The Legacy of the American Zootrope Like any other art form, cinema must develop, otherwise it will lose its relevance and will drag on a mortal existence somewhere on the margins of history. The first discoveries related to moving pictures were mostly technical in nature and at the turn of the 19th-20th century, film pioneers competed with each other in the duration of the footage, experimented with editing gluing and the simplest special effects. But the further the development of cinema progressed, the more accents shifted into the dramatic heritage of films, thanks to which the world got acquainted with Charlie Chaplin and Buster Keaton, wept and had fun with the heroes of the imperishable Gone with the Wind, was amazed by the ambitious ambitions of Howard Hughes. Starting as a technological revolution, cinema has evolved over time into a self-sufficient and influential business centered around Hollywood, USA. Famous dealers, who have made a name and reputation for themselves on successful deals for the sale of oil, gas and other minerals, have followed serious prospects in the creation of films, an almost trouble-free machine to squeeze money out of the pockets of viewers tired of everyday routine. Having founded a number of Hollywood studios with impressive polygons from pavilions, businessmen partially retrained as producers and for many decades secured the title of full-fledged kings of the Dream Factory.
Having made a promising business project out of cinema, its high-ranking patrons from year to year built a formula for success that did not fail, which excluded any risk and guaranteed to attract the widest audience to the cinemas. On the screen now and then chased handsome men with a chic hair and a snow-white smile, seducing ladies and forcing men to work on their own appearance, together with the heroes of the paintings, the audience got into dizzying adventures, made their way to the old corners of history and conquered the future. The mild enthusiasm inherent in Hollywood cinema of the first half of the 20th century worked flawlessly until the era of stagnation, caused by the fear of producers to go to drastic changes, came. After the Second World War, the audience quickly cooled to diligent studio films, demanding bold decisions, acquaintance with non-standard heroes and real danger with a not always guaranteed happy ending. By the 60s, the news columns were increasingly sounding alarming notes about the box office failures of this or that expensive Hollywood film, and this circumstance gradually pushed the Dream Factory to the edge, behind which was the so-called “New Wave”, consisting of young, arrogant and far from talentless directors, screenwriters, actors, artists and editors who do not obey the generally accepted rules.
Rejected by short-sighted producers, George Lucas, Francis Ford Coppola and many other promising film talents, for a time abandoned attempts to win over Hollywood and turned away from it, creating a Mecca of independent film earth under the star-striped flag, entitled “American Zootrope”. Having no multimillion-dollar income, comrades nevertheless created their own films, rolled them through festivals and sometimes even made an attempt to break into wide distribution, albeit not without problems. George Lucas’ ambitious anti-utopia, TNK-1138, nearly cost American Zootrope his life, and yet young filmmakers were not going to give up on the dream, working through the concept and making those films that are now considered indestructible classics of cinema. The leading figure of the American Zootrope for many years was Francis Ford Coppola, who borrowed the ideas of the next generation of independent cinema from his colleagues from the French New Wave. Putting honesty and openness at the head of relations with colleagues, Coppola enlisted the support of both loyal companion George Lucas, and Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Brian De Palma and many other confident directors, whose creative pointer was just getting on the right path.
Slightly pushing the stricken Hollywood machine out of theaters, the creators of “American Zootrope” got their hands on the power and opportunities they could only dream of. Gradually, the studio, or the territory of the free Francis Ford Coppola began to thin, and its influence began to fade. The end of the “New Wave” of American cinema can be considered the premiere of the first ever full-scale blockbuster called “Star Wars”, whose author was previously misunderstood by the public radical visionary George Lucas, going on a crusade against the stagnant system and inflated budgets of the factory Greze, Lucas, and then his comrades again changed the vector of development of big cinema. In place of inexpensive crafts, rushing from marginal specificity to genius, they brought expensive, chic paintings that changed the appearance of entertainment cinema. In fact, Lucas, Spielberg and the company combined the best of old, hated Hollywood with the traditions of “New Wave”, giving us an unexpectedly fresh look of studio cinema, which we still know.
From the height of the years since the founding of American Zootrope, it is not easy for the current generation of viewers to fully appreciate the cultural influence of Francis Ford Coppola’s studio, but we cannot forget about the exploits of once young and full of filmmakers. Gary Leave's documentary A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope takes the story backwards and re-builds the set of American Zootrope with its leading cast members. Using the chronicles of the past years and excerpts from the cult films of the studio, Liva tries to build a consistent chain of events from Coppola’s idea of creating a Mecca of independent cinema to the release of the most important projects of the American Zootrope for all the years of its existence. The value of the documentary is enhanced by numerous interviews with real participants of past events, including Coppola himself and his colleagues. Both an outside viewer and researchers of the history of cinema will not be superfluous to get acquainted with the revelations of the masters, since without the foundations of something development is impossible.
“A Legacy of Filmmakers: The Early Years of American Zoetrope” is an invaluable slice of the era. Cinema does not stand still, but constantly changes, develops, moves only forward. And his Hollywood “New Wave”, emphasized by the activities of “American Zootrope”, fully deservedly takes its place of honor. So do not miss a unique case and learn from the inside how this wonderful mechanism works, allowing the dream to come alive. And I wish you an exceptionally pleasant and informative viewing.
10 out of 10