Unit 26 Film Studies Assignment – Task 2
Is there a director you can identify as an auteur?
The word Auteur comes from the word Author, Auteur is known as the author of a film. Auteur’s usually would be known to have a specific style of film that they produce, in my own opinion they would be known to be in their own category.
One director who I would hands down describe as an auteur is Quentin Tarantino; Quentin Tarantino has a diverse ethic of how his films turn out to appear to the audience. By being a film director, screenwriter, producer and also an actor, Tarantino has a major strong point of knowing exactly what he wants from his films and how he wants it. Tarantino’s choice of landscape, music and the whole concept of his films turn out I believe only Tarantino could pull off, which proves my point of why I think he would be an excellent choice for an Auteur.
Tarantino’s films possess a vast range of elements, which are unique and class Tarantino to be a perfect example of an auteur; his scenes are full of random bursting energy, dialogue which is comparable to poetry and above all Quentin’s films have a end process of morals which he sends to the audience once the film has finished. The simplest ways for Tarantino to attract an audience is firstly his name, his name alone make Tarantino fans stimulated to witness what Tarantino produces, one way that I think Tarantino attracts his audience is also the choice of shots Tarantino decides to use for example; the choice of shots and locations Tarantino decides to use in his films, some people would consider to be long and may drag on for a while; this is what I would say makes Tarantino a unique director, because Tarantino’s long scenes have purpose to the audience. The choice of dialogue Quentin uses are music to the audiences ears. His use of non-linear story-lines would be another major factor, which would drive and audience to watch his films; his films are non-linear because Quentin juxtaposes the elegance of the locations alongside the use and manipulation of a characters status to bring a scene alive take this example;
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsX1wYLxSZ4)
In this opening scene of Inglorious Bastards Quentin Tarantino backs up the point I have made above; there hasn’t been many directors who would willingly decide to use a scene, which would last as long as Quentin’s do. As an audience you don’t grasp the mise en scene straight away as you do with most films, there is usually a build up and to replace clarity, which I find compelling, is Quentin exchanges clarity with anxiety by using extreme close-ups, the use of silence and by smartly using dialogue in the shot to reveal as little as possible to the audience but still tell a story.
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ew5EYd5_i6M)
In this opening scene of Kill Bill the first initial thought that would come into the audiences thought process is, what is happening? By opening the scene with a woman with a blood-soaked face automatically the audience get a feeling of uncertainty, fear and leaves the audience feeling as though they misunderstood something.
One other element that Tarantino uses which makes him a good example of an auteur is the choice of music that he uses, the music he uses I would class as retro and unique, I would class the times he decides to use the music to be asynchronous as Tarantino uses music that doesn’t fit the time period the song would’ve been made. Take Django unchained for example in Django Quentin uses hip-hop music, which is made in 2012 and juxtaposes it with a scene in the film which is set in 1858 and hip hop music would not have been close to being created in this time period.
Tarantino’s films often have elements of revenge-based storylines; in the duration of films the audience would always want the good guy to get what they want but when you place a good guy who doubles as a killer and have gory blood scenes this in my opinion makes the scene more exiting because the moment as an audience you see the good guy get what they want, that moment, is what the audience are waiting for.
Quentin often casts the same actors and actresses for his films he creates, I think he does this because working with people who are like minded to you and your casting crew, I feel that you will develop bonds on a personal and professional level and as a director you may decide to write scripts about a character which would perfectly suit the specific actor or actress the director has a good relationship with and you know who would be perfect for this role.
In addition to that, Quentin Tarantino is seen to spoil the characters and storyline of Kill Bill in Pulp Fiction. Tarantino has Uma Thurman release the characters traits, skills and abilities in Pulp Fiction years before Kill Bill was released and I find it rather ironic that Uma Thurman is in both, for example; watch from 38:35
http://putlocker.is/watch-pulp-fiction-online-free-putlocker.html
Here Quentin has revealed the basics of the storyline. There is a wide correlation between the two for the fact that I don’t believe this is coincidence. If not, this is another reason why Quentin is an excellent auteur, for the fact that he revealed another one of his films in Pulp Fiction. Its almost as though it is a clue.
The structures of Quentin’s film often if not always have elements of extreme violence, I think this makes his films unique to the rest, as most directors would show an iota of violence, Quentin goes all out by actively revealing what were not so used to seeing and I feel as though this makes Quentin a good auteur and makes audiences specifically wanting to see his films, because they are uncensored in that sense. Also Quentin’s structures of his films aren’t always from beginning to end, by this I mean in the majority of his films he chooses to have the conflict of the film at the beginning and divide the film into chapters as if he’s reading a book to the audience as seen in the below link of Kill Bill.
http://killbill.wikia.com/wiki/Kill_Bill:_Vol._1
The narrative Quentin chooses to use appears to the audience different to the narrative some directors choose to use. Quentin uses voice-overs, in some of his films to aid the audience to get a better understanding to the characters though process but one thing he uses which I find not many directors would be able to pull off effectively is the use of silence. Silence is effective and in my opinion is impressive. Silence is used at inconvenient moments in his film, which wouldn’t work for some directors but work just fine for Quintin.
In the above scene from Inglorious Basterds, this is a perfect example of my referral earlier to silence. Silence is used as well as pauses, hesitation and stutters to add dramatic effect. As a member of the audience, watching it I felt on edge and that is something Quentin Tarantino does best in my opinion.
Themes that Tarantino uses would usually be revenge/graphic violence action films, which the emphasis focuses on revenge. Quintin doesn’t like to be known or referred to as an auteur and his sole purpose is to entertain his audience, I think that Quintin is an auteur.
Overall I think Tarantino is a good auteur, by watching a Quentin Tarantino film, by the choice of landscape, the use of tension, uncertainty, morality and the high class of the beauty of a scene Tarantino utilizes and takes full advantage of it. From the choice of characters that Tarantino uses such as Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, John Travolta and Bradd Pitt I believe he purposefully chose these actors and actresses with automatic high energy to reinforce the mood and pace he has for his films. As Tarantino also appears on his films as usually a random character I believe he has a good relationship with his cast, has fun whilst doing so and still remaining professional.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VGrZ5ufvEFU – In almost every one of those shots from the bloopers you have Quentin either appearing on screen having a laugh or you can hear him in the background laughing. This is evidence that Quentin seems to have a good time whilst filming with his cast. Overall, I believe Quentin is an excellent auteur and has made mind glowingly amazing films.
ondreroach 