International

Film Production

Even though U.S. films account for about 90 percent of worldwide film revenues, the United States only produces about 15 percent of the world's films.

India, for example, produces more than twice as many films as the U.S. However, India's film budgets average far less and films are churned out much more rapidly — sometimes within a few days.

The Influence of Foreign Films

Hollywood has learned a great deal from foreign (non-U.S.) films. This started at the earliest possible moment, when in 1903, Edwin Porter, borrowed ideas for the first U.S. dramatic film, The Great Train Robbery, from French film pioneer Georges Méliès.

A number of counties have introduced Hollywood to alternative genres and styles in filmmaking. These include:

German expressionism, from 1919 to 1924
Soviet Realism, from 1924 to 1930
Italian neorealism, from 1942 to 1951
French new-wave cinema, from 1959 to 1960
French cinema verite (film truth), 1950s to early 1960s

Because of language barriers and the reluctance of U.S. audiences to read English subtitles, most foreign films don't do well in the United States.

But, there have been about a dozen major exceptions.

The most notable exception was Italian director Roberto Benigni's La Vita E Bella (Life is Beautiful). This film won the 1999 Academy Award for best foreign film and won Benigini an Oscar for best actor. A scene from this haunting film is shown on the right.

In 1993, Jane Campion won an Oscar nomination for best director, and an Academy Award for best screenplay for The Piano.

The foreign films that have done best in the United States (in rank order) are:

La Vita E Bella (Life Is Beautiful	Italy, 1998
Il Postino (The Postman)	Italy, 1993
Like Water for Chocolate	Mexico, 1993
I Am Curious (Yellow)	Sweden, 1969
La Dolce Vita	Italy, 1960
La Cage aux Filles	France/Italy, 1979
Z	France, 1966
A Man and a Woman	France, 1990
Cinema Paradiso	Italy/France, 1990
Emmanuelle	France, 1975
Das Boot	Germany, 1982

Historically significant foreign films are included in Module 8, "Movie Milestones."

Hollywood, like the U.S. television industry, tends to focus on entertainment. Foreign films are often more subtle and artistic in nature. Even so, most hit U.S. films do well in foreign distribution.

Often, the versions of U.S. films that are exported are more sexually explicit than the version shown within the United States. This is because many countries are more accepting of sexual themes. At the same time, some countries are less tolerant of U.S. film violence.

Fear of "Foreign Values"

Almost every country is to some degree apprehensive of the values communicated through films. Consequently, many countries limit the number of "foreign" (generally this means U.S.) films that can be imported and shown.

Particularly bothersome to some governments are films that depict their country in a negative way, question their political system, are particularly violent, show highly materialistic values, or espouse freedoms that are not available in their country. As a result, many countries produce large numbers of their own films — often only after the scripts have been approved by their government agencies.

Of course, many countries limit U.S. films primarily for economic reasons. They want their own film studios — if they have them — to stay viable in the face of formidable U.S. competition.