Film & Literature

Best directors of all times

When we start talking about best directors, we need to know what a director is. According to Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary a director is: “A person who is in charge of a film or play and tells the actors how to play their parts.”¹ When we read this definition we can say that to some people it could sound like an easy job, but in fact to be a director implies more than just being in charge of a film and the actors that participate in it. Directors have their own style, and we can recognize one director’s work because of the way that they create films and other things related with films. Some directors use different techniques that help them to create something new, and others go further than that and they have made big contributions to the filming art. Best directors contributions to Cinema and Filming business have marked through the years the beginning of new creations, and improvements in the way of create films. We can classify directors according to what they have done like significant contributions to Film industry, we can also classify them by the number of Films associated with one director. We can talk about a good director if he has his own style or personal stamp clearly recognizable on the films that he has directed. We can say that there are more than one criteria used in order to find out who is and who is not a good director or in this case the best one. Best directors, as we now know are not only the one in charge of a film and the actors that participate on it, we also talk about people that really love what they do, and work very hard to find new ways of creating film. Although, we can say that a director is the best because we can recognize his work, there are some specifications or criteria being used when experts choose best directors. Therefore, there must be some organization in charge of choose best directors, one of the famous organizations in charge of chooses who is going to be the best director every year, is the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, and the prize that they give to the winners is the "OSCAR." The OSCAR for directors is called Academy Award for Achievement in Directing. ²

Now that we know how directors are selected, we can start talking about best directors of all times, in first place we are going to talk about 2 best directors –according to our point of view- that have passed away and 2 modern directors that are still working in the filming business.

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock

Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock was born on August 13, 1899 in the city of Leytonstone, England. He was raise in a Roman Catholic family, so when his time to go to school arrives he was sent to a Jesuit School. When we see Hitchcock films, we can notice that he took some influences from his childhood; especially from the treatment that his strict father and his unkind mother gave to him- in many times it was not the best. When Hitchcock was a child and behave in a bad way, his father used to send him to the police station holding a note where he ask put his son in a jail for ten minutes as a symbol of punishment for his bad actions. Hitchcock decided to move to a new school after his father died when he was 14. After Hitchcock graduated he worked as a designer, but while he was working as a designer he was attracted by photography and because of this he decided to start in a new job, this time was in filming production for London Branch (today Paramount Pictures). After this he start his career it took him just 5 years to become a film director. Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock is considered until today as one of the best British directors of all times, he directed more than 50 films, he also contribute to shape what we know as cinema and he also contribute with some technical innovations like the one used in the movie “Rope” from 1948 this film was a challenge: a film that appears to have been shot entirely in a single take, it was not shot in just one, some transitions between reels were hidden by having a dark object fill the entire screen for a moment. Hitchcock used those points to hide the cut, and began the next take with the camera in the same place.³ Hitchcock instinct and his ability to hide important information for the development of a story, and the use of technological improvements have distinguished him from others directors and also positioned him in one of the most privileged places which is as one of the best director of all times.

If you are interested in Joseph Hitchcock vision of Films and his work you will enjoy the following websites:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9kiLlJujgI&feature=fvst
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX8pvgDS31A&feature=related

Hitchcock’s Filmography and Awards

Hitchcock’s Filmography career start as a minor designer and he was credited in the film in which he participate as a little designer, we can find some films like: “The Call of Youth”, “The Great day”, “The Princess of New York”, “Tell Your Children”, “Woman to Woman”, “The Blackguard” among others. When Hitchcock became a director he did it as a director of silent movies and talkies movies here we can find: “The Pleasure Garden”, “The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog”, “The Ring”, “Downhill”, “The Farmer's Wife”, “Easy Virtue”, “Champagne”, “The Manxman”, “Blackmail (silent version)”, “Blackmail”, “The Skin Game”, ” Number Seventeen”, “The 39 Steps”, “Young and Innocent”, “Jamaica Inn” among others film. In the late 1930´s Hitchcock receive and offer by David O. Selznick to go to United States to work as a director, he accepted it and signed a 7-year contract, this was the beginning of his Hollywood career. In 1940 he directed “Rebecca” this movie was his first American film, after this movie he directed a number of films that showed his capacities and a new way of create films, we can name some films such as “Mr. & Mrs. Smith”, “Aventure Malgache”, “The Paradine Case”, “Dial M for Murder”, “Vertigo”, “Psycho”, and his last film was “Family Plot” (1976) because he died in April 29, 1980.
We mentioned before that directors receive awards for their work. Hitchcock also won some, and he won a Golden Laurel for Best Producer and Director in 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1964, 1966, 1970 and 1971, he also won a Mention Award in 1950 for Stage Fright” a NBR Award in 1970 for “Topaz”, he won 2 Golden Globes one Cecil B. DeMille Award in 1972 and in 1973 a Golden Globe for “Frenzy” and he was nominated 5 times for the OSCARS Awards but he did not won.

Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin

Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin was born on April 16, 1889 in the city of Walworth, England. Chaplin parents were both related with entertainment business, so he learnt how to sing because their influences. Chaplin life was full of abandonment episodes from his parents. Chaplin father was an alcoholic and his mother suffered of mental illness. Although Chaplin and his half brother suffer, they became very close in order to accompany each other, both boys were very talented, and all the bad situations that they passed through helped them to create great characters. 7 years before Chaplin’s mother died they moved to United States. Chaplin was one of the pioneers film artists, he was a comedian, a producer, a director, a writer and a composer of motion pictures one of his famous characters was the “Tramp” his first appearance as a tramp was in the film “Kid Auto Races at Venice”. In 1919 Chaplin and some other co-founded the United Artists Film Distribution Company, doing this Chaplin could work as an independent film-maker. Chaplin contributed also with some unique filmmaking techniques but they were just known after he died and his outtakes and cutting sequences were exanimate in a British documentary called “Unknown Chaplin”. Chaplin his considered through the years as one of the influential and best-known film artist worldwide.

