Classical American cinema can be approached from many perspectives: ideological, textual, analysis, genre study and that of auteurism and mise-en-scène, as advocated by the pioneers at Cahiers du Cinéma, and later by Andrew Sarris, V.F. Perkins and Robin Wood, among others. All of these critics were passionate about examining how the auteurs translated their ideas of cinema into their works. As argued by André Bazin and Perkins in his seminal book Film as Film, ‘cinema’ sets itself apart from literature and other art forms with its unique expression: a combination of cinematography and the organization of filmic elements that forms meaning through an emphasis on space, time, and the relationship of everything on screen.
Bazin and the Cahiers du Cinema critics, most of whom went on to become master filmmakers of the French New Wave, were indeed the first to champion the artistic quality of Hollywood films in the Golden Age, which they recognized as bearing personal marks. Whilst Francois Truffaut’s interview with Alfred Hitchcock is widely celebrated, he had also wished to have written a book on Howard Hawks; Eric Rohmer thought that one “can’t love deeply any movie, if (the person) do not love deeply those of Howard Hawks”; Jean-Luc Godard, who translated his love for American crime film (in particular, an iconic presence epitomized by Humphrey Bogart) into his homage debut Breathless (1960), proclaimed, “And the Cinema is Nicholas Ray”. Jacques Rivette, likewise,
The auteurs are therefore directors who have a strong sense of mise-en-scène and those who, with their mastery of it, conceive a meaningful world beyond story and entertainment. The essence of mise-en-scène is not only, as is often considered, the co-ordination of cinematic elements within one single scene; it is also how the director brings everything together in a unifying style to form an organic whole. The director presents a message or point of view without being visibly manipulative or showy, leaving it for the viewer to interpret an intent articulated through visual and aural elements that are also blended into the reality of the fictional world.
An Example: Perkins commended Otto Preminger’s River of No Return (1954) as an exemplary work of brilliant mise-en-scène, citing the shot in which Marilyn Monroe’s Kay and her fiancé are rescued from their raft – the camera lingers and pans to her lost suitcase, which is floating away. Technically, this single shot underlines Preminger’s meaningful use of CinemaScope in his storytelling; contextually, the meaning of the shot can be easily overlooked, but will be enriched when one connects it with other visual elements throughout the film. Moments later, Kay carefully packs away a pair of red high heel shoes –the sole remnant of her past. Preminger’s messages and intent coalesce when we reach the very final shot of the film: the same pair of shoes worn again but now abandoned by Kay, thus completing her departure from the past. The director uses the same technique elsewhere with corresponding signs, such as the shotgun whose significance varies under different circumstances, and Kay’s outfits, including the on and off of Robert Mitchum’s jacket…
What may seem casual or natural is indeed a meticulous construction that forms a web of signs and meanings – such is the ingenuity excelled by most Hollywood auteurs of the Golden Age. It was generally believed that a director’s skill is most refined when he can enrich a film’s meaning as well as audience’s emotional response while staying unobtrusive. Preminger said, “The ideal picture is a picture where you don’t notice the director, where you never are aware that the director did anything deliberately.”
For some industry conglomerates (especially the studio heads and executive producers), cinema represents entertainment, story, and a revenue-driven commercial product. But for many creatives, cinema is a forum for the personal expression of ideas about form and the world. The opening film of this programme, The Bad and the Beautiful (1952) shall offer insights on what filmmaking stands for creatives by charting their energy and fervor, which can transcend harsh realities. Also directed by Vincente Minnelli is the closing film, The Band Wagon (1953). Completely different in context and mood, this renowned musical celebrates creative labor and collaborative effort, and above all, depicts an artist’s ecstasy at his vision realized. Admired for their distinctive design, Minnelli’s sets and décors are so reflective of the state of mind of his characters that they are as narratively expressive as the characters themselves.
The masters who honed their skills since the silent film era like John Ford or Howard Hawks, or those from a later generation like Jacques Tourneur, Ida Lupino and Minnelli, hardly ever regarded themselves as artists. This feels like a reflection of the modesty or reticence of their time, or even, a rhetoric through which they forge a persona that could fly under the radar of the studio heads.
The works of the six auteurs presented in this programme not only exemplify the excellence of Hollywood filmmaking, but also embody personal visions that push and redefine boundaries. It was an extremely challenging task to limit the selection for each director to two or three films, but the films in their respective pairings should illuminate each other, and, when seen together, offer new insights on the directors and their films.
My heartfelt thanks to Mr Chris Fujiwara, whose intelligent studies on Preminger, Tourneur, and classical American cinema have been more than an inspiration, and who, amid his busy schedule, contributed a short essay film along with an insightful essay, both of which offer enlightening perspectives to connect all the films in the programme; I am also deeply honoured to have him as a guest speaker for a seminar and two post-screening talks. My gratitude also extends to all the friends and organizations who provide generous assistance along the way.
Curator: KiKi Fung
Kiki Fung is Programme Consultant for Hong Kong International Film Festival and Advisor for The Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts’ School of Film and Television, and Reel to Reel Institute.
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