References

References

Filmography

À bout de soufflé, (1960) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France, Les Productions Georges de Beauregard [video:DVD]

High Sierra, (1941) directed by Raoul Walsh, America, Warner Bros. Pictures, [video:DVD]

Vivre sa vie, (1962) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France, Les Films de la Pleiade [video:DVD]

Soigne ta droite, (1987) directed byJean-Luc Godard, France, Gaumont, [video;DVD]

Sauve qui peut (la vie), (1980) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France, Sara Films [video:DVD]

Printed Reference

Kael, P. (1963) Circles And Squares, Film Quarterly, vol. 16, No. 3 ed. University of California Press

Sarris, A. (1962) "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962," in Film Culture Reader, P. Adams Sitney, ed. New York: Cooper Square Press,

Sterritt, D. (1998) “Jean Luc Godard: Interviews” University Press of Mississippi

Begery, B. (2002) “Reflections: Twenty-one cinematographers at work,” ASC Press, Hollywood.

Sontag S. (1964) On Godard's Vivre sa vie, Moviegoer, no. 2, Summer/Autumn

Online References

Essay on Tim Burton by Ruth Salcedo [Internet], available from: :http://sbccfilmreviews.org/?p=4356

Film Critic Roger Ebert on a bout de souffle [Internet], available from: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030720/REVIEWS08/307200301/1023

Hotel Scene in À bout de soufflé [Internet], available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHQ2Q-_bl8k

Conclusion

My aim of these series of blogs was to study the auteur film theory and to see how it and if it relates with the work of director Jean-Luc Godard. Earlier on in my CRS work I Studied the Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962 essay written by Andrew Sarris, it was written around the time of emergence of the theory and gave me an accurate look at the criteria that the film critics deemed you needed to suffice in, in order to earn the tag of auteur. In my opinion it was a necessity to use a guide written at the time to judge if someone is an auteur or not rather than one written in contemporary times as it seems to me the criterions to be known as one now seem to have slacked some what. It seems fairly easy these days to tag someone as an auteur.
The Guidelines in the essay mainly related to the quality of the films and the interior meaning. I then used Godard films such as A bout de Souffle, Vivre sa vie and Soigne ta doite, and paralleled them to criteria in the essay and in my opinion Godard should undoubtedly be known as an Auteur.
I then looked at criticism of the auteur film theory, I tried to use one of the more prominent opposes of it, and I felt that the film critic Pauline Kael was quite well known so I decided to use her. For her criticisms I made references to her book Circles and Squares, one of arguments was that you shouldn’t applaud someone for just having their own particular style as it is a universal thing to have your own style. I felt that this did not relate particularly to Goddard, as although he does have a strong personal stylistics it is the interior meaning of his film that is applauded. Another of her arguments was that filmmaking is a collaborative effort that involve a big team of people. This is very true and I agree that it does take a number of very skilled people to create a quality film, but because Godard writes, directs and sometimes produces and edits his own film In my opinion he side steps this criticism. In conclusion after my findings I believe that Goddard should be known as an auteur and a genre in his own rights.

Comparing Sarris' Criteria to Godard's work

In my previous blogs I have been delving into the Auteur film theory, Jean Luc-Godard and also studying whether Godard is an Auteur and if so are his films a genre in their own right.
I would now like to try applying the auteur criteria set out by Sarris that I had talked about in a previous blog entry. The first of which is stated by Sarris (1962: 662) is that, “The technical competence of a director as a criterion of value.” I think that Godard safely meets the goal for this rule, even though a lot of Godard’s earlier film work was quite low budget and minimalist there was still a great deal of craft and expertise in them. Film critic Susan Sontag described Vivre sa vie one of Godard’s most applauded films, as “A perfect film" and "One of the most extraordinary, beautiful, and original works of art that I know of.” (Sontag, 1964: 9). The fact that he was a very innovative and creative director I believe gives him an added dimension of technical Competency that some other directors do not have. Things such as giving rise to the jump cut and being one of the originators of the French New Wave. I believe all this makes him easily meet this criterion. Like other French new wave directors at the time such as Truffaut, Godard was not only directing his films but also writing them, this was a necessity at the time to being an Auteur and I believe it should still be, in his later years he then went on to taking an even more active role in the making of his films such as in his 1987 film Soignge ta Droite he also starred in it and was also the principle editor. He was also producing a large bulk of his films at that time such as in the film Sauve qui peut (la vie).

