Auteur theory defines the director of a film the author of their work (Sinha, “Auteur Theory (Filmmaking)”). Ozu is a true auteur of the Japanese post-war cinema. His crown jewel film, Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953) rejects the tropes of the Hollywood system and instead works within the confines of Japanese re-growth. It is truly unique to Japanese national cinema as it responds to the depression and sorrow felt in post-war Japan. The image of Noriko (Setsuko Hara) and Shukishi (Chishu Ryu) looking off into Onomichi Japan captures Ozus’s distinct style and the sadness and uncertainty felt nationally. Ozu created a film style that represents Japanese cinema in one of the worst times for the nation. Ozu represents a true auteur at a time when a bruised Japan needed something to call its own. Ozu is a true Japanese filmmaker.
The image of Noriko and Shukishi overlooking Onomichi captures the beauty and simplicity that has come to define Ozu’s style. Aesthetically, the shot is taken from the low perspective of a person sitting on a traditional tatami mat (Random House Dictionary, “Tatami”). The audience becomes the observer to everything that unfolds from a traditional Japanese sitting position. The frame remains still as with every shot in Tokyo Story, but one. The framing is beautiful and symmetric. The composition is maximized for beauty and symmetry. Shukishi is placed in a balance between Noriko and a classical Japanese-deco pillar. Power lines lead the viewers’ eyes around the frame, allowing the audience to take in the full breadth of the imagery. Elegant framing and use of simplistic objects for a beautiful mise-en-scene is unique to Ozu.
Tokyo Story represents the relationship between the new post-WWII lifestyle and the traditiona...
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...-WWII Japan like no other filmmaker. He creates a scenario of Japanese daily life that appears normal, but under the surface depicts the suffering of a nation. Visually, Ozu’s style is one of a kind. Whether it’s his signature low camera placement, or his meticulous framing, an Ozu film his a look not seen from any other filmmaker. He rejected the notions of the Hollywood system and implements his own ideas. His films do not contain conventional endings, but rather suggest the continuance of daily life. He offers that even through the pain Japan will live on. His editing is one of a kind. Ozu moves an audience through a scene not by story but through imagery and beauty. He allows his audience to breathe and take in the important moments. Ozu’s style is original. He has created a lasting impression on what defines Japanese films. Ozu is a true auteur of the cinema.
Much of what is considered modern Japan has been fundamentally shaped by its involvement in various wars throughout history. In particular, the events of World War II led to radical changes in Japanese society, both politically and socially. While much focus has been placed on the broad, overarching impacts of war on Japan, it is through careful inspection of literature and art that we can understand war’s impact on the lives of everyday people. The Go Masters, the first collaborative film between China and Japan post-WWII, and “Turtleback Tombs,” a short story by Okinawan author Oshiro Tatsuhiro, both give insight to how war can fundamentally change how a place is perceived, on both an abstract and concrete level.
In the film industry, there are directors who merely take someone else’s vision and express it in their own way on film, then there are those who take their own visions and use any means necessary to express their visions on film. The latter of these two types of directors are called auteurs. Not only do auteurs write the scripts from elements that they know and love in life, but they direct, produce, and sometimes act in their films as well. Three prime examples of these auteurs are: Kevin Smith, Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock.
The auteur theory is a view on filmmaking that consists of three equally important premises: technical competence, interior meaning, and personal signature of the director. Auteur is a French word for author. The auteur theory was developed by Andrew Sarris, a well-known American film critic. Technical competence of the Auteur deals with how the director films the movie in their own style. Personal signature includes recurring themes that are present within the director’s line of work with characteristics of style, which serve as a signature. The third and ultimate premise of the Auteur theory is the interior meaning which is basically the main theme behind the film.
Katsuhiro Otomo - Katsuhiro Otomo a Japanese manga artist, screenwriter and film director. He is best known as the creator of the manga film ’Akira’ and its animated film adaptation. Akira is a 1988 Japanese animated cyberpunk action film directed by Katsuhiro Otomo. This had an impact on animation as he used anime to create a film. This would mean that more animators will begin to use this type of animation in their programmes and films.
Auteur theory holds that, ‘a director’s films reflect that director’s personal creative vision, as if he/she were the primary author. From the earliest silent films to contemporary times motion pictures have crossed over and both entertained and educated the viewing audience.
While still acting within a male paradigm, given the film’s director is a man, Departures still manages to give its female characters the space and time necessary to create depth and a strong, essential narrative. While the film does the work of deconstructing the bias against women in film, the view is left to absorb these characters and appreciate them as the strong figures they are without reducing them to or denying them of their womanhood. This turn towards modern feminism represents a trend of post-war Japanese film towards globalization and anticipating the role of international film festivals in the films demographic. While Takita sets up the film against the universally accessible themes of death, honor and questions of womanhood, he also teases the specifics out with predominantly Japanese cultural references. The end product is a film that resonates with everyone, but rings particularly true to Japanese culture, while nodding its head to the changing nature of Japanese womanhood and all that
Gallagher, T. 2002. Senses of Cinema – Max Ophuls: A New Art – But Who Notices?. [online] Available at: http://sensesofcinema.com/2002/feature-articles/ophuls/ [Accessed: 8 Apr 2014].
