Directors in Film Industry - Essay Example

Directors Directors play a very crucial role in visual arts and film industry; the success or failure of visual arts and film work depends majorly on the performance of a director. While it takes efforts by various artists to develop or create particular parts of art scene or piece, it requires a director to undertake the role of unifying and supervising the vision. In other words, the directors are mainly in charge of the general visual appearance of a scene or art piece and how such an appearance psychologically appeals to the audience targeted, contrasts features and how it makes a visual communication (Frayling 18). This paper will compare and contrasts the style and technique of two directors: Sergio Leone and Alejandro Jodorowsky. Sergio Leone and Alejandro Jodorowsky are considered as great directors as they were successful in their directors’ roles, which spanned over several decades. In particular, Sergio Leone managed to merge his own brand of epic myth-making and his movie-made dreams to create films that performed exceptionally well and earned the generic signature of their own. Although the films that he directed such as “the Good, the bad and the Ugly”, For a Few Dollars More, and A Fistful of Dollars” had initially been mocked as being nihilistically violent spaghetti Westerns, they stirred up the floundering genre which turned Leone into an internationally-acclaimed director (Frayling 47). Leone is not just considered a great director based on the films that he directed, but also based on the huge influence that he had in the film industry from the late 1960s until the time of his death in 1989. More importantly, Leone is credited for establishing a parallel filmmaking education thereby inspiring and nurturing many upcoming artists in the industry. His creativity made him to be adored in the film industry; in particular, the film titled “A Fistful of Dollars” (1964) was a sheer display of creativity. This film was centred on a gory conflict that involved a sly gunslinger and rival families and was a re-imagination of hallowed Western myths. The movie had pastoral settings accompanied by folk instruments, sound effects, and surf guitar. It is the subsequent films that he directed that sealed his status as one of the world’s premier directors. A more expansive sequel that he directed “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” (1966) was popular in Europe and America despite criticism from some quotas that he was desecrating the Western. Besides, this film revived Hollywood’s interest regarding the ailing genre, thereby creating avenues for new cycle of Western critics (Frayling 105). Like Sergio Leone, Alejandro Jodorowsky was an equally great director and he made his mark in the visual arts and film industry. Most cult cinema enthusiasts venerate him and his contribution in the film industry is acknowledged wide and far. His films presented magical and strange visions that cannot be understood or categorized easily. It is important to note that his role in the film industry was informed by his life experiences and beliefs. Particularly, Jodorowsky was informed by his spiritual journey (Cobb 38). Therefore, it is not surprising to see his cinematic output being filled with a hybrid blend of religious provocation and mysticism, as well as violently surreal images. Not only did his films provide entertainment to the audience, but also inspired youth counterculture movement specifically in the late 1960s and some early years of 1970s. His greatness is depicted by the fact that unlike other directors who were celebrated as contributors in critical establishment, Jodorowsky gained his prominence by bringing esoteric and surreal sensibilities to the screen through his controversial films such as El Topo, and Fando y Lis. His greatness is also depicted in the multiple capabilities that he had: he wrote films, he starred in some of personal films, as well as scoring and directing the films. Additionally, he brought new ideas and methods in film industry that have been of use to the present directors in the visual arts and film industry (Richardson 57). More notable was his filming of numerous scenes in real locations by mostly using non-actors like street dwellers found in those locations such as prostitutes. As depicted in his film “Fando y Lis”, Jodorowsky was always eager to escape the written text. Therefore, he adopted and directed the film by the use of one-page script and his stage production memory. Also, he did away with the secondary characters in the play and replaced them with a series of transgressive and surreal encounters. Some of the features he adapted have been used extensively in the modern film industry (Cobb 44). Style and techniques employed by directors in directing films is what greatly determine whether the film will be a success or not. Both Sergio Leone and Alejandro Jodorowsky have effectively employed style and technique, though differently. The style and technique employed by both of them bordered in the line of good “directorship” of a film. The specific style and techniques used by Sergio Leone included long but slow paced epics that explored the West and Western mythology. As has been noted, most of his movies were re-imagination of the sanctified Western myths. Even though some of his films inspired a big number of spaghetti Westerns, a few had personal obsessions with them because they viewed them as desecrating the Westerns. Since his films were focusing on the Western mythology, long but slow epics was the most ideal style to employ (Frayling 166). Moreover, Leone used ritualistic build up to death or action as his style and technique in directing his films. For example, in the film “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” it is depicted that the quest for gold by Good included venal ruses, many dark jokes, and detailed bridge explosion on the way to the three-way graveyard showdown. As such, it is usual to see long opening scenes due to long but slow paced epics. In addition, Leone used little dialogue as his style and technique in directing films. As it can be seen in the films For Few Dollars More, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and A Fistful of Dollars, Leone has used little dialogue as the movie involves a lot of actions. Furthermore, Leone had fascination with faces. As seen in the films, there were numerous faces with few “creations”. Leone did not film numerous scenes in real