#auteurtheory

[godardfanforever]

#auteur #auteurtheory #filmtheory #cahiersducinema #francoistruffaut #hitchcock #fritzlang #nicholasray #orsonwelles #johnford #howardhawks https://www.instagram.com/p/Bv_3r6oFPTA/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12ekr9rjiojnp

[marvelousmoviemaniac]

That is the nature of the medium [film]. You always get more for your money than mere art.

Andrew Sarris ( notes on auteur theory in 1962)

[uh-ovejonegro-blog]

you cussing with me?

There are a couple people I’d choose when asked, “Who is someone that has influence me most in my life but have never met?” At first, I thought of people like Ash Ketchum, Bender, Michael Kelso, Masahiro Sakurai or Jim Carrey. Then, I quickly realized the right choice was obviously Wesley Anderson.

Wes Anderson is an outstanding director with a great portfolio of work from his first film Bottle Rocket, to his recent work like Grand Budapest Hotel.  Anderson even attracted other directors like Martin Scorsese, who claimed Anderson to be the next Scorsese in an Esquire magazine article. Anderson has a huge influence in my life mostly because I aspire to be as good as the man himself one day. Being as good as Anderson requires patience, dedication and an eye of a genius.

Anderson definitely has his own aesthetic style when it comes to the film industry. Anderson’s films are known to be pleasingly stunning to the eye and quite comedic. Most of his films revolve around peculiar themes of white middleclass with a brilliant accompanying music score. Having aspects like a detailed scenery, precise use of shot composition and use of great storytelling, he always knows how to please audiences both visually and narratively. Anderson frequently casts familiar faces like Owen Wilson, Luke Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, Willem Dafoe, Bill Murray and Edward Norton.

His first film ever made is a fun and quirky feature called, Bottle Rocket. It revolves around a guy who just got released from a mental hospital just to quickly get pulled in by his wacky friend Dignan to go on a crazy crime spree. There’s a scene in this film where the group plan a heist on a bookstore, which is pretty hysterical.  These guys are definitely don’t met the burglar criteria. Although Rushmore really put Anderson on the map with symmetrically detailed shot composition and demonstration of his unique storytelling methods, Fantastic Mr. Fox has to be, if not, my favorite film from his portfolio.

Fantastic Mr. Fox is a stop motion animated film based on the original book by the same name from the author, Roald Dahl. This story revolves around a fox that broke a promise to his wife by raiding the farms of powerful humans by the names of Boggis, Bunce and Bean causing the endangerment of his own family and other animal friends. Anderson really set the bar high with this picture and its use of creative storytelling and outstanding visuals, making it my Anderson favorite right next to Grand Budapest Hotel. 

At least until Isle of Dogs is released, which seems pretty promising. Here’s a trailer for his next upcoming film.

[bklyntherapist]

From Yasujiro Ozu’s 1953 film “Tokyo Story.” From Roger Ebert’s review of the film “From these few elements Yasujiro Ozu made one of the greatest films of all time. "Tokyo Story" (1953) lacks sentimental triggers and contrived emotion; it looks away from moments a lesser movie would have exploited. It doesn't want to force our emotions, but to share its understanding. It does this so well that I am near tears in the last 30 minutes. It ennobles the cinema. It says, yes, a movie can help us make small steps against our imperfections.” #ozu #yasujiroozu #tokyostory #japan #japanesecinema #japanesefilm #50scinema #50sfilm #tokyo #cinema #cinematographer #cinematography #cinemagraph #director #auteurtheory #filmphotography #filmmaking #film #filmmaking #movies #movie #moviescenes #movie🎥

[christec]

D’après cet expert, les robots et les humains finiront par avoir des enfants #ChrisTec #DailyStar #AuteurTheory La réalité se rapproche de plus en plus de la fiction. Aujourd’hui, on apprend que d’ici quelques années, les robots et les humains pourront procréer afin de donner naissance à une nouvelle espèce hybride. Cette prédiction quelque peu étonnante vient du docteur David Levy, auteur du livre « Love and Sex with Robots », soit « Amour et […] #DailyStar #AuteurTheory

[alifahnaqvi]

Auteur Theory

AuteurTheory by Alifah naqvi

[thecinetrix]

#sofiacoppola #auteurtheory #somewhere #lifewithoutzoe #lickthestar #thevirginsuicides #lostintranslation #marieantoinette

[thescreentrail-blog]

The Auteur Theory of Cinema...and what it means for films and fans

The origins of the Auteur Theory/Approach in cinema were planted by filmmaker and critic Alexandre Astruc in his 1948 essay The Birth of a New Avant-Garde : La Camera-Stylo. ‘ La Camera Stylo’ translates to ‘The Camera Pen’ in English. This phrase touches the concept that its the editing, cinematography, lighting, blocking, sound, mise-en-scene and colour in a film which truly tells a story (and not the plot or dialogue). Astruc insinuated that “directors had to use cameras in the way writers use pens” to tell their narratives, making the director of the film the valid author. It can also be interpreted that those filmmakers who write and direct their films have a greater merit and authorship over their movies, since they have artistic control in their work.  

