JERICHO, N.Y., February 21, 2002 – On Tuesday, April 2, 2002 at 10:00 PM (ET), AMC will demonstrate how one of America's most challenging decades helped push forward the boundaries of modern filmmaking with REEL RADICALS: THE SIXTIES' REVOLUTION IN FILM, a 90-minute AMC original special.
Narrated by actor Woody Harrelson (NATURAL BORN KILLERS, PEOPLE VS. LARRY FLYNT), REEL RADICALS: THE SIXTIES' REVOLUTION IN FILM is comprised of the frank memories and unforgettable images of the filmmakers who made the era so influential in the Hollywood community. Interviewees include: John Frankenheimer (THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, SECONDS), Norman Jewison (IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, THE RUSSIANS ARE COMING!), Buck Henry (THE GRADUATE), Dennis Hopper (EASY RIDER), Paul Mazursky (BOB & CAROL & TED & ALICE), John Schlesinger (MIDNIGHT COWBOY), Arthur Penn (BONNIE AND CLYDE, ALICE'S RESTAURANT), Arthur Hiller (THE AMERICAZATION OF EMILY), Roger Corman (THE TRIP), and noted critic Andrew Sarris.
AMC's original production follows the new breed of risk-taking and socially aware directors and stars whose careers ignited with the dawn of the Sixties. Trained in live television dramas like "Playhouse 90" and inspired by the provocative "New Wave" of European cinema, these young directors confronted the sometime harsh realities and issues of the decade and went on to create films that challenged a nation's belief system. Themes like racism, sex, drugs and anti-war, sentiments that were taboo during Hollywood's largely sanitized Golden Era, became regular on-screen subject matter in films such as FAIL SAFE, DR. STRANGELOVE, WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF, IN COLD BLOOD and 2001 SPACE ODYSSEY.
At the same time, some of the biggest new box office stars, including Paul Newman, were willing to risk their images in roles of anti-establishment's anti-heroes if a film brought forth an important message or reflection of the times. The realistic approach of personal movies like THE GRADUATE, EASY RIDER and MIDNIGHT COWBOY captured the zeitgeist of this era of upheaval and produced huge box office receipts. Their commercial success served to reinvent the production paradigm in Hollywood, making the director and his vision – rather than the producer and the studio – the most important ingredients in the movie-making equation – a blueprint that made possible the works and careers of successful directors who followed the "reel radicals," including Francis Ford Coppola and Steven Spielberg.
REEL RADICALS: THE SIXTIES' REVOLUTION IN FILM was produced for AMC by Lewis Bogach and Don Fizzinoglia of Surreal Life Productions, Inc. The company has created several critically-acclaimed original productions for AMC, including THE SUN, THE MOON AND THE STARS, BLOCKED! and CENSORED!. Jessica Falcon served as the executive producer for AMC.
AMC is the nation's premier classic entertainment network, bringing movie favorites to a broad audience by placing them in a fresh and contemporary context. Award-winning original documentaries, series and specials are infused with the energy and excitement of Hollywood past and present. Launched in 1984, AMC is currently available in 81 million homes.
AMC is owned and managed by Rainbow Media Holdings, Inc. A subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) and NBC, Rainbow manages AMC, WE: Women's Entertainment, Bravo, The Independent Film Channel, MuchMusic USA, Rainbow Sports, News 12 Networks and MetroChannels as well as the Rainbow Advertising Sales Corporation and Rainbow Network Communications. In addition, Rainbow is a fifty-percent partner in FOX Sports Net. AMC is one of the assets included in a new series of Cablevision common stock — Rainbow Media Group tracking stock (NYSE: RMG) — which began trading on the NYSE on March 30th. MGM (NYSE: MGM) owns a 20 percent stake in four of Rainbow's national networks – AMC, Bravo, IFC and WE: Women's Entertainment.
*All times Eastern.