New Hollywood: Dreams, Nightmares, and Revolution

The films of the New Hollywood phase – from the mid-1960s to the late 1970s – are strikingly different, or as the critic Peter Biskind put it: they dare to do without happy endings.

Often categorized as artistically inspired auteur cinema, the films of New Hollywood are above all products of their time, shaped by the pressing issues of the era, the rebellious social movements of the 1960s, Vietnam and Watergate, the looming economic crisis and, not least, changing gender roles. These films are about the failure of the American dream, but they also contain the desire to keep this dream alive for a new generation in a different way.

Our film series presents four productions of the New Hollywood era, including early examples as well as films that already mark the transition to the blockbuster cinema of the 80s. Among them are classics like Easy Rider (1969) but also less frequently shown films like Claudine (1974) They represent the thematic breadth of New Hollywood cinema and moreover underscore the diversity of genres used.

23.04.2025 Easy Rider (1969) · 21.05.2025 The Last Picture Show (1971) · 25.06.2025 Claudine (1974) · 09.07.2025 Apocalypse Now (1979)

This film series is a collaboration between the Leipzig University Library, the Institute for American Studies, and the German-American Institute Saxony. The series is made possible through the American Film Program of the US State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs.