Why Europe Has No Hollywood

... At Making Money. They are great, calm down. But today Hollywood clearly dominates the medium. Once upon a time Europe was pioneering in film. What happened?

Thank you to Dr. Stiglegger for his amazing insights.

0:00 Intro
2:14 A European Industry
7:30 The Rise of Hollywood
14:03 A Global Industry

Sources:

Music:

Artlist

Serge Quadrado - Savannah

Epidemic Sound

Alec Slayne - Nemesis
Ava Low - Chaos Theory
Brendon Moeller - Crawlspace
Charles Holme - Dark Dripping
Charles Holme - Forward, Return
Charles Holme - Tarnishing Memories
Christian Andersen - Hacks
Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen - The Detective
Christoffer Moe Ditlevsen - The Mole
Eden Avery - Enter the Facility
Guy Copeland - Timeline
Hanna Lindgren - The Pond
Jön Björk - From the Dust
Max Anson - Airglow
Max Anson - Night Shuttle
Polar Nights - Bottomless Sadness of the Undead
Tellsonic - Desert Whispers
Trailer Worx - Intentional Terror
White Bones - New York Chase
Wildson - I Am Better Off (Instrumental Version) (Orchestral Version)

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Armchair documentaries, almost weekly

[fern-tv]

Small correction: Georgie should be Georges (Méliès) - sorry!

[DomyTheMad]

6:30 man i love how serious and in depth this channel i-
"shit escalates, WW1 happens."
.... Okay that was peak writing. wp.

[NathanS__]

I really think language played a large factor as well. We see that the golden age of European film industries takes place during the silent film era. That meant whether it was German, French, Italian, American didn't matter as the dialog cards were all that needed to be changed.
American dominance coincides with English dominance (Chicken or the egg)

[hurrdurrmurrgurr]

Not mentioned is after WW2 McCarthy policies required all movies entering America from Europe to be screened and denied access for potentially harmful content, this further reduced the cultural and financial reach of European Cinema.

[alphawolf]

everyone in
1900 : watching 15 minutes films
1950 : watching 90 minutes films
2020 : watching 15 seconds videos

[Randalftown]

One thing that people also miss is that European movies were effectively banned in the states until the 1970's because of their strict censorship. European movies were shown in the states but they were rarely officially released there and only really played in dingy back alley theatres in major cities. Which we only know because many European movies that are preseved today were only saved because they were found in locations like that.

[joebueno]

Good video. But it wasn’t just the sun that made LA the center of film production in the US. It was also the dryness. It hardly rains in California. And rain ruins external shots.

[-MarcelDavis-]

The world wars really put the breaks on European progress in many areas. People say that war can promote progress and innovation but these people should take into account that these innovations are often limited to military applications, at least for the duration of the war. They also come at the expense of other innovations, as ressources and research efforts are redirected towards the war effort and in the end the progress you make can rarely offset the destruction the war caused or the consequences it had on the economy, as millions of people had to leave their jobs to fight. Not to mention all the people we've lost who could have achieved great things.

[den]

You failed to mention the french cinema during 60s-80s and the movie industry in the eastern block, both of them were very massive

[gorgonflabish]

Your subjects of research are so good, its a breath of fresh air in a era where every youtubers copies each other.

[UmutKursawe]

Let me tell you as a German:
German Films have mostly
- bad acting
- boring music
- uninspiring images
- uninspiring stories

I mean every sunday there is a NEW crime story. It’s quantity over quality!

[HeyWo_YT]

Now we just need a video about the slow downfall of Hollywood.

[ElJosher]

I think english as an international language also is a factor in the rise of american films abroad.

[kubikirii]

the "european films were too abstract for enjoyment by americans" part really makes me think because it's definitely true that most people prefer to watch films with a straightforward concept ("blockbuster" culture) which still applies today. productions made for money with nothing particularly special about them have been dominant for a really long time and i think it's reflected by the fact that we refer to movies as "content" now.

[MarcusLangbart]

Aside from not having a single industry but many national industries, it has to be said that european cinema has never been 100% about maximizing profit like american movies. Hollywood became a money machine. Often the best european movies between 50s an 70s tried to balance creative freedom, controversy, politics, social commentary. On one side the main goal is selling, on the other side the goal is to convey ideas (not special effects). They're simply historically different approaches. Hollywood golden age (1930s and 40s) for example was comparable to the great european movements and combined success, entertainment, intellectual content and innovation.

[tdb]

The first 'full length feature film" was actually Australian. It was about Ned Kelly. Australia had a booming film industry.

[ghostcloud]

In my opinion, Europe has a lot of potential for filmable stories. Because Europe itself has a lot of history and no other continent has shaped the modern world like Europe.

[RealCadde]

I prefer the more "realistic" or "down to earth" productions that come out of Europe compared to Hollywood.
Especially when it comes to special effects, Hollywood loves grand explosions and loudness.
European cinema has explosions too, but they are more in tune with reality and doesn't involve 1500 gallons of gasoline.
It sends a better message overall to the audiences. And the focus is more on conveying the sensation than the visual.

[katecreate]

A lot of Hollywood is turning to Canada specifically to make their productions cheaper, helps it's on the same continent. I also think that each country has a certain style of expression that tends to be motivated by the culture the studio is at. You can get a real reference based on the storytelling and fables of these places. To me, the British have this beauty to their film production of history, there's a hint of elegance when related to historical valued books or books pertaining to well known British literature like Shakespeare, Jane Austin, or the Sherlock series. The French have a subtle passion to their works, there is an expression of whimsical that it moves the soul. As for the Italians, there is a reminder of the joys life has to bring, to live life happily as one can be. And the Germans are best known for bringing in the mood of the soul, highlighting the beauty of solemness. Going out of the European/North American screen market, there's Japan with their brilliant exploration of the characters nuances that makes the audience bond with the character, then India with the festival spirit, or Australia/New Zealand that looks to tales from the Brits or the adventurous stories.

The American industry has the habit of finding stories with a character arc, specifically the hero story arc. Look at some well known American fables and literature there is a lot of story telling about the character making developments through the story that become central for that character to tackle their weak moments, good example would be the Wizard of Oz, The Adventures of Tom Sawyer, or Paul Bunyan. A lot of the hero movies remain strong because it's something I believe everyone has an easier time connecting to the characters and to root for them. However we also have plenty of literature that is as diverse as our heritage is, many noteworthy films or stories that have tragedies like Mice and Men, lessons like One Flew Over the Cuckoo's nest, or living life through times of change such as Little Women. The US, especially LA, has become a hub of bringing in people of all different walks of life and we value hearing their input to get the synopses of what the average person might think. To the world, it might not seem like it, but Americans in the film industry are always curious to learn from others whenever they can.

Lately though if Hollywood doesn't get their act together I think the film industry is toast, might fair well in other regions but the American audience have horribly been alienated thanks to Hollywood's blunder in dividing the country. Some studios I see are taking slow steps back, but the damage has been done, their crass behavior, attacking the audience through politics, and rehashing beloved classics to fit their unstable standards has pushed everyone's patience. Only if the industry has that wake and expunges the activists that took over the industry, I fear it will take 10 years to recover the trust of American audience. The reason why this is important is because we have over 340 million people that tends to be HALF of the revenue a film typically earns, and Hollywood now can no longer rely on the Chinese market to get away with horrible content. On top of that, the industry has favored the activists as a consequence it has drove out those who had the talent or those who wanted to learn how to make quality to the content.

-Coming from someone who studied animation.

[NeonNijahn]

Studios' monopolies on theaters and distribution sounds familiar no? Streaming services owned by the studios? Independent Distribution platforms should be able to bargain and pick/choose content, irrespective of the studio that made it and stands to gain from it streaming.