The actual term ‘Auteur Theory’ only first appeared as a full approach in Andre Bazin’s respected film magazine Cahiers Du Cinema (founded 1951). Theoreticians for the magazine who reaped the benefits of this theory include Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer. All started as film critics, and eventually became hailed directors and writers during the French New Wave, and considered auteurs themselves. Cahiers Du Cinema argues that a directors vision should be reflected in all their movies. They proposed Alfred Hitchcock and Jean Renoir to be pure auteurs, the former being the only Hollywood director to be considered an Auteur by Cahiers. They stated that most directors, like Vincente Minnelli, were ‘Metteurs-en-scene’, or ‘mere scene-setters’, hired by studios to do the hard job with little or no personal vision added into the films. 

Francois Truffaut was the major promoter for Auteur Theory in Cahiers however, suggesting that directors should use the mise-en-scene to plaster their personal vision onto their films. His opinions on the theory were mainly expressed in his article A Certain Tendency in the French Cinema (1954). However, many scholars have seen the long article as more of a proposal for younger filmmakers on how to create true films rather than a real theoretical approach. 

Andre Bazin and Roger Leenhardt on the other hand expressed that directors should use their movies as a means to share their feelings, opinions and views on whatever the message or subject of their film is. Bazin also famously stated that the theory was indeed a little “elitist” due to rejecting the collaborative spirit of the film industry.  

Until now, the theory was developed outside the limelight of the commercial Hollywood and American/British film industries. The American critic Andrew Sarris brought the theory to the ears of Americans and Brits in the 1960′s through the magazine Film Culture, defining and structuring the approach despite it being hard due to it carrying a heavy amount of debate. According to Sarris (quotes from Notes on Auteur Theory (1962)), the theory means:

- “A great director has to at least be a good director” (i.e, films have to be adept)

- “Over a group of films, a director must exhibit certain characteristics of style and theme, which serve as his signature”

- “Interior meaning is extrapolated from the tension between a director’s personality and his material”...basically, an auteur should find it hard to push his own creative vision because it is so different, resulting with conflicts between writers and producers - like with Orson Welles and Citizen Kane (1941), now one of the masterpieces of cinema. 

Aside from the critics which hailed the Auteur Theory, the major opponent of the theory was Pauline Kael, who questioned Sarris’ article through her own: Circles and Squares: The Joys and Sarris (1963, The Film Quarterly). Kael argued that assigning directors with the auteur status was a matter of opinion. She questioned why having a signature or trademark in a body of films is more important than the merit of a film alone. Kael also saw no point in hidden messages and meanings within films. She instead proposed the idea that critics and audiences “judge the artist by the movie, and not the movie by the artist”. This disagreement between Kael and Sarris ignited one of the biggest culture-wars in the media, and the two sides ended up being called ‘The Paulettes’ and ‘The Sarristes’. Sarris dismissed everything as “mere desperation” in 2009.

Nevertheless, the strengths and weaknesses of the theory are endless. The Auteur Theory praises and values art over the commercial importance of a film, but yet it still dismisses the important fact that the industry is a business. The theory values originality and individuality, but it dismisses the collaborative environment of the film industry. The theory also gives fame and reputation to directors as if they were stars, but it can’t be ignored that it is elitist, and even racist and sexist! The expectation of an auteur film allows audiences to be prepared for what they are about to see, and yet the theory is too scholarly, and is overlooked by most viewers...

Despite the debates to the theory, it is without a doubt considered to be one of the most important approaches in film theory, if not THE most. It has helped viewers to appreciate directors and give fame to their name, and also helped to value what is different rather than what’s the same, like with the Genre Theory. In addition to this, because of the Auteur Theory, it is now considered by law that the artistic owner of a film is the director, and owns the copyrights.

