The 1970s was an extraordinary time of rebellion, of questioning every accepted idea: political activism, hedonism, protests, the sexual revolution, the women's movement, the civil rights movement, the music revolution, rage and liberation. Every standard by which we set our social and cultural clocks was either turned inside out or thrown away completely and reinvented. For American cinema, the 1970s was an era during which a new generation of filmmakers created work for a new kind of audience -- moviegoers who were hungry for stories that reflected their own experiences and who were turning their backs on age-old studio formulas.

As a result, emerging filmmakers influenced by foreign directors such as Godard, Kurosawa, and Fellini, coupled with the social climate and a struggling studio system, converged to create a new kind of moviemaking. "There was a disparity between a conventional view of the country and what the filmmakers felt the country was about... and I think there was an audience for that disparate view," says writer/director Robert Towne in his interview. Through their choice of material, filmmakers such as Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, William Friedkin, Roger Corman, and Paul Schrader revolutionized mainstream movies and for the first time personal visions were coming out of the studio system.

In A Decade under the Influence, pioneering writers, directors, and actors talk about the times, their films and their colleagues. "For this brief period in film history, anything was possible. The studios weren't telling filmmakers how to do their work, they were allowed to make their own personal statement," says director Richard LaGravenese. In a unique twist to the documentary format, these filmmakers are interviewed by the next generation of filmmakers, which brings out intimate, personal and often untold stories. Demme and LaGravenese shared the interviewing duties with fellow filmmakers including Neil LaBute, Alexander Payne and Scott Frank.

Filmmakers interviewed for the documentary include: Martin Scorsese, Robert Altman, Peter Bogdanovich, Ellen Burstyn, Julie Christie, Dennis Hopper, Sidney Lumet, Milos Forman, Robert Towne, Sydney Pollack, Paul Schrader, Pam Grier, William Friedkin, Bruce Dern, Roger Corman, Polly Platt, Jerry Schatzberg, Roy Scheider, Jon Voight, Paul Mazursky, John Calley, John Avildsen, and Marshall Brickman.

Directors: Ted Demme and Richard LaGravenese

The Decade Under the Influence home: www.ifcfilms.com

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