The anarchic and rebellious movies Ron Howard fell in love with
While some filmmakers eventually find their way to movies after trying their hand at other things, Ron Howard was born into the movie business. Starting out as a child actor after being encouraged by his parents, who were also active in the industry, Howard understood the magic of cinema from an early age due to his invaluable experiences.
In addition to appearances on iconic shows such as The Twilight Zone, Howard managed to receive attention on a much bigger scale when he got a major recurring role in The Andy Griffith Show. His time on that production convinced him that he was meant for this particular craft, and not just as an actor but also as a filmmaker.
During a conversation with the Harvard Business Review, Howard was asked about his decision to become a director as a teenager. According to the Cinderella Man filmmaker, it was a comment from a member of the crew which opened up the possibility of becoming something other than an actor for him at a young age.
While recalling the experience, Howard said: “When I was ten, one of the directors on The Andy Griffith Show said, ‘I see the way you’re looking at the camera and following rehearsals even when you’re not in the scenes, and I have a feeling you’re gonna be a director.’ Then, when I was around 12, I began to fall in love with the movies.”
Although that feedback definitely helped, the cinematic masterpieces he grew up watching also played a major part in providing fuel to his directorial ambitions. In the same interview, Howard named some of the definitive works of the 1960s as chief sources of inspiration, including New Hollywood classics such as The Graduate and Bonnie and Clyde.
Howard explained: “The Graduate, Romeo and Juliet, Bonnie and Clyde—those films were a bit neorealist, borrowing from Europe, and had an anarchy and rebellion that was beginning to emerge in American cinema. It was a kind of cinematic revolution. I related to it, and I loved it, and I began to understand that there was this other thing beyond half-hour sitcoms. And the person behind that filmmaking was, first and foremost, the director. I wanted to play in that sandbox.”
Arthur Penn’s seminal 1967 masterpiece Bonnie and Clyde is perhaps the perfect example of the anarchy and rebellion Howard mentions, deviating from conventional narrative and ethical frameworks to tell a story that is liberated from tradition. Providing a much-needed countercultural push to American cinema, which was already evolving at the time, it paved the way for a completely different kind of cinematic expression.
Watch the trailer for Bonnie and Clyde below.
