Film Director

Articles on Films | Topics: films, film

by Orlan Ingram

Movies, it is said, are a director's medium. Many people are involved in making a movie but the film director has the final say in the creative process. Making a film is like putting a giant jigsaw puzzle together. It is a skill that requires the ability to see the broader canvas as well as each brush stroke.

Many of the early directors came to Hollywood from Europe. Nowadays, film is studied at film schools but the pioneers had to learn as they went along. Some people refer to the 1940s and 1950s as the golden age when actors and actresses were treated like royalty. The film director had to get around the censor and persuade producers and studios to allow them to experiment.

It's not easy to predict which movies will be box office hits. It only takes one flop for a director to struggle to get other projects. Films carry enormous budgets and producers want their returns. Major studios are happy to put out sequel after sequel and movies that have a winning formula. Most cinemagoers are between the age of fifteen and twenty five and that market is heavily targeted.

Historical Quote

There are indeed many ways in which filmgoing is like dreaming; but the likeness is always qualified. Films are like dreams in involving one in a world whose course one cannot control, but unlike them in that their world does not incorporate the dream of effort and participation. Filmed reality shares with dreamed reality (as nothing else does)Television does not dominate or insist, as movies do. It is not sensational, but taken for granted. Insistence would destroy it, for its message is so dire that it relies on being the background drone that counters silence. For most of us, it is something turned on and off as we would the light. It is a service, not a luxury or a thing of choice.

—David Thomson, U.S. film historian. America in the Dark: The Impact of Hollywood Films on American Culture, ch. 8, William Morrow (1977)

Auteur is a much used term, to denote those directors that bring a personal style to their films. Certain directors have such a formidable reputation, that audiences are drawn to a film for that reason alone. Alfred Hitchcock was one such film director, who always delivered edge of the seat tension. David Lean was known for his sweeping epics, such as Lawrence of Arabia. Today, Quentin Tarantino promises films with eccentric, fast-talking characters and explosive action.

The 1970s brought the blockbuster into the public consciousness. George Lucas is credited, or blamed, depending on your point of view. His Star Wars series launched the idea of aggressive marketing of merchandise and promotion of a franchise. Sometimes, merchandise can earn more revenue than the film itself. The world of the sequel was born. This can be a good or bad thing. It can be argued that the Rocky films and the Jaws films represent the law of diminishing returns, with each sequel inferior to the one before. However, the recent Spider-Man series has been critically acclaimed.

Independent films struggle to find financial backing in this fiercely commercial world. The film director, who has a vision but no major studio support, has a long road to travel. These kinds of film can usually win hearts and minds at film festivals. Sometimes, they even break into the big time, as with the independent feature, Little Miss Sunshine.

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "Film Director" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by MoviesFilms101.com.

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