This New Wave aesthetic solidified film as a mainstream artform, stressing that film was carefully crafted similarly to literature. Individual directors, or auteurs, were expected to “author” their films in much the same way that an author would write a novel. This auteur theory and its accompanying aesthetic became the backbone of the French New Wave and was what drove innovation. Breaking free from the screenwriter, producer, and studio driven systems of the past, and putting the creative power back in the hands of the director was seen as a crucial step in solving Cahiers’ perceived problems with French cinema before the movement.
Think about your favorite movie. When watching that movie, was there anything about the style of the movie that makes it your favorite? Have you ever thought about why that movie is just so darn good? The answer is because of the the Auteur. An Auteur is the artists behind the movie. They have and individual style and control over all elements of production, which make their movies exclusively unique. If you could put a finger on who the director of a movie is without even seeing the whole film, then the person that made the movie is most likely an auteur director. They have a unique stamp on each of their movies. This essay will be covering Martin Scorsese, you will soon find out that he is one of the best auteur directors in the film industry. This paper will include, but is not limited to two of his movies, Good Fellas, and The Wolf of Wall Street. We will also cover the details on what makes Martin Scorsese's movies unique, such as the common themes, recurring motifs, and filming practices found in their work. Then on
Stanley Kubrick is a name that has remained relevant throughout the years. Movies like 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Shining, Full Metal Jacket, and many others have made an impact on how films are made, but more importantly, the thematic elements of Kubrick’s films is what translated so well to the screen. Kubrick developed stylistic innovations in his films such as one-point perspective, realistic lighting, and distinctive dialogue. All of these stylistic strategies served to amplify the common themes found in his films that dealt with enduring issues like war, which Kubrick argued is part of human nature. Not only was Kubrick a film director who made an impact on filmmaking history, but his innovative ideas have also made an impact on society
Since the late 1890’s films have been constantly changing the history of pop culture and the way people view war, politics, and the world as a whole. As the timeline of the history of film progressed, there were many different phases: gothic noir, slapstick comedy, tragedy vs. love, romance, and many more. Towards the more recent times, the central ideas of films started drifting to the greatness of the directors. Directors such as Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, and many more were noted as outstanding directors of action and cinematography. In this paper I will speak about Wes Anderson, Martin Scorsese, and the ever so infamous Baz Luhrmann. These directors have changed the way filmmaking has been and will be looked at from this point on.
Star Wars (1977) is one of the world’s most successful films of all time. It has made a terrific impact on popular culture since its release. Furthermore, Star Wars changed the narrative and aesthetic style of future Hollywood films. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, illustrates how cinema has evolved since Fred Ott’s Sneeze (1894). Ultimately, this essay will explain the set up of Star Wars and how it connects to cinema history, in the point of views of the: narrative and cinematic style, genre, auteur theory and the global film industry.
The absolutely stunning film, Citizen Kane (1941), is one of the world’s most famous and highly renowned films. The film contains many remarkable scenes and cinematic techniques as well as innovations. Within this well-known film, Orson Welles (director) portrays many stylistic features and fundamentals of cinematography. The scene of Charles Foster Kane and his wife, Susan, at Xanadu shows the dominance that Kane bears over people in general as well as Susan specifically. Throughout the film, Orson Welles continues to convey the message of Susan’s inferiority to Mr. Kane. Also, Welles furthers the image of how demanding Kane is of Susan and many others. Mr. Welles conveys the message that Kane has suffered a hard life, and will continue to until death. Welles conveys many stylistic features as well as fundamentals of cinematography through use of light and darkness, staging and proxemics, personal theme development and materialism within the film, Citizen Kane.
Due to the film’s quality and interest it became an award winning film. The film had excellent sound effects such as the battle scenes. The image quality was also outstanding; it used many different angles to depict the actor to make you feel involved in the scenes. In the action scenes the most common viewpoint used was a close up shot which allows the audience to see and feel the intensity of the scene. The second viewpoint mostly used was a tracking shot due to the actors c...
Auteur is a concept that originates in French in 1950. As its name translate to English “Author”, it is about the author. It segregates directors with unique styles and gives them more prestige. An auteur differs from other directors because they stick to their style. They are easy to distinguish. To be an auteur a director has to have three characteristics that would identify them: Technic, style, and interior meaning. This last one is more abstract, though. There are many directors that are considered auteur. Let us compare two great directors that fit into this definition. What are style, and technically used by Alfred Hitchcock and Akira Kurosawa?