Film Of Tomorrow Analysis

The director of a film is made to present his/her personal signature and expression within the frame of the film in order to become an auteur. The fundamentals of the auteur theory demonstrate that the director needs to have basic directing skills as well as the ability to express his/her vision through the visual management and choices of the film rather than the specific content of the film. The use of techniques within the frame make the difference between and director and an auteur for each film a director

Auteur Theory is defined in the dictionary as a theory that the director is the chief creator of a film and gives it an individual style that is evident in all aspects of the finished product. Andrew Sarris, an american film critic, coined the term “auteur theory” in an article he wrote in 1962. Sarris’ understands there to be three premises of auteur theory. The first premise is the technical competence of a director as a criterion of value. The second premise of the auteur theory is the personal style and personality of the director.

David Bordwell wrote his article ‘The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film’ in an effort to convey the main idea that “art cinema” can be considered as a distinct mode of film practice, through its definite historical existence alongside other cinematic modes, set of formal conventions, and implicit viewing procedures. Rather than searching for the source of the art, or what drives the art in film, Bordwell compares art cinema to the classical narrative cinema, and highlights the differences in narrative structure. Bordwell makes the assumption that it defined itself against the classical narrative mode; especially with the way it deals with space, time, and the cause and effect link of events.

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.

Being one of the world’s most popular art forms, it was inevitable that these archetypes would find their way into film as well. In this essay I will argue that the

Alex Ross Perry is a rising, prolific writer, director, and actor who has won acclaimed for his creativity from critics and other filmmakers. After graduating from NYU’s Tisch School of the Art, he has completed four feature films, Impolex (2009), The Color Wheel (2011), Listen Up Philip (2014), and Queen of Earth (2015). Not only is he a dedicated original filmmaker in which all of his films were shot on a tradition mean, 16-millimeter film, of production, but also he is an audacious artist that he opts for the avant-garde narrative without following rigid adherence to Hollywood-inspire rules or award-winning recipes. Since then he remains a personage of importance in the New York City film production community as well as plays an influential part in encouraging students who enter the film program at the Tisch School of the Art to be diligent.

It might be apparent when watching the credits at the end of a movie that there are a lot of people who partake in the development in what you just watched. Although a director can’t usually create and perform all the aspects involved when making a film, the Auteur Theory focuses on the idea that the director is the true author, and creditable for the final look of the film. Auteur Theory is a philosophy of film created by Francois Truffaut, a film director and critic, in 1959. “Truffaut noted that ‘the directors are, and wish to be, responsible for the scenarios and dialogues that they illustrate.’” said in Society for Cinema & Media Studies by Donald E. Staples. Auteurism was considered to flow in film work from France to England over

Many critics like Truffaut Francois, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol praised and introduced this film trend in Cahiers du Cinema which was the one of the most significant Parisian film magazine at that time. The Parisian film clubs started absorbing those new ideas of the Neo-realism. Parisian filmmakers found that the creation of a film was not limited or obeyed to any rules and standards, but instead the creation of a film should be an expression that could reflect the director’s true emotion. That was how French New Wave was

This film analysis will delineate the diverse directorial decisions of The French New Wave cinema movement, and how they have been utilised and developed to challenge and subvert the typical Hollywood filmmaking conventions and techniques of the 1950s and 60s Hollywood cinema, in François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959). Hollywood produced films of the time used a very limited variation in film techniques such as camera, acting, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. This can be mainly attributed to the low innovative thought of creative and expressive camera movements, angles, etc… due to technological hindrances. In particular, this film analysis will de-construct the filmmaking elements of the revelatory French New Wave movement in Truffaut’s The 400 Blows ending scene (01:34:42 – 01:39:32) portraying the main character Antoine Doinel’s escape from juvie and trek to the bespoken beach.

Discuss the origins and main developments of auteur theory then examine the works of Howard Hawks and Martin Scorsese with relevance to their status as auteur directors.

The French New Wave lasted between 1959 – 1963 and consisted primarily of the Cahier du Cinema critics who had turned to directing entering the new wave, also referred to as the nouvelle vague during this time, the more well-known directors were; Francis Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer. Within this essay I will make strong references to the film The 400 Blows (Dir: Francois Truffaut, 1959, France) in order to demonstrate some of the ways in which the French New Wave changed the notion of how films were made, while also discussing auteur theory, technological advancements, influences in style and modern filmmaking.

Because Anderson’s personal style greatly reflects how he thinks and feels, the auteur’s films generally “...lack traditional “genre” specifications and signifiers...” and defy categorisation by being “...a somewhat outrageous combination of elements of satire, fantasy, comedy, tragedy, farce, and drama” (Dilley, 2017, pp 7). The style in Anderson’s oeuvre are influenced not only by his experiences, but by his love for all things vintage and European culture, including the French New Wave which was mainly concerned with breaking cinematic codes and conventions through the use of nonmainstream techniques (e.g. intertextuality, actors breaking fourth wall) to remind audiences they are watching a cinematic artform (Dilley, 2017; TVTropes, n/a). With this in mind, Anderson’s style also comprises of: densely detailed mise-en-scène; material synecdoche (use of objects, locations and clothing to define personalities and relationships); family themes (as well as those listed in the introduction); distinctive camera language (symmetrical/centre-framed shots, extensive tracking shots, overhead shots, rectilinear shots, wide-angle lens, the alternation between stasis and linear motion etc.); deadpan humour; characters becoming “unglued” (comic effect); repeated casting; an art nouveau colour palette; slow motion; 60s and 70s deep cuts and a visual

Vittorio De Sica’s The Bicycle Thieves (1948) and Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959) are both recognized as highly influential films of their specific era that introduced an innovative way of cinema world-wide. With the Italian Neorealism intention of using a more realistic approach to film, The Bicycle Thieves highlighted post-war Rome's cultural society and economy by following the journey of an ordinary man and his family’s efforts to survive. The 400 Blows, being a French New Wave film, went against the traditional French cinema and practiced the auteur approach through its style of autobiography of the director Truffaut, himself, as a troublesome child. Similar

There is a passion for the past and present, but a fear of the future. The noir hero dreads to look ahead, but instead tries to survive by the day, and if unsuccessful at that, he retreats into the past. Thus film noir’s techniques emphasize loss, nostalgia, lack of clear priorities, insecurity; then submerge these self-doubts in mannerism and style. In such a world style becomes paramount; it is all that separates one from meaninglessness…. (5)

He then created a couple of short films, and after being inspired by earlier mentioned Orson Welles, he made his feature film debut with The 400 Blows (“Francois Truffaut”). This film became a significant film of the French New Wave Movement. The 400 Blows was an immediate sensation and, ironically, won Truffaut a Cannes Film Festival prize. Ironic because the 1954 publication talked about films being made specifically to win festivals. Along with Welles, Truffaut uses camera angles to create particular moods and perspectives, the opening scenes specifically through the eyes of a child. The high angle shots used throughout the film help create a feel of innocence and reflect on the childhood of the film’s protagonist, Antoine. The camera focuses on the sky and the high buildings, and since they are shown from a ground point of view it is reflective on how a child would see things. The camera is moving and looking upward, almost as if it could be Antoine riding his bike or watching the city of Paris while in a car. The mobile camera later comes into affect when Antoine is on a carnival ride. Children are small and see things bigger and more overwhelming. The music in the film suggests a childish perspective as well, with a simpleminded melody. This was the kind of