The last few years have seen plenty of examination of films from the 1970s .The late-’60s and early-’70s were certainly a pivotal time in the evolution of film and especially the modern film industry. The studio system which had dominated for the first half of the century was basically dying, independent film was becoming more of a reality, the censorship of the Hays office was replaced by the self-policing of the MPAA ratings system, and a whole slew of young filmmakers with a foundation in film history but a desire to create something new and different burst on to the scene. The movies reflected society and the counterculture maybe more than ever, and the cinema we have today is still in many ways heavily influenced by what happened during that decade.
Today’s Gothamist Interview is with Ron Hogan who recently released his first book, “The Stewardess Is Flying the Plane.” The title refers to a line from a quintessential ’70s disaster movie, Airport 1975. It’s an entertaining enough read, probably better as a basic film guide which can offer you a whole slew of suggestions for DVD and videotape rentals. While reading it myself, I was reminded of quite a few films I had totally forgotten about, and that doesn’t include the several about which I had never heard. However, fair warning, this book is a bit of a coffee table book: it contains a large selection of phenomenal photo stills, and it’s fun to breeze through, but if you’re looking for an in-depth survey covering “American Films of the 1970s” — which is the books subtitle — this isn’t really going to do it for you. Grand survey? Sure. In depth? Not so much.
That isn’t to say it’s still not an enjoyable and even valluable read, and as you can see if you read Ron’s interview over at Gothamist, you’ll see that he really knows his stuff. And meanwhile, if you read any of the big lit blogs out there, this will give you a peak into a completely different side of his personality. Ron writes the lit blog Beatrice.com and not too long ago he also became the co-editor of Galleycat. Between the two sites, you can read Ron’s musings on the literary and publishing worls. But for now, just check-out interview already. If you’re a film buff, you’ll enjoy it.
Out of Focus 