An auteur can be identified through their body of work. It is somebody who creates art that reflects their personality and is less likely to be influenced by the prospect of making money. Auteurs are recognised through themes they use, the visual style and the narrative construction of their films.
the theory first came from a french magazine called Cahiers du Cinema, and has influenced the film criticism since 1954.
Alfred Hitchcock, Stanly Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Ingmar burgman and Charlie Chaplin are all examples of famous auteurs.
2. Are there any contemporary auteurs that appeal to a young audience?
Tim Burton is an American film director, producer, writer, poet and stop motion artist. He is known for his dark, gothic themes and quirky horror and fantasy films such as Edward scissor hands, sleepy hollow and Sweeney Todd the demon barber of fleet street.
Burtons films appeal to a young audience because the narratives that Tim uses are something that the young people can relate to.
3. What are the themes Tim Burton deals with?
Tim Burton uses a lot of themes in his work but the main themes are rejection, isolation and death.
These three themes can be found in both 'Sleepy Hollow' and 'Edwardscissor Hands'
In sleepy hollow as constable crane was walking through the sleepy hollow town people would be looking out the window and shutting them as he walked past, the same thing happened in Edwardscissor hands when Edward would walk past a neighbours house windows and curtains would shut.
The theme of death appeared at the very beginning of the film 'Sleepy Hollow' in the cornfield, heads were chopped of bodies of two people. Before this happened there was dripping red wax which appeared like blood on the floor, this could be a foreshadow of what was about to happen.
4. Does the visual style of Tim Burton's work stay similar or do they often change?
Tim Burtons films haven't changed a lot from before, the visual themes and narratives are all the typical Tim Burton styled film. Tim Burton started off with working for Disney but ended up leaving because his work was too dark for the younger audience to view back then, now he is with Disney once again but is still is doing his style of film but it is now okay for children to view because the younger audience can now relate to his work more making it more appealing for them.
Alice in Wonderland and Frakenweenie are two examples of the more recent Disney films he has created. Frakenweenie is a remake of one of his old films which he turned into a animation and Alice in Wonderland was a sequel to the first one made
5. Do you think Tim Burton's narratives reflect upon his personality?
Because Tim Burtons films involve such strong emotions that many people from the younger audience has most probably experienced it makes the film better to watch when you understand the emotion. The three themes Burton uses the most are: isolation, death and rejection. Many of the audience can relate to these themes since they happen in daily life.
Burton is well known for his dark and unique films he started of with Disney but ended up working for himself.
Tim Burton uses the emotions he felt during his childhood and uses it to make films. He also uses his preferences in a few films too. Tim Burton enjoys science fiction so he created 2 films that are different from the rest of his films called 'Planet of The Apes' & 'Mars Attacks'
6. Are there any examples to suggest that Tim Burton's not an auteur?
Tim Burton has made two films that are different in style to the rest of his work but they received some negative responses from critics and the public, Planet of the Apes and Mars Attacks. Arguably, since he created these two films which were still a work of passion even if the audience didn't enjoy as much as his other films makes him more of an auteur since he made the film because he wanted to rather than making it because he wanted the publics attention and money.
7. As a young fan of cinema, what do you find interesting about the Auteur Theory and the work of Tim Burton?
What I find interesting about the Auteur Theory is how the Auteur has a different vision of success, they judge their success on whether the film is exactly how they pictured it in their mind rather than how much money the film makes. Tim Burton is one of my favourite auteurs because the themes in his work stays consistent so its easy to identify him.
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