Essay Sample on Auteur Theory: Investigating the Director's Vision

Introduction

Auteur theory postulates that the creator/author of a film is the same as the film's director. The theory illustrates that the vision of the director is the main film's reflection. The theory was first identified back in the 1940s in France (Staples, 1966). The viewer can be able to tell if a film follows the auteur theory or not by paying attention to its visual tropes and themes. An auteur film has consistent, recognizable recurring themes and visual elements, which include blocking, placement of the camera, scene length, and lighting, which conveys the film message unlike in other films where the message is conveyed by the plot line. New wave, a French cinematic film, was the groundwork stone which was then advanced in 1951 in Cahiers du cinema, Bazin's periodical (Staples, 1966). The main directors of the film, New wave, were Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut. However, some criteria are used to identify and describe an auteur director, which is of the main focus in this study, and with examples, ways in which the director meets the criteria will get addressed. The distinctive techniques applied by auteur directors that differ from those applied by regular directors will be of interest in this study.

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Criteria of an Auteur Director

Various measures can get applied while grouping directors as auteur. First and foremost, directors are not only leaders in auteur films but also the creators/authors of the script too. The other criteria are that they own the film, and their fingerprints can be viewed and traced on each aspect and part of the film (Staples, 1966). A director is referred to as an auteur if, aside from being the director of the film is also said to possess artistic creativity, which makes their work prominent. An auteur director expresses their styles in the film rather than following the plot lines. Their personality gets reflected in the film, and individual life experiences get portrayed in the film; thus, the films appear more lively and enjoyable in the viewer's view. Yet another principle that gets used to group a director as an auteur is that their work is said to have certain characteristic styles that are recurrent (Staples, 1966). The styles then serve as their signature in their work.

Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is one among the greatest directors who get believed to poses criteria explained in the auteur theory. For instance, in his films, Scorsese mostly creates a protagonist character who then proves their imbalance lives through their actions. Scorsese grew in an immoral society; thus, his films bring out the experiences and hardships he underwent for others to feel what it is to be in such a society(Grist, 2000). He is very selective of his actors and prefers sticking to specific ones whom he thinks brings out his ideas well. All of his films have recurring aesthetics, pacing, and themes, which are characteristic of an auteur film. Scorsese uses a lot of creativity in his films, which brings out their uniqueness. For instance, he brings in the use of montage and narration. Blending the two brings out the robust in the film. More information is narrated in a way that the modern generation appreciates, and thus, more informative information is passed on very quickly (Grist, 2000). He also uses diegetic sound and music, which adds uniqueness. Camera placement and movement also show how high creativity is implemented in it. The use of dolly zooms and the ability to use tracking shots make the films so unique.

Goodfellas and the Departed

Martin Scorsese has portrayed the auteur theory criteria in all his films. Given, for instance, in the Goodfellas film, the unique incorporation of the freeze frames in the opening scene makes the film auteur. In the film, Scorsese uses a real-life story of a gangster and brings out the story so as to appear so real in the eyes of the viewers (Grist, 2000). The Goodfellas uses long scene lengths to be able to communicate the message properly to all viewers. With the use of narration in it, the viewer can feel what is happening and visualize it with real-life experiences. The film utilized the use of sub-stories inside the main story, which brought out the uniqueness of the film. The author, who in this case is the director too, uses well-trained characters whose performances are impressive, thus capturing the audience's attention. For instance, Frank Vincent is one recognized actor used in the film, and he acted as Billy Batts, who is the guy that got shot at the beginning of the film while in the car trunk (Grist, 2000). Scorsese's choice of songs in the movie makes it sound so unique. The beautiful shots and the songs incorporated in the film illustrates the movie so perfectly and leaves the viewers feeling like part of it. However, in the film Departed, Scorsese can control the emotions of the viewers by making the use of certain music, shots, and long tracking (Raymond, 2013). The film gets based on real-life stories too. The theme of identity applied in the film is found to appear in all aspects of the film. For instance, it gets found to affect the emotions, actions, dreams, and even self-assurance of individuals. Son to father relationship is also repeated in almost all parts of the film (Grist, 2000). For example, Costigan and Sullivan are fathered by Costello, While Queenan fathers Costello. Sullivan refers to Costello as a father each time he wants to inform him of the police's progress.

Unique Techniques Applied by Martin Scorsese

Martin Scorsese is one of the film directors/authors with unique techniques that make his film distinguishable from the rest. Firstly, most of his films begin with segments obtain from the end or middle of the story (Grist, 2000). For instance, the Goodfellas film, as illustrated above, begins with a scene of a guy who gets shot while in the car trunk. It gives the viewer the urge to want to know what conspired to that act. Scorsese also applies the slow-motion techniques like in the film The Wolf of Wall Street, Teddy's hallucinations and dreams all expressed in slow motion to put more emphasis on his false beliefs. Scorsese also makes the song source visible on the screen and the use of long tracking shots (Grist, 2000). Like in the Goodfellas film, the tracking shot used is when Henry Hill and Karen, his future wife, went through the Copacabana nightclub basement and ended at a table that got newly prepared. Scorsese uses gangster characters like in the film Departed and Goodfellas, to portray how immoral society is.

Martin Scorsese Vs. Peers

Scorsese utilizes the use of real-life stories often to portray his ideas. At the same time, most of the directors, like Tarantino, uses hyperrealism to portray his ideas, thus making Scorsese appear more unique since he can capture the viewer's emotions fully. Scorsese's cinematography technique has also added some bonus to his films compared to his peers. He can play with the camera's movement and angles in a way that appears unique compared to his peers. Incorporating the dolly zoom, how he moves the camera in a fast but unique motion makes his work unique (Grist, 2000). His ability to capture objects, images and sounds are also so unique as compared to his peers since he appears to recall each film, thus showing his mastery.

Conclusion

In conclusion, auteur theory illustrates how the film director acts as the creator of the same film too. Directors that are experts in filmmaking implements the use of this theory to bring the outstanding nature of the film and make them different from the rest. The theory features the unique techniques applied by the directors in the filmmaking. Martin Scorsese's work is an example of the auteur films as illustrated above.

References

Grist, L. (2000). The films of Martin Scorsese, 1963-77: authorship and context. Springer. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1057/9780230286146.pdf

Raymond, M. (2013). Hollywood's New Yorker: The Making of Martin Scorsese. SUNY Press. Retrieved from https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=ewk7zzNSLmgC&oi=fnd&pg=PR3&dq=martin+scorsese+auteur+theory&ots=_3pMe4rvxi&sig=wkrL3GM_faT37lb7hiCgC8NAyrg

Staples, D. E. (1966). The auteur theory reexamined. Cinema Journal, 6, 1-7. Retrieved from https://www.jstor.org/stable/1225411