Quiz #5 Flashcards
The documentary
a non-fiction film that presents real people and events
How is narration different in documentaries?
common use of voice-over and direct address
Documentaries are assumed to be factual even if
the filmmaker has an agenda
Documentaries are
informative, cultural, historical, biographical, rhetorical (persuasive), etc.
Features of Errol Morris’ Filmmaking
- investigative approach to everything
- always testing the limits of human knowledge and understanding
- an abiding belief that the truth is out their
- complex narratives
Highly stylized elements of Errol’s filmmaking
- cinematography –> framing, slow-motion, use of shallow focus, grainy image
- editing –> artful match cuts
- sound –> sophisticated relationship between sound and image
Tabloid
- Errol Morris, 2010
- about Joyce McKinney
Auteur
from French for “author”
The auteur is always the
director b/c at the end of the day its the director who makes the final decisions regarding casting, editing, cinematography, etc.
What did Francois Truffaut write?
his essay “Une Certaine Tendence du Cinema Francais” for Cahiers du Cinema in 1954
What did Francois Truffaut argue?
that the work of an auteur could be detected in Hollywood productions; director’s filmography illustrates the author’s “signature”m
Who did Francois Truffaut name as auteurs?
Hitchcock, John Ford, Welles, and Howard Hawks
Who are two other auteur critics?
Andrew Sarris and Peter Wollen
What did Andrew Sarris argue?
the the whole body of work marks an auteur, regardless of different cinematographers, stars, and screenwriters
What does Sarris say a director must have to be considered an auteur?
- a substantial body of work by which to judge
- a strong command of the medium and must make good movies
