Blockbuster - EVERYTHING EVER

• Hollywood operated a 'studio system' in the Golden Age of cinema
• The War and the Great Depression provided opportunities for escapism
• However, eventually, the post-war era became a period of decline for Hollywood 
• The Paramount Decree (1948) (prevented block booking and vertical integration) hit Hollywood hard
• The Hays Code (1930) restricted and censored films
• Rise of television as alternative form of entertainment
• The car led to people moving out of town
• By 1969 Hollywood on brink of bankruptcy
• Influence from abroad, French New Wave (1950s)
• Movie 'brats' (Coppola, Scorsese) breathed new life into American film-making, producing more serious, complex films.
• Success of Bonnie & Clyde (1967) seen as the precursor to this.
• Eventual collapse of The Hays Code.
• Opportunities for franchises developed.
• Success of The Godfather (1972) as a quality film, with a director in control
• Success of Jaws (1975) via its new marketing techniques
• Success of Star Wars (1977) via its merchandise
• Success of Star Wars (1977) via its new film making techniques, blue screen technology, CGI
• New technologies such as the video cassette added to TV as a competitor to cinema
• The VHS beats Betamax in the 'format wars' because it was cheaper to manufacture, despite being poorer quality
• At the time there was no legislation governing what could be released on video
• Led to 'moral panic' and the fear of 'video nasties'
• Mary Whitehouse founds the Clean-Up TV pressure group (1964) which later becomes the National Viewers' and Listeners' Association
• The Video Recordings Act (1984) required that tapes should be correctly labelled with the BBFC certificate 
• Death of the 'flea pit' town cinema
• Birth of the 'multiplex' out of town cinema
• Investment into the British cinema industry by US chains
• 'The Point' in Milton Keynes, opened in 1985, Britain's first out of town multiplex.