The era of New Hollywood ushered in a new, vibrant, and exciting time in history for movie audiences. There were many that created innovative and exhilarating films that were not only entertaining but relatable; and with that many up-and-comers were highly influenced by these novel creations. Both Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee were significantly transfixed by the New Hollywood period and took the ideas and implemented them into their handiwork. Scorsese and Lee found a new way to reach out to the youth and have continued doing so with many ingenious films.
Martin Scorsese was part of the New Hollywood scene, while Spike Lee was heavily influenced by it. They both accomplished some of the same incredible goals; they brought controversy to the cinema and did so while appealing to the youth. Let’s start with Scorsese. When one thinks of Scorsese, many things come to mind; violence [the Mafia/Gangsters], Catholicism [struggles with guilt and salvation], and Italian-Americans. All three of those are entailed in his 1974 film, Mean Streets. This film is a brilliant example of a product of the New Hollywood era for many reasons. This movie was not set in some far away land with all beautiful people with perfect manors or polite language. Mean Streets seemed real to so many because it was relatable. The plot of this film alone drew people in. Youth, especially always has doubts regarding the future; what should I do about my career?, will God forgive me even if I keep committing the same sins and I do not learn from them?, and so on. Those thoughts are going through the main character, Charlie throughout the film. We all have friends that have some growing up to do and many of us want to protect and help them, Charlie has to deal with this with Johnny Boy. The youth can relate to this, because they are experiencing this or something close to it in their lives. Scorsese made this film with a some-what edgy type of documentary style, no perfect lighting for it is shot on location (New York City) not in a studio stage. Robert Casillo comments on the film in his Gangster Priest stating, “The film’s realism is owed in large measure to its documentary and naturalistic style, with frequent use of the hand-held camera along with rapid and abrupt editing.” (page 180). Scorsese does not stick to one way of filming; there are jump cuts, use of slow motion and long-tracking shots, along with point of view shots throughout Mean Streets.
Martin Scorsese was part of the New Hollywood scene, while Spike Lee was heavily influenced by it. They both accomplished some of the same incredible goals; they brought controversy to the cinema and did so while appealing to the youth. Let’s start with Scorsese. When one thinks of Scorsese, many things come to mind; violence [the Mafia/Gangsters], Catholicism [struggles with guilt and salvation], and Italian-Americans. All three of those are entailed in his 1974 film, Mean Streets. This film is a brilliant example of a product of the New Hollywood era for many reasons. This movie was not set in some far away land with all beautiful people with perfect manors or polite language. Mean Streets seemed real to so many because it was relatable. The plot of this film alone drew people in. Youth, especially always has doubts regarding the future; what should I do about my career?, will God forgive me even if I keep committing the same sins and I do not learn from them?, and so on. Those thoughts are going through the main character, Charlie throughout the film. We all have friends that have some growing up to do and many of us want to protect and help them, Charlie has to deal with this with Johnny Boy. The youth can relate to this, because they are experiencing this or something close to it in their lives. Scorsese made this film with a some-what edgy type of documentary style, no perfect lighting for it is shot on location (New York City) not in a studio stage. Robert Casillo comments on the film in his Gangster Priest stating, “The film’s realism is owed in large measure to its documentary and naturalistic style, with frequent use of the hand-held camera along with rapid and abrupt editing.” (page 180). Scorsese does not stick to one way of filming; there are jump cuts, use of slow motion and long-tracking shots, along with point of view shots throughout Mean Streets.
The picture in the reddish tint is a great example of Scorseses’ crafty work; shot on location at a bar, with dark lighting so that not everything is clearly visible. And if you watch this particular scene, it starts with one slow motion shot of the bar, with a voice over of Charlie’s thoughts – no noise of the bar scene is heard until the camera goes at a normal pace. These film techniques that Scorsese used were very rather creative and modern. Also, the actual happenings of this scene have to do with the current issues facing the youth; in many ways it was socially unacceptable to date a different race than you. The character of Charlie is admiring the beautiful dancer and once again you hear a voice over – saying twice that she is really good looking. His thoughts end though when he states, “but she’s black”; Scorsese brought this social/racial/sexual issue into the film because it was occurring in that time period.
In a later scene, there is a welcome home party to Vietnam Veteran. The scene is very interesting in the way Scorsese uses the camera to emphasize the action occurring. The camera starts with the veteran sitting in the background and then seemingly creeps up to him. When he smashes the cake and jumps up to grab the girl on the dance floor, the camera backs up. The act of moving the camera, seemingly like a person to stay out of the way, accentuates the movement that the veteran is doing and causing. Throughout this longer shot, the camera continues to back up, even when the guys are trying to get the girl to safety.
