage of the fear in the audiences to create interest. Spielberg’s thriller was also similar to “The Godfather” due to the fact that it was created for 9 million dollars but made a substantial amount at the end of its run. However, it is considered the biggest Blockbuster of the 70s and will forever have a place in history as a constant reminder of the power of cinema.

While exploitation cinema did not last very long it solidifies a period where Hollywood was really struggling to stay above water, but had to capitalize on the few money making techniques that it had at the time. The Blockbuster was born to save the industry and it did just that through using older aspects of film to reinvent the movies. By making high concept movies that were directed at a younger audience they were able to move towards making better movies with bigger budgets. In just a few short years the slump that the film industry was in no longer existed and the world of movies has forever been changed due to the emergence of the Blockbuster. The 1970’s were truly a depiction of the Golden Age and that would have never been so without the aid and ideas from the exploitation era.

Works Cited

Browne, Nick, ed. Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Trilogy. Cambridge University Press, 2000.
Cantor, Joanne, and Karyn Riddle. “Media and fear in children and adolescents.” Media violence and children: A complete guide for parents and professionals 22 (2003): 185.
Doherty, Thomas, and Thomas Patrick Doherty. Teenagers And Teenpics: Juvenilization Of American Movies. Temple University Press, 2010.
Eric Schaefer. ” Bold! Daring! Shocking! True!”: a history of exploitation films, 1919-1959. Duke University Press, 1999.
“Film Reference.” The New Hollywood. N.p., n.d. Web. 17 Apr. 2015.
Lawrence, Novotny. Blaxploitation films of the 1970s: Blackness and genre. Routledge, 2007.
Mathijs, Ernest. “Exploitation Film – Cinema and Media Studies – Oxford Bibliographies.” Exploitation Film – Cinema and Media Studies – Oxford Bibliographies. Oxford Bibliographies, 28 Oct. 2011. Web. 14 Apr. 2015.
Meyers, Ric. For one week only: The world of exploitation films. Eirini Press, 2011.
Jancovich, Mark, ed. Defining Cult Movies: The Cultural Politics of Oppositional Tastes. Manchester University Press, 2003.
Shone, Tom. Blockbuster: How Hollywood learned to stop worrying and love the summer. Simon and Schuster, 2004.
Williams, Linda Ruth, and Michael Hammond. Contemporary American Cinema. McGraw-Hill International, 2006.


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