Decade Under the Influence [DVD] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

First of all, let's get the obvious out of the way. Anyone who who has read Peter Biskind's seminal 1998 book 'Easy Riders, Raging Bulls' will notice straight away upon watching this Documentary film that Biskind's basic thesis - namely that out of the collapse of the old 'studio system' in the 1960s came the subsequent rise of the 'New Hollywood,' representated by figures such as Coppolla, Scorcese et al in the 1970s, which brought forth Hollywood's last golden age of film before being replaced by the modern era of big blockbusters like 'Star Wars' - is adopted lock, stock and barrel in this documentary. My advise is: don't let that put you off. Plaigarism aside, this is an excellent documentary.

The ironic thing is that this Documentary is (in my estimation) far superior to the Documentary version of 'Easy Rider, Raging Bulls.' Instead of focusing too heavily upon issues such as Sam Peckinpah's drug/ alcohol problems or Francis Ford Coppolla's overblown ego it spotlights what is most important about the era from an artistic point of view: the films.

You get a real sense of the era, the freedoms briefly enjoyed by filmmakers and the creativity brought forth:- starting with films like Bonnie and Clyde, Midnight Cowboy, The Grauduate and of course Easy Rider in the late 1960s continuing throughout most of the 1970s untill the inevitable reassertion of control by the studios (i.e the 'money men') once films like Jaws and Star Wars made clear that mega-bucks could be made with escapist fare rather than the relatively meagre returns afforded by films with a realist sensibility.

Anyone who wishes to revisit and/or learn more about the last 'golden age' of Hollywood film before the dictates of box office revenues became the only thing which mattered and the social, cultural and political winds which shaped these forces of change should not hesitate to pick up this DVD. Reccomended for film buffs everywhere.

Generally quite well done documentary on the best of 1970's American films. Well worth viewing for film enthusiasts.

"A Decade Under the Influence" features all the major 1970s films you would expect and their directors - Francis Ford Coppola discusses "The Godfather" and William Friedkin discusses "The French Connection" and "The Exorcist". The documentary also features less well known films such as "Targets", directed by Peter Bogdanovich ("The Last Picture Show" is also featured) and also features several films by Woody Allen.

The DVD also features interviews cut from the film, including an interview with Coppola, who interestingly comments that George Lucas would be a better director if he left Star Wars behind.