Music in New Hollywood Film

FAIN: FT-249000-16

Julie Hubbert
University of South Carolina (Columbia, SC 29208-0001)

Archival research leading to publication of a book on the history of cinematic sound and sound technology in Hollywood film of the 1960s and 1970s.

The 1960s and 70s has long been valued as an important moment in the history of Hollywood studio filmmaking, a period of intense experimentation known as “New Hollywood.” In describing the “new” of New Hollywood, most scholars have focused on the visual and thematic aspects of style and genre that surfaced during the period. Little has been said, however, about the equally extraordinary revolution happening in film sound. This book corrects this gap by focusing on the most transgressive element in the New Hollywood soundtrack: music. By uniquely rooting this soundtrack revolution in the “high-fidelity” movement of the 1950s and 60s, this book considers the degree to which new technical and aesthetic standards of recorded sound also shaped film sound. It examines the new preference for recorded music, the striking stylistic range of musical repertoire that surfaced in these films, and the radical collapse of cinematic space the new high fidelity aesthetic encouraged.

Media Coverage

The Auteur as Audiophile: Music in New Hollywood Film (Media Coverage)
Publication: AMS, SCMS, SAM Society Newsletters
Date: 5/5/2016