Rogue Hollywood

“The only safe thing is to take a chance.” Elaine May 

Marking its 50th anniversary, Mikey and Nicky (1976), Elaine May’s dark take on masculinity, was released by Paramount Pictures in the middle of a decade that opened up opportunities for filmmakers to tackle more provocative subjects. 

While Hollywood was starting to pivot towards blockbusters such as Jaws (1975) and Star Wars (1977), May - one of the few female directors in Hollywood at that time - was one of a generation of filmmakers to deliver uncompromising and troubling visions of contemporary American society; alongside contemporaries like William Friedkin, Paul Schrader and Martin Scorsese.

From today’s perspective, it is difficult to imagine how such tough and unsettling works were being made within the mainstream. The films in this season, far from the liberal consensus often associated with Hollywood of the period, are darkly difficult in terms of subject matter and provocative in their politically contradictory nature. 

Bleak, unsettling but endlessly rewarding, these films are testament to a period when some in the Hollywood mainstream went very rogue and provide a fascinating snapshot of America which resonates today.

This season is part Other Ways of Seeing, an initiative supported by BFI awarding funds from National Lottery co-curated by Ellen Smith and Andy Willis (Professor of Film Studies at the University of Salford and Senior Visiting Curator at HOME)