Brazilian film prior 2002
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Cinédia was founded by Adhemar Gonzaga in 1930 and was dedicated to the production of
popular dramas and burlesque musical comedies, a genre which was negatively
referred to as chanchada. The chanchada
would often include satires of Hollywood movies. In 1946, Gilda de Abreu's O Ébrio, a film very much
representative of typical Latin melodrama, became a major hit and drew in around four million viewers.
During the 40's and 50's, films produced by the Atlântida
Cinematográfica peaked and attracted large audiences by continuing with chanchadas. The
films of this period have often been brushed aside as being overly commercial
and americanized. Despite being overlooked by intellectual elites, these films
attracted large audiences as none of the Cinema Novo films would achieve.
Films in this period benefited from state-run agencies, most notably Embrafilme. Its role was perceived as somewhat ambiguous. It
was criticized for its dubious selection criteria, bureaucracy and favouritism,
and was seen as a form of government control over artistic production. On the
other hand, much of the work of this period was produced mainly because of its
existence.
A varied and memorable filmography was produced, including Arnaldo Jabor's
adaptation of Nelson
Rodrigues' All Nudity
Shall Be Punished (1973), Carlos Diegues' Bye Bye Brazil (1979), Hector Babenco's Pixote (1981) and Nelson Pereira do Santos' Memoirs of Prison (1984).
One of the most successful films in Brazilian film history is an adaptation of
Jorge Amado's Dona Flor
and Her Two Husbands (1976) by Bruno Barreto.
You have made some good notes here and they are interesting to read. However, what did you learn from completing this research? How has is it built upon your knowledge of Brazilian film prior to COG? What was different about the film industry? Visually is COG like many of the Brazilian films that came before it? Some rich colours? Were the storylines similar or were they different?
ReplyDeleteResearch is always good to complete and is necessary to broaden your own understanding of the film you are studying but also the wider world of film, but it must always have a focus. Your focus here should be linked to COG.
All the best
Mr Cooper