Contextual Studies: Auteur- Clint Eastwood

Director of Choice
My director of choice is Clint Eastwood, who is a well credited actor and director. Perhaps this is where his auteur directing style came from. Having been an actor himself,  he knows how important it is for actors to have free-reign of what they're doing. He is also interestingly well known for being able to shoot within one to two takes, which is so rare for a director, especially these days. He said himself "Over the years when I was an actor, I became interested in working with actors and found different atmospheres that I liked with different directors that made acting more compatible."Sometimes he will rehears with the actors and he sometimes won't but he realises most actors will have their own good ideas, which would have attracted them to the role to begin with. I feel this is true to some extent but today there is even more competition and therefore actors will take on whatever roles they can (depending on their reputation). A lot of his directorial choices came from his relationship with his actors.  The last film directed by him I watched was J. Edgar. I found it to be quite slow moving and at times I lost concentration. I think this was because it lacked drama towards the beginning (it took us through his entire life) but in terms of its style it was quite interesting, with a lot of authentic footage/images. I feel his directorial choice of using images/footage was his addition to the original script. I think this is a film I would appreciate more now. Eastwood was very interested in the FBI, particularly J. Edgar's role in it. Everyone knew about him as the head of the FBI. Having genuine interest would clearly help him in making it because he is passionate. Having a large Warner. Bro's budget also helps...

Eastwood also likes to think a lot about is audience. He believes that when thinking about telling the story, you are thinking about how you want the story to be as interesting as it possibly can be for the audience. If not, it will never take on the life it’s supposed to have with its audience.

Comments

  1. Louis Heaton16 February 2017 at 12:10

    As we discussed, I agree Eastwood is a fantastic 'metteur-en-scene' and makes very highly competent films, but even he thinks the 'auteur theory' is horse-shit! :)

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