Sarris (1962: 662) next criterion was, “The distinguishable personality of the director as a criterion of value” Godard’s artistic personality I believe was very prominent in his films. The most obvious of his recurring themes is probably his dealings with Marxist philosophy, his intellectuality regarding poetry and literature and his cultural commentary war and politics. Throughout most of his filmography you can read a Marxist meaning in them, and also commodity fetishes, which is part of the Marxist theory. A good example of him using cultural writings in his films is in Vivre sa vie in which he makes reference to the work of Montaigne, Baudelaire, Zola and Edgar Allen Poe. In my opinion I believe that Godard passes this second criterion. “The third and ultimate premise of the auteur theory is concerned with interior meaning, the ultimate glory of the cinema as an art. Interior meaning is extrapolated from the tension between a director’s personality and his material.” As I have said before in this last rule it is based on the problems that the director meets while filming and how he overcame then using his own intuition. (Sarris, 1962: 662) This was the hardest one for me to prove, as these aren’t as well documented as the rest. One example I did find though was that Almost the whole film of Breathless had to be dubbed in postproduction because of the noisiness of the Cameflex camera, (Begery, 2002: 201). Godard is also well known for his take on organizing a film and instructing the actors, he often uses his policy of writing the screen play the day before filming and then asking the actors to improvise as much as possible. After the research that I have looked at I believe that Godard passes this too.

Filmography

Soigne ta droite, (1987) directed byJean-Luc Godard, France, Gaumont, [video;DVD]

Sauve qui peut (la vie), (1980) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France, Sara Films [video:DVD]

À bout de soufflé, (1960) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France, Les Productions Georges de Beauregard [video:DVD]

Vivre sa vie, (1962) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France,

Les Films de la Pleiade, [video:DVD]

Printed Reference

Begery, B. (2002) “Reflections: Twenty-one cinematographers at work,” ASC Press, Hollywood.

Sontag S. (1964) On Godard's Vivre sa vie, Moviegoer, no. 2, Summer/Autumn

Sarris, A. (1962) "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962," in Film Culture Reader, P. Adams Sitney, ed. New York: Cooper Square Press,

Pauline Kael's Criticism of the Auteur Theory

Some people have been critical of Andrew Sarris’ essay, and also then reject the notion of filmmakers having the right to be called an Auteur. One of the main voices on the side of this argument was US film critic Pauline Kael. Sarris and Kael also frequently feuded about the subject on the pages of the New Yorker and also other film magazines. In this extract she is noticeably critical abo

ut the auteur philosophy. “Sarris has noticed that in High Sierra (not a very good movie) Raoul Walsh repeated an uninteresting and obvious device that he had earlier used in a worse movie. And for some inexplicable reason, Sarris concludes that he would not have had this joy of discovery without the auteur theory.” (Kael, 1979: 667). In this exert Kael says in her stony eyed way, that why are we reading into the unattractive parts of a filmmakers work, and praising them for repeatedly allowing these flaws to be repeated throughout the filmmakers filmography and then on top of this calling him or her an auteur? Although some people may feel very differently about the quality of Raoul Walsh’s work, this is though a very strong argument. Another of her main disagreements with Sarris’ Notes on the Auteur Theory is that it disregards directors that have great technical competency. For example Hayao Miyazaki is a master of his craft. He writes and directs all of his film, but also has a strict hand on attitude for all aspects of his fil

ms, as he knows distinctly how he wants his film to be. This is because he has had experience in his earlier life as an animator and concept artist, skills that helped him to cofound his own production company Studio Ghibli. But there has not been much debate whether Hayao Miyazaki should be thought of as an auteur, this something that Kael believes is very unjust, as some people maybe are saying that style is more important than substance.