locations by using non-actors like street dwellers found in those locations such as prostitutes (Frayling 171). Also, since Leon had fascination with faces, he did not do away with the secondary characters in the play. Jodorowsky was not fascinated with faces as such and often replaced secondary characters with a series of transgressive and surreal encounters. Additionally, Leone used the deep zooms style and techniques as it can be seen in the films. Since he was using the technique of deep zooming or wide image format, he had to deploy the widescreen photography techniques. Leone’s proficiency and professionalism as a director of a film, is evidenced by his style that involves tedious attention to detail and the impressive set design and camera work. Besides, he is aware of the important role that music plays in film as evidenced by his use of Ennio Morricone’s composition (Frayling 189). Also, he has used the revolutionary screen violence technique where he has used extremely violent scenes by use of slow- motion effects. He has used the enhanced sound effects and moments of calmness in conversations. The styles and techniques of Alejandro Jodorowsky were informed by his spiritual journey. He used esoteric and surreal sensibilities to the screen as seen in his controversial films such as El Topo, and Fando y Lis. He filmed his numerous scenes in real locations by mostly using non-actors like street dwellers found in those locations such as prostitutes. Unlike Sergio Leone, he was not fascinated with faces. As it can be seen in the films “Fando y Lis”, Jodorowsky did not use many characters. His lack of fascination with faces is evidenced by the fact that he did away with secondary characters in the play and replaced them with a series of transgressive and surreal encounters (Richardson 76). Jodorowsky style encompasses symbolism and imagery. For example, in the film “The Holy Mountain”, he uses symbolism and imagery in aspects such as enlightenment, alchemy, religion, and astrology. Like Leone, he has also used revolutionary screen violence technique. However, the violent scenes depicted in Jodorowsky’s films do not involve many human characters as he has not used numerous secondary characters. In his films, there are several violent scenes involving animal cruelty. In terms of technique, he shot from stationery or slow paced camera set up, while depending on physical expressiveness to pass the action force. Also, spoken dialogue has been used sparsely like is the case with Leone’s movies; this usage has been viewed as his strategy to escape the written text in films by compressing meanings into brief philosophical declarations (Cobb 98). Sergio Leone and Alejandro Jodorowsky career in the visual arts and film did not occur in a vacuum; they were influenced by certain experiences and individuals in their early lives. Sergio Leone was influenced by his early experiences that involved his classmate, Ennio Morricone who later became composer of music that was used in the films. His father greatly influenced his attitude towards film industry; he had watched his father work on film sets. As a result, he got very interested in the film industry to an extent that he dropped out of the university where he was studying law at the age of 18 to start his own career in film. Leone was further influenced by the experiences he acquired at the early stages of his career in film. He began as Vittiro de Sica’s assistant in the shooting of the Bicycle Thieves movie in 1948. As a result of his role as a director’s assistant, he gained experience that enabled him to begin writing screenplays in the 1950s. He worked as an assistant on various large-scale productions of international stature, notably Ben Hur (1959) and Quo Vadis (1951). Working under internationally-acclaimed directors influenced his future works in film, and well-equipped him with skills and knowledge that helped him to become successful as a director (Frayling 156-7). On his part, Sergio Leone had significant influence in the film industry. Although there are many directors in the industry who have confessed to being influenced by Sergio Leone, Clint Eastwood is the most notable person who has been influenced by Sergio Leone and his artistic works. Quentin Tarentino has also admitted being influenced by Leone, particularly his set pieces action that are soundtrack-dominated and his poetic use of violence. Leone created a new type of Western icon with films that bear the tag “man with no name”. As a result, he earned a durable place in the world cinema (Frayling 160). Alejandro Jodorowsky was greatly influenced by spiritual journey that characterized his life. This influence is highly-evident in his films that are filled with hybrid blend of religious provocation and a hybrid blend of mysticism, as well as violently surreal images. In his early life, he became fascinated with anarchism that probably had a bearing on his future film career. Just like Leone, Jodorowsky dropped out of the university where he was studying philosophy and psychology to pursue activities related to visual arts and films. He worked as circus clown, a theatre director, and a stage actor, experience of which made him develop strong interests in mime and marionettes (Cobb 111). As a result of his strong interests in mime, he was able to minimize the reliance on written texts. Due to his previous experience in theatre coupled with his religious beliefs, he managed to develop a very successful career in the film industry (Richardson 93). Alejandro Jodorowsky had remarkable influence in the film industry. He influenced the industry by bringing new ideas and methods in film industry that have been of use to the present directors in the visual arts and film industry. As depicted in his film “Fando y Lis”, Jodorowsky was always eager to escape the written text. Therefore, he influenced future directors to avoid over-relying on written texts. Also, he did away with the secondary characters in the play and replaced them with a series of transgressive and surreal encounters. Some of the features he adapted have been used extensively in the modern film industry (Cobb 144). Works Cited Cobb, Ben. Anarchy and Alchemy: The Films of Alejandro Jodorowsky. Creation Books, New York, 2007. Print. Frayling, Christopher. Spaghetti Westerns: Cowboys and Europeans from Karl May to Sergio Leone. London: I. B. Tauris & Co, 2006. Print. Richardson, Michael. Surrealism and Cinema. Berg Publishers, Oxford, 2006. Print. Read More