So the era of New Hollywood has ended, but now those who came of age during the era are going to express themselves. Spike Lee definitely was influenced by the innovations of the era and he implemented them with his very first works. Lees’ senior year thesis project, Joe Bed-Stuy Barber Shop: We Cut Heads, had many aspects of the New Hollywood period intertwined in it. In Houston A. Baker Jr.’s essay, Spike Lee and the Commerce of Culture he states that, “The texture of the film is grainy, muffled, slightly unfocused, giving the “joint” an air of both realism and low-budget independence.” (paragraph 4). Realism was one of the main aspects of the New Hollywood period, as was making low budget films; so visually the film seemed to be a product of this famous era. The storyline also emanates New Hollywood characteristics with the struggles of good and evil. The main character, Zacharias debates with himself whether to join in the evil Lovejoy’s gambling operation. Everyday people have temptations of evil, especially the youth because they have not had enough experience to rely on their conscience – a relatable storyline!
With Spike Lee’s first real motion picture, She’s Gotta Have It, he also implemented many New Hollywood tactics in the storyline and in the making process. First of all, this film released in 1986 was made in black and white, with only one scene in full color (a Wizard of Oz appreciation). Lee and one of his collaborators, Ernest Dickerson saw Raging Bull (by Scorsese!) and was greatly inspired. This is evident in Kaleem Aftab’s Spike Lee: That’s My Story and I’m Sticking to It, where Dickerson states, “Raging Bull was a big lightening for us, especially the speed changes and the sound design of that film. Martin Scorsese was always playing with the medium and using film expressionistically to heighten the experience the film was giving the audience.” (page 35). That alone, shows that Lee was greatly influenced by the New Hollywood era and learned a great deal from those who were part of it. And then there is the factor that the story is being told directly to the camera – 
several of the characters speak directly to the audience. First it’s Nola Darling explaining how she met her lovers – then later in the film it’s the lovers discussing their thoughts on Darling. Yes that is lovers, multiple – a very controversial social issue that seemed to be ingenious; men can have multiple partners and people think nothing of it, while if women have more than one partner they are thought of as whores or sluts. Lee thought, why not turn the tables around? A very interesting topic for the youth and particularly women. Spike comments on how this idea first came to him in Kaleem Aftab’s book, “ It amused me to listen to my male friends talk about how many girlfriends they had, that type of stuff - and what their reaction was if they ever found out one of their girls was straying. So I just thought, Why don’t we flip the tables and this film about a sexually active woman who is living her life like a young man, having multiple partners?” (page 27). That first part of that quote is rather relatable – everyone whether male or female, worries about if their partner strays – and since we are human they will have some sort of reaction!
Nowadays, directors seem mold movies in many creative ways. When the New Hollywood era started, they techniques of editing films, filming, and so on were changing and it was all new to everyone. In Spike Lee’s film She’s Gotta Have It, the character of Mars Blackmon
(played by Lee) is introduced with a series of jump cuts and an up-beat hip hop track; this was a new way of introducing a character – these days it is a very common way of doing things. Those who were part of the New Hollywood period [like Scorsese] and those immediately following [like Lee] were so incredibly imaginative with the entire filming process. They are definitely film auteurs and in many ways are defining examples of film auteurs.
several of the characters speak directly to the audience. First it’s Nola Darling explaining how she met her lovers – then later in the film it’s the lovers discussing their thoughts on Darling. Yes that is lovers, multiple – a very controversial social issue that seemed to be ingenious; men can have multiple partners and people think nothing of it, while if women have more than one partner they are thought of as whores or sluts. Lee thought, why not turn the tables around? A very interesting topic for the youth and particularly women. Spike comments on how this idea first came to him in Kaleem Aftab’s book, “ It amused me to listen to my male friends talk about how many girlfriends they had, that type of stuff - and what their reaction was if they ever found out one of their girls was straying. So I just thought, Why don’t we flip the tables and this film about a sexually active woman who is living her life like a young man, having multiple partners?” (page 27). That first part of that quote is rather relatable – everyone whether male or female, worries about if their partner strays – and since we are human they will have some sort of reaction!Nowadays, directors seem mold movies in many creative ways. When the New Hollywood era started, they techniques of editing films, filming, and so on were changing and it was all new to everyone. In Spike Lee’s film She’s Gotta Have It, the character of Mars Blackmon
(played by Lee) is introduced with a series of jump cuts and an up-beat hip hop track; this was a new way of introducing a character – these days it is a very common way of doing things. Those who were part of the New Hollywood period [like Scorsese] and those immediately following [like Lee] were so incredibly imaginative with the entire filming process. They are definitely film auteurs and in many ways are defining examples of film auteurs.Works Cited
Aftab, Kaleem. Spike Lee: That's My Story and I'm Sticking To It. New York: W.W. Norton & Company, Inc., 2006. P. 27.
Baker Jr., Houston A. "Spike Lee and the Commerce of Culture." Black American Literature Forum. 1991.
Casillo, Robert. Gangster Priest: The Italian American Cinema of Martin Scorsese. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 2006. P. 180.
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