Her argument with the second of Sarris’ criteria that the directors personality, his or her “stylistic personality’ should be displayed through the film. Is something that she believes goes against the train of thought that we have for all other art forms. As you are able to see from this exert. “Traditionally, in any art, the personalities of all those involved in a production have been a factor in judgment, but that the distinguishability of personality should in itself be a criterion of value completely confuses normal judgment. The smell of a skunk is more distinguishable than the perfume of a rose; does that make it better?” (Kael, 1979: 671). In this she raises the argument that why should we congratulate people who have distinctive style to their work even if it isn’t that great to begin with? Also stating that saying people have a particular style to their work is a very simplis

tic approach. As through out history people have always thought of artists having different style whether they are musicians, artists or writers. This personality trait is by no such means something that is unique to film.

Printed References

Kael, P. (1963) Circles And Squares, Film Quarterly, vol. 16, No. 3 ed. University of California Press

Filmography

High Sierra, (1941) directed by Raoul Walsh, America, Warner Bros. Pictures, [video:DVD]

Studying Andrew Sarris' Theories on Auteurism

In these blogs I have been trying to decipher whether the work of Auteur Film maker Jean Luc Godard could be said to be a genre in their own right. But I think it is important to objectively decide whether Jean Luc Godard has the right to be even called an auteur. So I will research into the criterion that as an auteur is needed.
US film critic Andrew Sarris was one of the first people especially outside of European cinema to start talking about the auteur filmmaking method, in 1962 he wrote Notes on the Auteur Theory It was this essay in which the term Auteur theory was first coined, in it he states what he believes the criteria are to become an Film Auteur. The first is to have technical competency so that you are able to make a great film, this is being technically sufficient in all aspects of the film production such as editing, lighting, writing so that you can demonstrate how you want your film to be made. In this extract Sarris (1962: 662) states it as being one of the criteria

for being an auteur.” The technical competence of a director as a criterion of value.” His next point was that an auteur should distinguish a personal style over time, a “Stylistic Signature”, as Sarris (1962: 662) Stated in this quote.” The distinguishable personality of the director as a criterion of value”

A contemporary auteur that is well known for his “Stylistic Signature” is Tim Burton. His style is summed up well in this extract from an essay by Ruth Salcedo (sbccfilmreviews) “Edward Scissorhands (1990), Sleepy Hollow (1999) an

d Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street (2007) all illustrate Burton’s alienation themes, his narrative and gothic tendencies concerning outsiders and how innocence is eradicated by society. He emphasizes the bizarre, and incorporates elements of his obsession with 1950s horror movies in his intuitive and highly imaginative mise-en-scene.” Another point put forth in Sarris’ (1962: 663) essay is to include in your film, interior meaning.” The third and ultimate premise of the auteur theory is concerned with interior meaning, the ultimate glory of the cinema as an art. Interior meaning is extrapolated from the tension between a director’s personality and his material.” Interior meaning is also the most difficult of the three tiers of conditions, It means that the film should have subconsciously been given an extra dimension of meaning as the director struggles with problems while making the film and then over coming them in his own unique style.

