Narrative Theory?
Editing Theory?
Classic Hollywood Cinema?
New Hollywood Cinema?
French New Wave?
The Irishman(2019)
Joker (2019)
Jojo Rabbit (2019)
Parasite(2019)
Kill Bill V1 or 2(2003-2004)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Strike
Dunkirk
Interstellar
what did Astruc mean by the term ‘auteur’?
Astruc was a theorist who theorised the concept camera-stylo(camera-pen) which explored the idea that the director was more of an author, if the director controls both visual and audio elements such as camera placement, blocking, scene length and shot type then they are conveying the message of the film so instead of the screenplay writer being the author the director should be instead.
Astruc’s auteur theory can be seen to be heavily derived from the concept ‘camera-stylo’. Essentially Auteur theory explains how ‘auteur’ directors work will have a unique look/feel, so much so that if you have seen their other work you will be able to tell that it’s their work when viewing other films of theirs. Examples of Auteur directors during the french new wave are Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol and Louis Malle who were all associated with the film magazine Cahiers du cinéma, the publication that popularized the auteur theory in the 1950s.
UFA, a German film studio, was established in 1917 when the German government consolidated most of the nation’s leading studios. They did this to promote the German Culture while also making propaganda for the war. UFA soon opened multiple theatres around Germany and with UFA broadening their film genre the company began to rise, a film which instigated this would be Berlin’s lavish Film Palast am Zoo with the premiere of Lubitsch’s Madame Dubarry (1919; also released as Passion), an international hit that did much to open the door for German films in countries where they had been banned since the war.
Later, in 1923, the company acquired one of the worlds largest production companies as a result of its merger with the film company Decla Bioscop. However Hollywood films became increasingly popular in germany resulting in UFA having a financial crisis and making low budget films for the next few years
!927, on the brink of financial devastation the company was bought by Alfred Hugenberg, a future Hitler supporter. The company then went bankrupt in 1945.
The expressionist art movement was made to rebel against traditional bourgeois art which demanded aesthetic and culture, so art during this movement can not be distinguished by a singular style or method.
“German Expressionism art took inspiration from artists such as Edvard Munch, El Greco, and Vincent van Gogh. Artists were less concerned with producing work that held aesthetic value and instead focused on creating compositions that had the ability to emit powerful reactions when viewed. This was done by combining jagged brush marks, incongruous colours, and simplistic shapes, which were all authentic German Expressionism characteristics. Thus, the style created went against what was considered traditional art.”
“The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari is known for the skewed, anxiety-provoking angles that made up its painted backdrops, as well as its hauntingly gruesome storyline. Wiene hired Expressionist painters Hermann Warm and Walter Reimann to create the sets used in the background. The two artists wanted to challenge the formal techniques associated with Modernism and went on to use perception, absurd patterns, and rough lines to create a macabre world.
This film can be viewed as representing the absurdity displayed in the war, as Cesare is symbolic of the innocent soldiers who were forced to kill others under the control of the government, represented by Dr. Caligari. Thus, German Expressionism existed as the appropriate movement to help employ the sense of anxiety and uneasiness that was felt throughout Germany in the aftermath of World War One.”
Source: https://artincontext.org/german-expressionism/
The Weimar Republic, officially named German Reich, appeared in 1919, which was a year after WW1 ended. WW1 left Germany in substantial debt and thus its currency losing value, this meant that filmmakers couldn’t make films to the extent of other parts of the world due to shortages of film stock et cetera, although this unique and depressing era of Germany spawned German Expressionism in film. German Expressionism came around in the 1920’s when the Weimar Republic started to slowly recover from the debts left from the war, German Expressionism was seen to illustrate the toll of the war on the people of Germany, one way this was seen was the unique and skewed Mise-En-Scene, an example of this is shown in Figure 1 and 2
‘The Union Forever!’
This is my favourite scene because I feel it can be seen as very elaborate from a micro-element aspect. For example, the mise-en-scene includes elaborate blocking which allows the viewer to see who is in power in the scene, the mother is closest to the screen because she is the one making the decision, a decision which Mr Thatcher is entertaining and/or persuading her to make so, therefore, he is second closest to the camera. On the other hand the father is obviously shown to be distanced from them to show that he has little to no control in this situation, the wall on the right of figure 1 almost acts as framing to illustrate the idea that Mr Thatcher and Mrs Kane are creating a figurative wall between the 3 off them which is further supported by the fact that the father is the one who disagrees with the two but because of his lack of control in the situation, his word becomes meaningless. To further emphasise this sense of power/control Welles uses a tracking shot to follow Mrs Kane to the window which then cuts to a medium close-up (MCU) which uses diegetic gaze to emphasise not only hers but all seen characters thoughts and opinions on the situation while also maintaining the elaborate blocking of the characters. Welles creates a detailed soundscape which not only furthers the verisimilitude by creating a believable atmosphere but includes all the characters, this ensures that the viewer is aware that Kanes’ mother can hear her child playing but still signs over guardianship without displaying any emotion.
Explain how the production context influenced the ‘look and feel’ of the end product.
Citizen Kane was the first movie Orson Welles co-wrote, directed and produced. Welles was given a surprising amount of creative control from RKO studios, this was because he was seen as a theatrical genius so Hollywood wanted to ‘woo’ him from the theaters of New York. This amount of creative control meant he was free to choose the cast as well as to write, direct, produce, edit, and act in the film he created. The film’s budget was originally $500,000, which was a substantial amount for an unproven filmmaker, but Welles managed to surpass this and the films total expense totalled $839,727. Welles’ young age and high budget may of affected the ‘look and feel’ of the end product since he had the money to experiment with his ‘new’ ideas, for example, Chiaroscuro lighting, extreme high and low angle shots, mirror shots and elaborate blocking.
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