Master Filmaker Akira Kurosawa

Spalding’s written work “Period Films in the Prewar Era” details the poignant aspects of and provides an insight into period films otherwise known as jidai-geki. Including a vast range of movie genres, period films were produced during the fall of feudalism in Japan drawing inspiration from traditional Kabuki theater and heavily focusing on combat. Lisa Spalding provides insight on how period films grew widely prevalent and how the increasing popularity of these films drew shifts in society drawing large crowds of people. With that, “Period Films in the Prewar Era” aims to discussing famous individuals who contributed to this category of film such as Makino Shozo, a director/later producer who was the developer of this category

The director is responsible for overseeing creative aspects of a film. They develop the vision for a film and carry the vision out, deciding how the film should look. The director may also be heavily involved in the writing and editing of the film, as well as managing the script into a sequence of shots, coordinating the actors in the film and supervising musical aspects. The Auteur Theory suggests that films contain certain characteristics or ‘signatures’ that reflect the director’s individual style and give a film its personal and unique stamp. Hayao Miyazaki is one such auteur whose entertaining plots, compelling characters

However, by 1923, following the earthquake in Tokyo and Yokohama, the industry needed to be rebuilt, both physically and mentally. Historic films, called jidai-geki, were made in Kyoto (which had some of the more ancient buildings still stood, while more contemporary films, called gendai-geki, found their place in Tokyo, which was more modernized. During the years that followed, Japan made the move to more modern films, despite WWII and the Occupation going on, not to mention the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, leaving much of Japan in ruins. During the Occupation, acclaimed director Akira Kurosawa managed to make a name for himself but it was Rashomon (1950) that would make him a house-hold name in Japan, allowing him to release more films in the

I have been asked “Where do you come from?” many times, and still I struggle to come up with a definite answer. It’s usually one of the first introductory questions someone asks and I always respond with my own set of questions. Do you mean where I was last? California. Where I have lived the longest? Germany. Where I was born? Panama. . . . Oh, is that what you meant? Calling myself a citizen of the world is not at all farfetched—rather, it’s an accurate descriptor of who I am.

Auteur is sourced from the French word “author”. The idea centered on the auteur theory is that a filmmaker maneuvers and authors over his work. His authorship can be exhibited in his or her established film. The theory was developed with a cinema which is recognized as the French New Wave Cinema from 1958 to 1962. This essay will apply the auteur theory to Wes Anderson who is a director and a modern. For the past years, Anderson has directed eight films without including any of his short films. He is an ultimate example to demonstrate the necessity of the auteur theory. Some collaborators who have worked with the director that can be acknowledged are Bill Murray, Jason Schwartzman, and Owen Wilson among others. Such collaboration favors the auteur methodology because they believe that a great director can marshal the events of a creative ensemble. Besides, he can influence the artistic team to achieve their vision. Nonetheless, Anderson has always stuck to his themes, technical and entertaining styles. Being an independent filmmaker, he does not create margin which he is supposed to contain himself. His film has characters who are often frontal

Film is about showing your perspective, but it is also a business. The film industry has always had this struggle between artists and producers which affects the final product that is delivered to the audience. Besides the people involved in making each movie, there are also different film companies all over the world with many more perspectives and ideas that are fought over throughout the time it takes to make one movie. In history and in the film industry there is a battle between Western and Eastern thoughts which can be seen in the story about Bruce Lee’s final film, The Game of Death, directed by Robert Clouse.

“Onibaba,” a 1964 film directed by Kaneto Shindo, is an excellent example of postwar Japanese Cinema for many reasons. Not only is the story itself based on a Japanese postwar attitude, but the production techniques used also reflect the state of the Japanese film industry at the time. From the cinematography to the use of dialog, this movie heavily embodies Japanese postwar cinema.

Know I'm preaching to the choir here about the sheer awesomeness and importance that work of Ray Harryhausen possessed. I don't need to remind you, the good readers of SJP, about how he painstakingly worked to create his treasures. Harryhausen, to me, is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The level of skill teamed with imagination and work-ethic is inspiring.