Filmography

Sleepy Hollow, (1999) directed by Tim Burton, USA, Paramount Pictures, [DVD]

Edward Scissorhands, (1990) directed by Tim Burton, USA, Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation, [DVD]

Sweeney Todd: The demon Barber of Fleet Street, (2007) directed by Tim Burton, USA, Dreamworks Pictures [DVD]

Printed References

Sarris, A. (1962) "Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962," in Film Culture Reader, P. Adams Sitney, ed. New York: Cooper Square Press,

Online References

Essay on Tim Burton by Ruth Salcedo [Internet], available from: :http://sbccfilmreviews.org/?p=4356

Introduction to the world of Jean Luc-Godard

Jean Luc Godard is rightfully reflected back upon as an auteur film director; one of the primary focuses for auteur directors of the French new wave movement was to make a point against the Hollywood directors at the time whose films were being met with more commercial success, but lacked the artistry and substance that their French equivalent were producing. In this 1968 interview Jean Luc Godard talks about his feeling on the subject, “We have to fight the audience” (Sterrit, 1998: 7). By this I feel that Godard was saying that he doesn’t want to release films with little meaning for the sake of releasing a film, But instead you should show films to stimulate the audience and make them think on subjects they might not usually. And treated with more respect then to have a dumbed down product sold to them. He later goes on to say, I am trying to change the world, yes.” (Sterrit, 1998: 7). This is a common point of view from among Auteurs. Like many other Auteurs Godard equates himself with being a film critic as much as he does film being a filmmaker. He actually helped to create the Auteur film genre that he would later become a figurehead for, while writing for French film magazines such as Cahiers du Cinema. I believe that to become an auteur you do need to have strong opinions on what makes and of course what doesn’t a good film, also being an intellect knowing the philosophy and theory behind films, puts you in a better position to make a significant film.

I have been studying a certain scene from Jean Luc Godard’s 1960 film Breathless (A bout de soufflé) starring Jean Seberg & Jean-Paul Belmondo. It was Jean Luc Godard’s first feature film, and at the time it was and still is heralded for its innovativeness. It has been a major influence for films since and set a precedent for film noir films still come.

As said by Film critic Roger Ebert (Rogerebert.suntimes.com) “ The movie was a crucial influence during Hollywood's 1967-1974 golden age. You cannot even begin to count the characters played by Pacino, Beatty, Nicholson, Penn, who are directly descended from Jean-Paul Belmondo's insouciant killer Michel.” The film also was one of the first cases of the jump cut edit being used. George Melies had already used it, although when he did it he tried to make the cuts seamless to perform camera tricks. Godard used the technique for stylistic reasons. I believe making evolutionary steps like Godard did with introducing the jump cut, is definitely the mark of a natural auteur.
This clip is a prime example of Godard’s use of jump cuts, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eHQ2Q-_bl8k.

Filmography

À bout de soufflé, (1960) directed by Jean-Luc Godard, France, Les Productions Georges de Beauregard [video:DVD]

Printed References

Sterritt, D. (1998) “Jean Luc Godard: Interviews” University Press of Mississippi


Online References

Film Critic Roger Ebert on a bout de souffle http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20030720/REVIEWS08/307200301/1023

Introduction

In Critical Studies we have been set a new project, which is set around the concept of genre. So far we have been learning about such genres as the American Western and how far this term can actually used for films that don’t look like westerns on first glance. We have also looked at the British Film genre of social realism, we as a class watched one of the first British films to concentrate on exploring social realism outside of the middle and upper classes in 20^th century Britain. It was ‘Saturday night, Sunday morning’.

When talking about this it also led on to talking about Marxist film theory, as Saturday night, Sunday morning seems to hold lots of Marxist connotations. After looking into marxism in films on the internet, i discovered i director who is well known for the marxist context in his films.
For my research I will be looking at the work of French New Wave director Jean-Luc Godard. Born in 1930 he was a prominent member of the French New Wave movement that went on in France between the nineteen fifties to the nineteen sixties. Others directors who were involved in this movement include Claude Chabrol, Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer and Francios Truffant.

Jean Luc Godard was a theorist and included a lot of philosophy in his work, he used a lot of Marxism theories in his work, looking at Marxism theory in the British New Wave interested me somewhat but i have decided not to research into this as it doesn't relate that well to the genre topic that we undertaking. Instead I be researching in the Auteur film theory and that do auteur film directors such as Godard and Hitchcock become genres in themselves.