Auteur Theory

Auteur Theory

Auteur theory, the theory of film making in which the director is viewed as the major creative force in creating motion pictures. This movement rose in the 1940's as part of the 'French New Wave'. The auteur theory holds that the director, who does oversee all the elements in motion pictures, is considered the 'author' of the movie instead of the writer of the screenplay. In other words, the look, feel, sound involving all the extra details from lighting, scene length and camera placement convey the message of the film instead of words/dialogue. Supporters of the auteur theory further contend that the most cinematically successful films will bear the unmistakable personal stamp of the director (trademark).

Classic examples

Christopher Nolan:

Batman Begins, Interstellar, Inception, Memento, and Dunkirk. His own words "Breaking rules isn't interesting.".

His trademarks include: Non-linear storytelling, ambiguous Heroes/Anti-heroes, Character perspective, strong light/darkness to show character development, Easter eggs/connections.

Alfred Hitchcock:

The 39 Steps, The Lady Vanishes, Rebecca, Shadow Of A Doubt, Notorious, Strangers On A Train, North By Northwest, Psycho, The Birds. His owns words "I am a typed director. If I made Cinderella, the audience would immediately be looking for a body in the coach."
His trademarks include: A world dominated be emotional dysfunction, voyeurism, sexual guilt, innocent men accused, icy blondes, overpowering mothers and psycho killers all played out ending with a chase over a famous landmark.

This theory is very important and will incorporated in my work at this year in BSA206. I will be looking at a film/director and creating my own scene using their style.

Possible directors/companies that I know and what they commonly have/use in their films

Disney: Fairy tale like, princesses finding a prince and living happily ever after. Musical with singing numbers and classic character arcs. Recent Disney does defy these 'Disney classics' but has similarities. Uses fantastic story basses in old fairy tales. Everything is pretty clean and dusted. Would never show much fighting at all. This is a studio, where a team comes with the idea.

Studio Ghibli: About a young girl being the hero. Not needing a prince/man to save her. Always has an aspect of flying within the film. Looks more into imagination and fantastic creatures. Not afraid to have 'ugly' animation (I like how they do slime, fat rolls, sweat and other undesired things). Also has aspects of looking into war. The ideas all come from one man, not a team.

These two companies are very different in contrast.