Spike Lee Kevin Smith and Alfred Hitchcock as Film Auteurs
analytical Essay
2016 words
Spike Lee Kevin Smith and Alfred Hitchcock as Film Auteurs
In the film industry, there are directors who merely take someone else’s vision and express it in their own way on film, then there are those who take their own visions and use any means necessary to express their visions on film. The latter of these two types of directors are called auteurs. Not only do auteurs write the scripts from elements that they know and love in life, but they direct, produce, and sometimes act in their films as well. Three prime examples of these auteurs are: Kevin Smith, Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock.
Kevin Smith has make the grueling trek from an unknown, extremely low-budget filmmaker to a well known and respected filmmaker thanks to the help of his vision to stick to the basics. His films are about normal, middle class life adding elements of humor, drugs, and the daily struggle of blue-collar workers.
Smith was born and raised in Red Bank, New Jersey. He grew up going to the very same Quick-E Mart in which his first widely received film, Clerks, took place (www.uidaho.edu). Smith always uses his own experiences as a lower-middle class male in New Jersey to compile his scripts, and adds his own humor as well as the humor of recurring actors who appear in his films. His four semi-cult hit films are (in order of production): “Clerks”, “Mallrats”, “Chasing Amy” and “Dogma”. In all four of these films, Kevin Smith wrote the scripts, directed, produced and made appearances in the films.
Smith not only acts in all of the films, but also acts the same character in all the films. Jay and Silent Bob are two characters that make appearances in every one of Kevin Smith’s films. These characters are based on characters that Smith made up in his comic book entitled “Jay and Silent Bob.” Smith always plays the role of Silent Bob and Jay is always played by actor Jason Mewes.
Most of Smith’s films deal with a few twenty-somethings trying to overcome the basic obstacle of avoiding boredom. While there are always off-color and slightly controversial bits of conversations in his first films, Smith approached a slightly more controversial topic than usual in his last film, “Dogma.” “Dogma” starred Matt Damon and Ben Affleck as two fallen angels that would do anything to get their wings back. Smith took this opportunity to make a film in which he could fin...
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...t have an ultimate goal to express something they care about on film. They must not only express this in their script, but carry through on it by directing, producing and pulling together many other aspects of the film by themselves. Three filmmakers that fit this description to a “t” are Kevin Smith, Spike Lee and Alfred Hitchcock. These three men all went out with the same goal: To express their views of life in extraordinary films. They all went above and beyond their call of duty and are now ranked among the top filmmakers of history, the rank of film auteurs.
Bibliography:
Works Cited
Andrew, Geoff. Stranger than Paradise. Limelight: New York, NY. 1987.
Lee, Spike and Lisa Jones. Uplift the Race: the Construction of School
Daze. Fireside: New York, NY. 1988.
Smith, Jessie Carney. Black Heroes of the Twentieth Century. Visible Ink.: Detroit, MI. 1998.
Truffaut, Francois. HItchcock. Simon and Scheuster: New York, NY. 1983
www.eFilmCritic.com. HBS Entertainment. 1998-2000.
www.uidaho.edu/~purc3906/kevbio.htm. University of Idaho. Last updated November 2, 2000.
www.zap2it.com/TVPeopleprofiles. Tribune Media Services. 2000.
In this essay, the author
- Explains that auteurs are directors who take someone else's vision and express it in their own way on film. they direct, produce, and sometimes act in films.
- Describes kevin smith's journey from an unknown, low-budget filmmaker to a well-known and respected filmmaker. his films are about normal, middle-class life adding elements of humor, drugs, and the daily struggle of blue-collar workers.
- Explains that kevin smith was born and raised in red bank, new jersey. he grew up going to the same quick-e mart in which his first widely received film, clerks, took place.
- Explains that smith plays the same character in all of kevin smith's films. jay and silent bob are based on characters smith made up in his comic book.
- Analyzes how smith's films deal with a few twenty-somethings trying to overcome the basic obstacle of avoiding boredom. in his last film, "dogma," he tried to vent his anger about his religion and how boring it is.
- Explains that smith has taken everyday occurrences, added humor and obscenity, and crafted them into scripts and produced full-length films in which he also acted. after the film was fully shot, smith edited all of his films.
- Explains that spike lee stirred up controversy with the content of his films within the film world and had to create them with little outside help.
- Explains that shelton jackson lee was born in 1956 as the son of a jazz musician and an art professor. he became interested in the arts after graduating from moorehouse college. his graduate film, "the bed-stuy barbershop: we cut heads," received an academy award.
- Analyzes how lee's next film, "she’s gotta have it," reversed the stereotype of black men cheating on their girlfriends with, sometimes, many, different women. it attacked black versus white racism by telling the tale of a school where the "haves" were the light-skinned blacks
- Analyzes how spike lee's next film, "do the right thing," gained a lot more respect in the film world than "school daze," but was almost not released because people were frightened that it might cause mass riots.
- Explains how spike lee introduced america to the african-american's perspective and culture by himself, using fellow black-rights activists like oprah winfrey, janet jackson, tracy chapman, and magic johnson.
- Explains that alfred hitchcock is very serious about his films. he has felt the need to protect himself from actors, producers, and technicians who might offset the meaning of his works.
- Analyzes how hitchcock uses his reputation of "the man with the master mind" to direct his films with sheer brilliancy.
- Explains that hitchcock added special effects to make a silent film more realistic. he used film-staining techniques, ordinary household items, and many other techniques to keep audiences amused.
- Explains that hitchcock mastered the filmic language and used a great number of tools to make his films reach near-perfection. he trusted nobody besides himself in the process of filmmaking.
- Explains that kevin smith, spike lee, and alfred hitchcock are among the top filmmakers of history, the rank of film auteurs.
- Cites andrew, geoff, spike, and lisa jones. uplift the race: the construction of schooldaze.
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In this essay, the author
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