Is Christopher Nolan A Modern Hollywood Auteur - 1497 Words

Following the release of his movie, Inception, The Guardian ran an article comparing Christopher Nolan to famed Hollywood auteur, Stanley Kubrick. Most readers subsequently reacted negatively to the article’s central premise. However, The Guardian’s readers concurrently began pondering another question: is Christopher Nolan a modern Hollywood auteur? According to many scholastic sources, Nolan should not even be considered for auteur status. Most of these naysayers point out that six of his eight feature films have been remakes, adaptations, or film franchises. However, upon closer examination, Christopher Nolan expresses a level of artistic continuity and control throughout his body of work that qualifies him for auteur status. This consistency and control is apparent in the composition of his workshop and in his plot themes and mise-en-scene. In auteur theory, a director must express control over the industrial process of film production in order to be considere d a true auteur. Christopher Nolan controls his workshop in two ways: by taking on several roles in the filmmaking process and by maintaining personnel consistency over time. Nolan notoriously not just directs his films but also frequently writes or co-writes his scripts. In fact, Nolan has had at least a part in writing each of his films with the exception of Insomnia. Nolan also frequently produces his own films – often in collaboration with his wife and/or brother. In addition, Nolan maintains theShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Romantic Notion of a Film Director 2217 Words   |  9 Pagescritical material, primarily Andrà © Bazin and Roland Barthes and applying them to several case study films directed by Christopher Nolan including The Following (1998), The Prestige (2006) and Inception (2010), to examine whether Nolan possesses the qualities of an auteur and if so, does that imply an ideological view of what the auteur resembles or an artistic one. The term auteur theory arose in France during the 1940’s, a foundation to the French cinematic movement known as the nouvelle vagueRead MoreThe French New Wave Cinema1905 Words   |  8 Pagesconsidered one of the most influential periods in cinematic history. The filmmaking techniques and ideas utilized during the French New Wave period can still be seen in modern cinema, with some films uses them more than others. Two films that more obviously been influenced by the era are Quentin Tarantino s 1992 film Reservoir Dogs and Christopher Nolan’s 2000 film Memento. These films exude many traits and styles synonymous with French New Wave cinema such as jump cuts and non-continuity editing, a lowRead MoreChristopher Nol An Auteur And Postmodern Filmmaker2218 Words   |  9 PagesChristopher Nolan is an auteur and postmodern filmmaker. He started off making low budget ‘indie’ films, his first being Doodlebug. He has now risen to being one of the biggest names in Hollywood and creating blockbusters that not only are visual masterpieces but thought provoking journeys. He respects film as an art form, thus allowing him to create some of the top ranked films this century and The Dark Night and Momento are even classed among the greatest films of all time. He has 122 major wins