ABSTRACT
The period of the New Hollywood ushered in more experimental films in both form and content, often guided by the vision of a Hollywood auteur, such as Martin Scorsese, Brian DePalma, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Coppola. By aligning with the auteur theory and the model of European art cinema, these directors sought to create a new model for mainstream filmmaking, morphing the visual style of classical Hollywood cinema and the means of creating and producing films. The freedoms associated with the New Hollywood auteurs on a creative level allowed for an independent vision to appear on the screen. Independent film is often linked to low budgets and separation from Hollywood studios. This tendency is contradicted by the “independent” films of the New Hollywood auteurs. Francis Coppola’s audacious romance One from the Heart illustrates how a New Hollywood director could exact a creative and aesthetically groundbreaking independent film with little interference from the studios or larger commercial forces. Although Coppola’s heady dream of rethinking Hollywood moviemaking was short-lived, this chapter illustrates how independent film and innovation can intersect, artistically and commercially.