In my opinion, when I first discovered the theory, I was mesmerised by the significance given to artistic intent, away from the over-glorified vision of Hollywood commercial cinema! I still praise its usefulness in celebrating fantastic and unique directors. However, I believe that not all great directors are considered auteurs, but are still great directors (e.g, Frank Darabont - The Shawshank Redemption (1994) & The Green Mile (1999)) and not all great films are made by so-called ‘auteurs’ either (e.g, The Silence of the Lambs (dir. Johnathan Demme, 1991). Furthermore, with time I have grown to recognise everyone in a film crew has to right to express creativity. There have been true masterpieces born when other crew members have stepped in and won over directors (Edward Norton getting the final cut for American History X (dir. Tony Kaye, 1998). Despite all this, the Auteur Theory has indeed blessed our film culture.

“One man writes a novel. One man writes a symphony. It is essential that one man makes a film” - Stanley Kubrick

© Erica Marin (2018) 

Sources Used:

https://indiefilmhustle.com/auteur-theroy/

https://www.britannica.com/art/auteur-theory

https://www.filminquiry.com/quick-guide-auteur-theory/

https://www.slideshare.net/Sharbelina/auteur-theory-14686316

https://filmmakeriq.com/lessons/criticism-auteur-theory/

[jhachadezola]

"Copy- Transform-Combine" The "central dogma" of the Auteur theorist....or at least that's what I would like to think... #everythingisaremix #steal #igmarbergman #1966 #auteur #auteurtheory (at 7-Eleven)

[mbenzar]

Structuralism

Semiotics

Post-structuralism

Semiotics - study of signs and codes; mise’en’scene, language, colour, lighting detonation vs. connotation

Three levels in which we read texts:

Syntactic level - basic

Representational level - representation

Symbolic level – put things together and the meaning

Barthes & Cultural myths - the way texts are constructed promotes certain ideologies

Cultural Myths - texts have typical narratives and characters and out of these certain myths emerge & we believe they are true

Rags to riches example = Bridget Jones ‘Diary’, ‘Pretty Woman’, ‘Maid in Manhattan’

Underdog wins example = ‘Mean Girls’, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’

It’s not the myth that matters but the cultural meaning

Cinderella myth is telling us we need to look good, appearance values matter

Fiske - argues that there is a problem - connotations become so part of our ideological thinking that we read them as detonation; they are natural, we don’t even notice them – impact that media has on us

Structuralism focuses on semiotics - how structure helps us achieve meaning, looks at form, genre and narrative

Action code and enigma code

Symbolic code: binary opposites & psycho-analytic themes: e.g. (1) Male emasculation anxiety; fear of degradation/humiliation Pursuit of Happiness, (2) Father vs. son competition; presence of fathers body during sons development essential to understanding of masculinity, son always feels competition with father but refrains from winning because of the guilt, conflicting masculinity, both men

Auteur theory - patterns in films of particular directors who are seen as authors of their films, see a directors and understand what movie it will be:

Christopher Nolan e.g. Momentum, Inception, themes – plays with our perception, blurs the line between real and unreal 

Wes Anderson – recognise his movies by the cinematography

Post structuralism - = challenges the idea that there is only one single identifiable meaning, challenge the idea that even if you break down and decode it’s still doesn’t come to one uniform meaning. Similarity between post-structuralism and post-modernism. Challenges: (1) role of author is no so important (2) emphasis on multiple interpretations audiences can make (3) relationships between signifiers an signified are random

[forbeshonours]

Final Revised Story beats - Semester 2.5 [May 9th] The story has changed dramatically in its telling since its birth back in February, yet it has retained its original message of the gospel, the theme of Faith and its personal relationship with its auteur. It has lost some of its Irish background, now functioning as a more relatable, concise story. It also lacks the original concept of 'The circle of Life' that I found so intriguing at the story's conception - but I realised that was not the core theme, not in my work nor my influences. In order to back up my telling of this story and the message I wish to communicate, I have paired each scene with a bible verse that underlines the key aspect of faith I was trying to highlight. This way, it is more transparent how my own understanding of faith has influenced my construction of this story and easier to assess how well the viewer understood said concept. I've attached the final 'treatment' which includes all of the above and the final feedback I received. STAY TUNED FOR THE FINAL ANIMATION! 

