Abstract This paper explores, compares, and contrasts the theories of Eisenstein and Bazin, two of the most prominent figures in film theory. Specifically, the author examines how the two approach the use of montage (editing) to construct meaning in the mind of the viewer.
From the Paper "The groundbreaking contributions Sergei Eisenstein and Andre Bazin made to film theory cemented this pair's place in history as two of the field's most prolific figures. These men's ideas changed the face of cinema and their influence on subsequent generations of filmmakers cannot be denied. One area that dominates the theoretical musings of both writers is the idea of montage. While the two essentially agree on the definition of this abstruse concept, they diverge on how it works to construct meaning in the spectator's mind. Each theorist's discourse certainly has its intrinsic merit however, Bazin's theory proves itself superior to that of his Russian counterpart due to his desire to surmount the limitations of traditional, "analytical" montage and restore what the Frenchman terms "ambiguity of expression" to the cinema. Eisenstein, on the other hand, is so preoccupied with montage's effect on the viewer that he ignores other essential elements, such as Bazin's conception of the ?image,? that also play an important role in interpreting what is shown on the screen."
Abstract This paper discusses the evolution and success of the western genre of filmmaking. It discusses Andre Bazin's "The Western: Or the American Film Par Excellence" in which he analyzes this genre. It describes Bazin's arguments, as well as his comparison of the western to the courtly romances of the medieval era in their focus on the chaste woman and his comparison of them to the Russian revolutionary genre.
From the Paper "To Bazin, the only other modern epic cinema was the Russian revolutionary genre, which had some parallels to the western: both showed a new society undergoing its tumultuous birth pangs, imposing a new order and morality upon a vast canvas of human activity during a fleeting historical moment. Bazin concludes that, like the mythologized history of the Russian revolution, the story of the American west would have been relegated to much lesser international prominence were it not for the power of the moving image to universalize human experience."
Abstract This paper looks at the theories of Andre Bazin and Theodore Adorno about the human condition in modern film. The author contends that, while it is undeniable that film is created in the context of a cultural industry as Adorno suggests, Bazin's insights regarding the origins of its psychological power over the mass audience are critical to the appreciation of how film can function as a vehicle of both commercial and popular interests. The paper shows how the theoretical perspectives of both Bazin and Adorno are flawed in not considering the complex relationship between cinema and "realism" in terms of style, aesthetics and the role of the author.
Table of Contents:
Introduction
Divergent Views on Cinema, Its History and Functions
The Human Factor - Cinema and Realism
From the Paper "This argument is flawed in two respects: first, it ignores the fact that Welles was an "outsider" of the Hollywood system from the earliest days of his career, and far from being "forgiven" he was persecuted by the industry and its major business backers such as Randolph Hearst; and second, the problem of the "auteur" is not isolated to Welles or even a handful of cinematic innovators. Indeed, the history of cinema - even Hollywood cinema in the era of the major studios - is one of extraordinary creativity, innovation and dynamism."
Tags: audience, studio system, aesthetics symbolism welles
From the Paper "Andre Bazin's concept of realism varied from a mere appreciation of the medium of cinema to an ideal encompassing the
whole of cinematic imagery. on the one hand, he emphasized the reality of the photographic image with its seeming ability to "copy" the visual aspect of the world. on the other, he very nearly worshipped the ability of some films and of some film makers to generate an illusion of a reality of which the camera appears to be a neutral spectator. The former is a physical realism founded in the literal transparency of film itself, and the other a rhetorical realism based in social criticism and psychological observation. Working between these two poles, Bazin outlines a bold theory of film that in being revealing is likewise open to attack.
Fundamental to Bazin's approach is a view of cinema as.."
Abstract Championed by directors Jean Luc Godard and Franחois Truffaut, the French directors were seeking to justify their own individualism as an answer to the lifting of the quota on American Films after World War II, which led to a flood of big budget Hollywood films into French movie houses. The paper shows that the French directors, unable to compete with the flash and panache of Hollywood, pointed out that individualism made their films stronger. They therefore annointed John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock and Hawks as the patron saints of the auteurs. This paper examines how Hawks' films, use of actors and apolitical emotions made him worthy of the French title.
From the Paper "Hawks refused to be limited by labels, he refused to succumb to functional fixity. His most serious films have bits of humor and he was not adverse to turning a drama into a comedy or for that matter into a musical. During his career, though he got a "feel-good" award for lifetime achievement, he received few nominations and no Oscars during his career. Yet, he was one of the few directors who, productive and successful before the Second World War, remained commercially and artistically successful after the war. And when it comes to crossing genres his success to date is unparalleled. He was equally at home in comedy, westerns, aviation films and war dramas."
Tags: Andr?, Bazin, Alexandre, Astruc, Mary, Pickford, Carey, Grant
Abstract An analysis of two genre films and two art films - Antonioni's "Blow Up," Kelly/Donen's "Singin' in the Rain", Truffaut's "The 400 Blows", and Sirk's "All That Heaven Allows". The validity of both genre and art film criticism are examined.
From the Paper "By its failure to accommodate the excess generated by its subject matter, All That Heaven Allows is not only critiquing the genre of melodrama, it also exposes the contradictions and conflicts present in American bourgeois society (Bourget, 1995, 45). However the subversive excess and contradictions present in the film prevent it from being "just another melodrama". Sirk worked within yet against the constraints of the Hollywood studio system to subvert the genre, and although the film is superficially a generic 1950s Hollywood melodrama, Sirk's characteristic stylistic technique marks him as an auteur, a position usually associated with the art rather than the genre film."
Tags: Andr?, Bazin, Robert, Warshow, Lawrence, Alloway, Hollywood
This paper analyzes the role of Bruno, the son, in the Italian neo-realist film, "The Bicycle Thief." It also explores the father-son relationship of Bruno and his father, Antonio, in its ethical dimensions.
Abstract In this paper, the author focuses on two scenes from "The Bicycle Thief:" The restaurant scene and the final scene in which Antonio attempts to steal a bicycle. By focusing on these scenes, Bruno's role in the film as an ethical counterpoint to Antonio is made clear.
From the Paper "In Victor de Sica's The Bicycle Thief (1948), the main character is Antonio, a working-class Italian living in Rome after the end of WWII and trying to support his family. However, equally important to the story is Antonio's son, Bruno. Throughout the film, there are many events, but it is through Bruno and the relationship between him and his father that they are given value and meaning. In some ways, de Sica uses Bruno as a ?barometer of the condition of Antonio's spirit as he pursues his agonizing search for the lost bicycle (http://www.enl.umassd.edu/InteractiveCourse/Ethompson/bicyclethieves.html).?"
