Auteur
The term ‘auteur’ is a french word which when translated into english is “author”. Auteur theory is a director’s vision or trade mark. When you watch a film from a certain director you can tell it’s them because of certain elements which are seen in pervious films. A film maker who uses distinctive style and has its own signature theme.These are not consider as films but pieces of art and director’s creation. The Auteur theory was first introduced by famous film director, Francois Truffaut in the 1950’s. In was developed more in the US a few years later and now its become a common concept.
Tim Burton
Timothy Walter “Tim” Burton is an american film maker, he was born on August 25 in California. He is a well-known director in the film industry. He has made a number of film like Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas, Batman, Batman Returns, Planet of the Apes, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and Alice in Wonderful. His films are very unique and can sometimes be artistic. He always put his signature style and uses repetitive themes in his movies. He uses his passion for art and animation in some of his films, this for me helps him to create a distinctive style.
One of his blockbuster movies is “Edward Scissorhands”
Edward scissorhands is a movie about a young man who was created by an inventor. The inventor creates him as a young boy with the only exception of his hands. Instead of hands he places scissors as a replacement. He calls his new creation Edward and is taken to live with a family. There he meets his neighbour’s daughter and fall in love with her.
Tim Burton in this film puts his signature style which is a gothic mood. In most of his film the mood of the film is very gothic and dark. Edward Scissorhand is a clear example of this and we see this contiguously in his other films. Another element of auteur is having repetitive themes for example in Edward Sissorhands the lead character is an outcast in society this is also seen in the film the Batman. The main character which in this case, Bruce Wayne has to keep his identity a secret also he is living a double life. It also seen in the “Planet of Apes”, Captain Leo is the human being in the planets.
Burton is also famous for his animation work, he has done films like “The Nightmare before Christmas” and “Corpse Bride”. These’s two film are very similar in the way they look. The main characters of these two films look very alike. Burton has a background in stop motion graphic which you can tell by these amazing movies. Even these two films have the same feel to it, they are very dark and share a fantasy theme. The lighting is also very dark and deep which a feeling tense and build up of suspense, this makes his film more interesting.
Another element of an auteur is using the same actors. Johnny Depp and his partner, Helena Bonham Carter most of the time feature in his film. When see both for these actors in the same film its most likely it a Tim Burton film. Having these actors remind us that we are watching one of his films. I believe Burton uses these actors because he know them on and off set this makes him know what they and cant do. It also makes a work relationship much better as they already have a relationship. I also think Burton knows what the final out-come of their performance might be.
Another trademark Burton has which I could tell from his movies is the make-up. The make-up of the actors tent to be very white and pale. Look at the picture above you can see the main characters have this whitish face and their make-up is bright colors. Even in the animation movies he’s made have the same feel and like.
The title sequences/opening is his movies are often beginning with a camera running through or following something.
Example: Corpse Bride, 2005
Example: Beetlejuice, 1988
Another one of Burton trademarks is having Dinner table scenes in films. We see this Dark Shadows, Batman, Beetlejuice, and Plant of the Apes.
Most Tim Burton films he uses the same composer, who scores his films. Danny Elfman is a long time friends of Burton and he has scored most of his films. This is another example of Burton using a friend because he knows how they work together. Here is a list of the films he has score for Burton. Using the same composer is another point in favor to Tim Burton being an auteur.
Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
Beetlejuice
Batman
Edward Scissorhands
Batman Returns
Mars Attack
Sleepy Hollow
Planet of the Apes
Big Fish
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Corpse Bride
Alice in Wonderland
Dark Shadows
Frankenweenie
All of these factors led to Tim Burton being known as an auteur. We known when see one of his films these elements we will shown. Having the auteur theory is good at the end of the day the director is the one with the vision. Everyone that works to make the director’s vision come true. They are an important part of the process but if they didn’t have the vision of the director they wouldn’t know what to do. They’ll just be people who have an amazing skill. I think that everyone in the film process is an important part of the movie. The director wouldn’t be able to do everyone job on set but he does give the direction. Both people are important part of the making of any film. I do believe in the auteur theory it’s what the director see and it is his creation. A creation always needs a creator and the creator is the director in the case Tim Burton. I see it has like another band just like nike all of their project have their trademark tick logo. It’s the same with films each director has it own trademark telling us that this is his inventions.
I think its very useful to identify certain individuals as auteurs. It helps is the audience to put films in categories even more then genres. Because the genre categories are very wide ranging but if you’ve watched a film by a certain director then there’s more a possibility of liking other of his or her films. Having directors known as auteurs indicates to us what to expect in a film. Just like Tim Burton is known for he’s gothic mood, theme, actors, and composers.
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