[christec]

[Bon à savoir] Cette famille ne ressent pas la douleur grâce à une mutation génétique #ChrisTec #AuteurTheory #AssociationFootball Chez les Marsili, une famille italienne, on ne ressent pas la douleur ! En effet, si certains imaginent qu'il s'agit d'un pouvoir surnaturel, la science vient de prouver qu'en réalité, cette faculté est due à une mutation génétique. Le syndrome Marsili Des scientifiques ont pu identifier la mutation génétique qui est à l'origine de cette annulation de la douleur. Il s'agit d'une anomalie rare. Ainsi, les membres de cette famille ne connaissent presque pas la sensation de la douleur. Par exemple, lors d'une brûlure ou d'une fracture, ils ne se rendent même pas compte qu'ils sont blessés. Parfois, ils peuvent tout de�� Lire la suite : Cette famille ne ressent pas la douleur grâce à une mutation génétique sur Hitek.fr #AuteurTheory #AssociationFootball

[spontaneousmyoozik]

@emfantastic and I, working hard on our papers on the #AuteurTheory for our #MediaArts class!!!! #FilmStudents #FilmTheory #Students #SchoolWork #GoodStudents #WeWillGetAnAOnThis 🎥✒️✏️📓📚📖 (at The Panda Den)

[thecinetrix]

#auteurtheory #politiquedesauteurs 

[condescending-jerk]

omg look it's my instagram name! thank you!! @drl @theotse @j3r3myfong @kttsui (awks if it's not these people b/c somehow people do not put names on presents idk) #lol #soz #awkwardyvonnestrikesagain #hkig #film #auteurtheory #onlyinstagrammingthisbcitsmyinstagramnameok #notdiscriminatingagainstotherpresents #k

[colinwalker13]

An Auteur Theory Pioneer Passes But The Debate Continues

                     Andrew Sarris, a famous film critic and a pioneer of the auteur theory, passed away June 20, 2012 at the age of 83.

            In 1962, Andrew Sarris wrote an essay titled, “Notes on the Auteur Theory”, which was published in Film Culture. This brought the auteur idea to the United States that year, and here is a link to it http://bit.ly/MvuXpt (PDF format). The essay was inspired by the work of Francois Truffaut and his essay in 1954 titled A Certain Tendency in French Cinema. The auteur theory states that directors deliver artistic expression in their films and it continues through other films throughout their career. As a result Truffaut wrote this famous line in the 1954 essay, “There are no good and bad movies, only good and bad directors”.

            This theory has faced criticism ever since it came to fruition by multiple film critics across the world. The debates continue with each subsequent generation despite it being 68 years since the idea came to light. Can critics and avid movie goers alike deny their ability to tell who directed a film more times than not though? Some film critics believe the work of these great directors is because of the collaboration of the entire film crew producing the work, but the people working on films typically change with each project.

            One of the first names that come to mind when speaking about auteur theory is Alfred Hitchcock. If you have ever had an opportunity to take a class on Hitchcock films, most likely you would agree his work is easy to identify for the most part. Netflix has a good collection of his films if you haven’t seen his work, but some work is harder to come by such as North By Northwest (1959). Hitchcock has many subliminal messages in his films that critics and moviegoers can recognize if they’re paying close attention to the film. Despite, his movies having different storylines and characters there are artistic factors that make them a Hitchcock piece. Many filmmakers pay homage to his work through their work, whether it be a particular camera angle or the presentation of certain character.

            Hitchcock’s films may not be for everyone now especially for moviegoers that don’t appreciate the black and white style of earlier films. Some movie critics consider Quentin Tarantino as a modern day auteur through his work. Tarantino has an in your face style with the bloody kills by his characters to the dark humor seen across his film work.  It is easy to tell if Tarantino directed a movie as a result, and he pays homage to directors who inspired him as well.

            Tarantino’s auteur status will be tested in his upcoming film, Django Unchained.  Here is a link to the international trailer for it http://youtu.be/KKb20n7gkVQ. This will be the first major release of a Tarantino film without editor, Sally Menke. She passed away in September of 2010 after going on a hike and was later found dead. Menke and Tarantino had a great relationship with one another and there was a large amount of trust between them while working on films.  Menke was nominated for multiple awards for her work as a result. An editor can change the look and feel of a film and her work will be missed by Tarantino and many others.

            For Django Unchained, Tarantino turned to Fred Raskin to be his editor. Raskin worked as an assistant editor on Kill Bill: Volumes 1 and 2, which should help ease the transition in this new project. The film will show whether or not Tarantino was truly an auteur in his ownright or if it was a collaboration between Menke and Tarantino that led to his modern day standing as an auteur. If it was the latter then moviegoers were lucky to be able to witness great work that will not be replicated again unfortunately.

            These are only two examples of directors that are considered auteurs. Some critics disagree with the notion that it was the director who presented an artistic message throughout their work rather than a reflection of an entire crew’s work. The theory is not meant to take a jab at film crew members, instead it is meant to show that a great director can assemble a team and encourage them to work cohesively while creating a piece of art. Sarris’s work regarding the auteur theory will continue to be supported and scrutinized but it will also create great conversation amongst film critics and moviegoers alike.  

  RIP Andrew Sarris (1928-2012)