The Auteur Theory

Dictionary definitions for ‘auteur’:

 

Pronunciation:/əʊˈtəː, ɔː-/

noun

• a film director who influences their films so much that they rank as their author.

from Oxford Dictionary online

–noun, plural au·teurs  [oh-turz; Fr. oh-tœr]

a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.

from dictionary.com

 

The three criterion values of Auteur Theory

1. The technical competence of the director.
2. The distinguishable personality of the director. Over a group of films, a director must exhibit certain recurrent characteristics of style which serve as his signature.
3. Interior meaning extrapolated from the tension between a director’s personality and his material.

Coppola, The Conversation and the auteur theory.

In the book Coppola by Peter Cowie which I read in an early stage of my research, Coppola mentioned agreeing firmly with the auteur theory and trying to keep as much control over his work as possible. He talked about how he had sometimes struggled for artistic control when working with big studios. This was one of the reasons why he decided to start his own studio business. I had never studied the auteur theory before and decided to find out about it and see whether or not I thought Coppola’s work is that of an auteur or not.

1. Coppola certainly does demonstrate a strong technical competence as technology has been a passion of his since he was a child. His editing van that he built with all the equipment he would possibly want to use on set is a trademark tool of his.
2. One theme that plays through all of Coppola’s films is a strong interest in people’s relationships with each other, particularly that of families and lovers. He is also very sensitive in his camera techniques, the surveillance style camera in The Conversation being a prime example. In Apocalypse Now, the vast amount of footage generated by the several cameras all filming in real time gave a sense of the chaos of war and the different conflicts of the film. However, are these enough in the way of a stylistic fingerprint that you would watch a film and know that it was by Coppola? Is this enough evidence to call Coppola an auteur? He certainly does demonstrate full artistic control in most of his films but his style seems to often be in flux.
3. Coppola has often focused on war and conflict in many forms throughout his career and this is obviously something that means a lot to him. His interest in human relations comes from his family and Italian background. This ads another layer of interest to films such as The Godfather films. The films he made around the time of his son’s young death were considered particularly poignant. His stories often come from his own experiences and link quite strongly to the texts or people who have influenced him. In this aspect it would seem Coppola’s films do lay within the realm of the auteur theory.

Coppola’s knowledge of film theory does seem fairly obvious in his work. I also understand why he would agree strongly with the auteur theory as he has always wanted to make his films in as much his own way as possible. One film which he had complete control with was The Conversation. But does this film prove him to be an auteur? The technology and camerawork is definitely something of his own. It is very particular to this film alone of all his films and that is one reason why some audiences will consider the film so highly to this day. He directed, wrote and produced the film in his own studio with a very familiar crew and cast, making the film very personal and probably as true to his vision as it possibly could have been. The original storyline coupled with Coppola’s reaction to the Watergate Scandal was another way that the film seemed personal. It is hard to say whether or not this film fits a formula because it was realistically his first film made with this much control and this large a budget. It could be said that this film stands alone from his other films perhaps. However I think that on a wider scale there are substantial degrees of evidence that Coppola, given the opportunity, will work most happily in the position of an auteur.

 

References

Oxford Dictionaries Online. http://oxforddictionaries.com/view/entry/m_en_gb0049790;jsessionid=6F449F80D6379D5733CCAD9B45A2D995#m_en_gb0049790 accessed on 24/11/2010

dictionary.com unabridged. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/auteur accessed on 24/11/2010

Sarris, A. ‘Notes on the Auteur Theory in 1962’ from Film Theory and Criticism: Introductory Readings [p. 516]. Fifth Edition, Copyright 1999