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Hislast film “The Book of Jungle” was finished after his death.For his wonderful art Walt Disney received 29 Oscars. By 1996 more than 450Disney clubs and stores had been created. Walt Disney’s fantasies and dreams came true intwo amusement parks ”Disneyland” in California (1954) and “Disney World” (1971) inFlorida. Millions of visitors enjoy a lot of sophisticated attractions in these “MagicKingdoms”. Some years later, in 1992 the similar Disney parks were opened in Tokyo(1983), and Paris (1992).The Disney Studio continued producing movies after the death of his founder. “ TheLittle Mermaid”, “ The Beauty and the Beast”, “Aladdin”, “ The Lion King” became quitesuccessful. They were followed by “Pocahontas” (1995) and “The Hunchback of NotreDame” (1996).
“Toy Story” pioneered computer-animated techniques. Disney also continuedits strong presence in children’s animated programs for television, with Aladdin andGargoyles receiving high ratings.After the World War IImany new Hollywood stars appeared, such as IngridBergman, Elizabeth Taylor, Marilyn Monroe, Kirk Douglas, Gregory Peck, Bert Lancaster.Such actors as Marlon Brando, James Din and Paul Newman began to use Stanislavskiisystem, reaching great intensity and realism.
Some actors appeared in a great number of films.E.g., only one actor and director Paul Newman produced and starred in forty-five films,among them “ The Hustler”, “Butch Cassidy”, “The Sundance Kid”, “The Sting” and”Towering Inferno” and “Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” with the participation of Elizabeth Taylor.She also starred in “Cleopatra” in 1962. Film stars and Oscar Winners Audrey Heyburn andGregory Peck also became especially popular in the 60-70s ”Roman Holiday”, “My FairLady”, “Wait Until Dark”, “The Omen» and others. In the 70s the most popular producers ofnew generation were Coppola, Lucas, Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Coppola’s film“Godfather” (1972) and Spielberg’s “Jams”(1975) began the new era of blockbusters.
Lucas’s“Star Wars” and three Spielberg’s films about Indiana Jones were the most famous super hits.People could like or dislike them, but it is sure that the American films and Hollywood filmsin particular were produced at very high professional and technical standard.At our time gradually Hollywood transformed beyond recognition. Step by step all itsstudios lost their independence and joined transnational companies.
Commercial successbecame more important then creative work. Filmed television programs turned into animportant American export. As many countries found it cheaper to buy American programsthan to make their own, cinemagoers all over the world were mostly watching exportedAmerican blockbusters. Generations have grown up watching American films. A lot of copiesare made for VCR and sold all over the world. Film companies spent hundreds million dollarson the film production and almost the same money on their advertisements.
The films byfamous directors and producers Steven Spielberg, Kevin Kostner, Quentin Tarantino, PaulVerkhoven, Lucas receive the most attention. The most highly paid actors Sylvestor Stallone,Jack Nicolson, Demy Moor, Julia Roberts, Sharon Stone and others receive a lot ofprestigious prizes and awards at the leading international film festivals.MusicMusic in the USA is extremely varied. The ensuing generations of European immigrantsbrought with them the classical music and their German, Scottish and Irish folk ballads. LaterAmerica produced her own music.
Railroad workers, cowboys and miners composed theirsongs about work, life and love. Black slaves’ songs, preserving the rhythms and intonationsof African tribes, acquired new features under the influence of Puritan hymns, resulting inBlack hymns “spirituals” which are considered by many musicians as the highest achievementof American folk art. Black spirituals such as “Nobody Knows the Trouble”, “When theSaints set off Machining” or “Go Down, Mosses” are remembered, sung and played evennow. The list of folksong types in the USA includes Afro-American narrative songs orballads, the Spanish narrative corride dance, Negro blues, spirituals, work songs, hymns,primitive Indian chants and prayers and the various European marches and ballads.
Inaddition, there are superstitions, sayings, proverbs, and jokes that go with every national andracial group.Jazz is a mixture of West African folklore with the work songs the slaves sang andreligious gospel music originated in church. Jazz, initially a musical talk from downcast peopleto other downcast people, by the 1920-40s had become popular among all people irrespective oftheir class or job distinctions or political views.
The first jazz bands were formed in the late1800s.They played in bars and clubs in the South, especially in New Orleans.The first American composer Louis Moreau Gottschalk (1829-1869) enlivened his“serious” music with plantation melodies and Caribbean rhythms from his New Orleans jazzbands.. He was the first American pianist to achieve international recognition, but his early deathcontributed to his relative obscurity.George Gershwin (1898-1937) was also one of the first to use Afro-American melodiesin his music. Together with his brother he created world famous opera “Porgy and Bess” and twomusical comedies “Rhapsody in Blue” and “An American in Paris” which included jazz rhythmsand blues.Aaron Copland(1900-90) indulged his interest in jazz as well.
Besides writingsymphonies, concertos, and an opera, he composed the scores for several films. He is bestknown, however, for his ballet scores, which draw on American folk songs; among them are“Billy the Kid”, “Rodeo”. Copland chose a traditional Quaker religious song as one of the mainthemes for “Appalachian Spring”, which celebrated life in the Appalachian Mountains in theeastern region of the United States.The orchestras of Duke Ellington, Count William Basie, Frank Sinatra and GlemmMiller became the universal musical culture, which all Americans are proud of. Among theoutstanding jazz musicians there are the names of Louis Armstrong, Benny Goodman andElla Fitzgerald.Composers Arthur Schwartz and Richard Rodgers should also be mentioned. Thesongs “Yellow River”, “Night and Day”, “Tea for Two” crossed national boundaries and becamepopular in Europe.
Scott Joplin (1868-1917) was born in freed slave musical family andmanaged to mix African beat with classical European music. His wonderful style became knownto both black and white musicians as Ragtime in the early 1900s.Thirty years after jazz another kind of popular music appeared – big beat (big rhythm).
In1954 the disc jockey Alan Freed started to broadcast the Black rhythm-and-blues records. Hecalled this music Rock-and-roll after an old blues “My Baby Rocks Me in a Steady Roll”. The50s were also marked in the USA by the enormous success of the most famous rock “n” rollsuperstar singer and guitar player Elvis Presley (1935-77). What was new in his performancewas aggression, sexuality together with Black blues and white romantic crooning and sentiment.Having broken all the standards, he became particularly admired by the young people. His songs“Heartbreak Hotel”, “Hound Dog”, “Blue Suede Shoes” and many others were recorded inmultimillion copies. To rock and roll enthusiasts Presley got to symbolize not only a rock androll singer but also a new youth culture.
Among other things, this culture developed its ownvocabulary, ways of dressing, even hairstyle. It even began to reject socially approved ideas andways of behaving.Later rock-and-roll blended with the protest songs of the 1960s to become rock, themusic that was harder and less escapist. Rock became both an American and internationalphenomenon. Millions of young people worldwide saw it as their natural cultural language, asymbol of opposition to officially approved ideas and standards. Rock composers have alwaystried to represent the authentic sound of spoken English, and have therefore written what theyhave heard, rather then used standard spellings. Hard rock became bigger and louder than anybeat before it, simply because it was amplified and very noisy.There are lots of superstars these days; among fifteen number one hits there are the onesof Madonna, Diana Ross, Mary Wilson, Cindy Birdsong.
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