Kubrick made his first film in 1953 and has continued to make films till his death shortly after the film Eyes Wide Shut in 1999. With a film career spanning over four decades, he crafted consistent themes, and honed a highly personalized style which was woven into the films he made. Stanley Kubrick was a very stylistic film maker and paid

Many people may have a specific style in which they like to dress. A woman might have a signature lipstick she enjoys wearing, a man might have a distinct cologne that stands out from the rest. Movies are not too far apart in comparison. Sometimes people find films more enjoyable than others, and often do not realize they come from the same director. The Auteur theory is a that defines the director as the sole author of the entire film, adding his or her own personal style. When it comes to the world of animation, director Hayao Miyazaki is a pioneer in auteur. His specific directorial style is seen in many of his films in which he manages to make films enjoyable to adults of all ages. Kiki's Delivery Service was one of director Miyazaki's first major films. During the climax of the film Kiki’s Delivery Service, director Hayao Miyazaki illustrates his signature auteur style that makes his movies distinguished and enjoyable.

The intention of this essay is to discuss the romantic notion of a film director who has etched their own cinematic vision into the body of their film work, and whether the theory and practice is dead and an infringement of the spectator’s imagination and is it the spectator who finds meaning in the film. I will be closely looking at critical material, primarily André Bazin and Roland Barthes and applying them to several case study films directed by Christopher Nolan including The Following (1998), The Prestige (2006) and Inception (2010), to examine whether Nolan possesses the qualities of an auteur and if so, does that imply an ideological view of what the auteur resembles or an artistic one.

The movements of German Expressionism and Japanese pre-war cinema produced trends greatly influenced by its historical context. These contexts contributed to shaping their own stylistic styles captured throughout the theme, mise-en-scene, and cultural ideologies. Although these two movements occurred in fairly similar time periods, they both occurred in different parts of the world which had a fundamental role in generating key contrasts between these movements. Both occurring in pre-war periods, a striking similarity existed between the two; they both displayed the economic instabilities. Both subtly exhibited the internal anxieties that the individuals faced in the differing societies. German Expressionism had the stylistic forms that in turn captured distorted images or grotesque style to convey an abstract sense of reality throughout 1920’s. On the other hand, the Japanese pre-war cinema expressed the humanistic family by displaying their everyday struggles of the lower middle class known as the “common people” during the 1930’s. Although these movements were individually unique throughout their distinct stylistic devices and ideologies, they essentially came together during this time period to help transform the art of national cinema.

Akira Kurosawa (Mar 23, 1910--Sep. 6, 1998) was a Japanese film director, screenwriter, producer, and editor. He directed 30 films in a career spanning 57 years. He was the surprise winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival. In 1990, he accepted the Academy Award for Lifetime. Kuorosawa contributed Japanese history, culture, and society through this movie to audiences. (Film)

When it comes to movies, many directors are good at their jobs. However, other directors are great in the art of film making. There is no doubt such statement is considered utterly subjective, but what would life be without subjectivity, for it is our differences that make us thrive against a monotonic existence. By the same token, Alfred Hitchcock and Christopher Nolan utilize their singularities to create films that for decades have impacted the movie making universe. In fact, it is their differences that provide us with a high contrast to compare and scrutinize their job and find what made them great at it.

The evaluation of a film assigns some form of value to a film and the experience you encountered while watching the film. Evaluation can imply the criteria and standards that you can argue about to place value on a film. Thus, giving people a reason to question a film to develop reasons, make such standards are met and to understand the film. These standards can stem from the classical evaluation and pluralistic-category method which has given viewers a blueprint of how you should properly evaluate a film. There are certain ways that you can go about judging a films effectiveness. For instance, the classical evaluation method imposes the use of cinematicity within three concepts that all films should have. Like medium specificity, cinematicity allows film to distinguish itself from theatre with the use of close-ups, camera movement, etc.; thus, creates a universal structure for critics to judge a film. This is based on the creative style of the director and how much the viewers admire the way the has stuck with its cinematicity. However, the pluralistic-category does not base its evaluation on style and opinion. In all, these types of evaluations are used in different ways which will be further explained throughout this essay.