The 1950's in film: Module 9

Auteur Theory

• Definition: The director is the most important person in creating a film.
• Recognition: Auteur directors have a distinct visual style.
• Examples: Some directors covered in this module may be considered Auteurs.
• Modern-day Auteurs: Consider and name contemporary Auteur directors.

Hollywood in the 1950s

• Television's Impact:
  • Growing popularity of television threatened Hollywood.
  • Hollywood tried to retain audiences by offering experiences that television couldn't match.
• Cinemascope:
  • Films were released in Cinemascope, a widescreen format, to contrast with television's narrow screen.
  • Aimed to provide a more immersive viewing experience.
• 3D Films:
  • Some films were released in 3D as another way to compete with television.

Color Films

• Advantage over Television: As more color films were released, television was still limited to black and white broadcasts.

Alfred Hitchcock

• Voyeurism: A recurring theme in his films.
  • Definition: Voyeurism is a perversion where sexual gratification is obtained by observing sexual objects or scenes.
  • Another term for this is "Peeping Tom."
    *Rear Window (1954)
  • Stars: James Stewart and Grace Kelly.
  • Plot: A housebound photographer with a broken leg believes he witnesses a murder through his camera lens.
  • Themes: Deals with personal reality, watching someone's reality, distance, and longing.
  • The opening scene emphasizes the voyeuristic quality.
• **Vertigo (1958)
  • Stars: James Stewart and Kim Novak.
  • Plot: Former police detective John "Scottie" Ferguson is forced into early retirement due to an accident and his extreme fear of heights (vertigo).
  • Themes: Control and loss are central themes.
  • Color Symbolism: The film uses color to symbolize the story.

Ida Lupino

• Background: Began as an actress.
• The Filmmakers Inc.: Formed a production company with her husband to produce films about social issues.
• Directorial Debut: Co-directed her first film during this time.
• Never Fear (1949):
  • Her first full director credit.
  • The film is about polio, a disease she survived.
• The Hitch-Hiker (1953):
  • She was the first woman to direct a Film Noir.
  • Directors Guild of America (DGA): In the 1950s, she was the only female member of the DGA.

Billy Wilder

• Iconic Image: Directed one of the most iconic images in film history.
• The Seven Year Itch (1955):
  • Marilyn Monroe scene on a NYC subway grate.
  • A sexually charged comedy, a genre Wilder mastered
• Sunset Boulevard (1950):
  • Film Noir about a former silent film star who believes she will return to the big screen.

Akira Kurosawa

• Rashomon (1950):
  • Significance: First Japanese film to gain international attention.
  • Became popular in America and worldwide, increasing interest in Japanese filmmakers.
  • Plot: A murder witnessed by multiple people, each telling a different story.
  • Themes: Subjectivity of truth and reality.
  • Revolutionary plot device at the time.
  • Considered by many as the most influential film they've ever seen.

Yasujiro Ozu

• Style: Called the "most Japanese" of all Japanese filmmakers.
• Characteristics: Everything from his scripts to camera angles reflects Japanese sensibility.
• Tokyo Story (1953):
  • Masterfully directs this story about the differences between older and younger generations, using a visit by aging parents to grown children in Tokyo.
  • Explores distance and longing, along with selfishness.

Ingmar Bergman

• Career: First film released in 1946, producing about one film a year until the late 1960s.
• Themes: Much of his work centers around morality and personal responsibility.
• The Seventh Seal (1957):
  • Plot: A knight returning from war meets Death and plays a chess game to delay his demise. The Knight has survived countless battles.
  • Themes: About choices made and the inevitability of fate.
• **Wild Strawberries (1957):
  • About a person coming to terms with their past.
  • Masterfully directed and edited.
  • Touches on many of the themes seen in Bergman’s work.

Satyajit Ray

• Influence: Brought Indian cinema to the world.
• Inspiration: Inspired by Neorealism, particularly The Bicycle Thief, he would create very personal films.
• Early Work: Worked on the set of The River (1951), directed by Jean Renoir.
• Pather Panchali (1955):
  • Ray’s debut film about two siblings in a rural part of India.
  • First film in The Apu Trilogy.
  • The trilogy chronicles Apu growing up.
  • Inspired by the Neorealist movement.

Federico Fellini

• Early Career: Directed his first films in the 1950s, but the 1960s was his decade.
• Influences: Trained under the Neorealists and wrote scripts for Rossellini.
• The Young and the Passionate (1953):
  • About a group of young adults waiting for something to happen in their town.
  • Inspired George Lucas’ American Graffiti (1973).
• Transition: Fellini experienced a major transition in the 1960s. His films, especially in the 1960s, still influence filmmakers today!

Michelangelo Antonioni

• Later Success: Came into his own in the 1960s.
• Le Amiche (1955):
  • About a group of female friends navigating life.
  • Explores the hardships of life and relationships.
  • Uses many wide shots to capture not only the action but the environment of the scene.
  • This became Antonioni's signature style.

Hammer Films

• Foundation: Production company founded in 1934.
• Early Films: Initially specialized in comedies.
• Shift to Horror: Started making horror and science-fiction films in the mid-1950s.
• Impact: Many of their films were exported and started America's horror and science fiction film craze.
• The Curse of Frankenstein (1957):
  • Their first international hit.

Joy Batchelor

• Significance: Co-writer, co-director, and animator of England's first feature-length animation.
• Animal Farm (1954):
  • Adaptation of George Orwell’s novel.

Agnès Varda

• Focus: Throughout her long career, she focused on women's issues and social commentary.
• Style: Up until her death in 2019, she was creating fresh and experimental work.
• La Pointe Courte (1956):
  • Her directorial debut.
  • Story of a married couple attempting to fix their marriage.
  • Uses the struggles of the working people in the village to illustrate the struggle of marriage.
  • Shot in a documentary style, which she would use throughout her career.

Karel Zeman

• Style: Created experimental mixed-media short films.
• Technique: Used a mixture of live-action, traditional animation, and stop-motion.
• Poklad Ptaciho (The Treasure of Bird Island) (1953):
  • The first of these animations.