If you are interested in Charles Chaplin Films and his works you will enjoy the following websites:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xh3z89u1NtY
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z4UhJpviVYg


Chaplin Filmography and Awards

Charles Chaplin Filmography starts in 1914 with his first character Slicker in the Film “Making a Living”, after this film he creates his well-known character the tramp in the movie “Kid Auto Races at Venice” in the same 1914 year, Chaplin started working as director with the films “Twenty Minutes of Love”, “Caught in a Cabaret”, “Caught in the Rain”, “Mabel's Busy Day”, “Mabel's Married Life”, “The New Janitor”, “The Pawnshop”, “The Adventurer” among others. Chaplin was also the composer, producer, writer and director of his own film, and we can find a number of them under this criteria, some of the films are the following: “A Dog's Life “, “Shoulder Arms”, “The Pilgrim”, “The Circus”, “Limelight”, “A King in New York” and “The Chaplin Revue”.
Chaplin receive some important awards or recognitions for his work, one of them was a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1970. Chaplin was awarded with three OSCARS one for Best Original Score, one Honorary Award, and one Special Award. 4

Steven Spielberg

Steven Spielberg is one of the most important films directors; he had created many films about different genres, such as adventure films and science fiction films. Steven was born on December 18, 1946 in the city of Cincinnati, Ohio. His mother was Leah Adler and his father was Arnold Spielberg. During his childhood he spent his free time playing with his sister and creating some amateur films, where he was the director and his sister sold popcorn. When he was 12 years old, he became a boy scout and he started to work in order to win a badge in photography, but when he was creating photos, his camera was broken and he started to use a video camera to create short films. Spielberg was raised by Jewish parents, and when he was a child he felt embarrassed about his family’s religion. When he was young boy his parents got divorced and he started his studies on film at University of Southern California but he didn’t finish his career, until 2002, when through an independent project. In 1969 Spielberg started to work in The Universal Studios and there, he made many TV series. In 1977 Spielberg created a film called “Encounter of the third kind”, which was his first best director nomination, the film was about UFOs. In 1994 Spielberg created his new Studio “DreamWorks”, and during that year he won his second Academy Award for direction, in his film “Saving Private Ryan” a film played by Tom Hanks. Spielberg’s works have marked the way of create films, when he directed “Shildler’s List” we could see his real feelings about Jewish people. “Shildler’s List” was one of the greatest American films ever made; it was based on the Oscar Shidler’s life, a man who saved 1100 Jews during the Second World War. Steven Spielberg is one of the most interesting directors, because he had created hundreds films about different genres and topics, he is a hard-working man but his big imagination is the most important characteristic and also his professional work.
If you are interested in Steven Spielberg Films and also in his works you will enjoy the following websites:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAM5q837enk
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldA6RHJ1fKk&feature=related

Filmography and Awards

When Spielberg was 13, he won his first prize for a short film called “Escape to Nowhere, and when he was 16 years old he created his first independent film called “Firelight” -it was shown in a local cinema. After this he work very hard and he directed a new adventure film called “Raiders of the lost Ark”, the first of the Indiana Jones films, and it was a great success; nowadays this film is considered as a clear example of action genre. Then Spielberg returned to the science fiction genre with his film “E.T, the extraterrestrial”. During 1982 until 1985 Spielberg produced 3 important films, “Poltergeist”, “The Twilight Zone” and “The Goonies”, but one of the most important films was “Indiana Jones and The Temple of Doom”, because during this film he met his future wife, Kate Capshaw. In 1985 Spielberg explored a new genre, the dramatic genre through his film “The Colour Purple” this film was about an African-American woman, who has fought against black discrimination. In 1987 Spielberg directed a film about China and its Culture called “The Empire of the sun”, the same year he directed an interesting film called “Hook”, a film about Peter Pan’s story played by Robin Williams.In 1993, Jurassic Park was awarded for its amazing special effects and it was the return of Spielberg to the adventure genre. In 2001 Spielberg and his friend Stanley Kubrick directed a new film called “Artificial Intelligence”, this film was a big success too. Spielberg has won a big number of OSCARS for his work like 1994 Best Director Award for “Schindler's List”, 1999 for “Saving Private Ryan”, he also won some Golden Globe like Best Picture – Drama for “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial”, “Schindler's List”, “Saving Private Ryan”. Spielberg is considered as one of the greatest director of our times, and he has also contributed to the film industry and the developments of new ways of create films.

James Cameron

James Cameron was born on August 16, 1954 in Canada. He is a big producer, screenwriter, inventor, and director. His parents were Shirley, a nurse, and Phillips Cameron, an engineer. Cameron lived in Chippewa, Ontario and then in California. While he was living in California he used to visit the film archive in the University of Southern California, he studied sciences and Philosophy at the school. While he was young he was a truck driver, but when he saw the original Star War Film, he quit his job in order to work in the film Industry. One important characteristic of Cameron is his ability to create new things, for that reason, he loves special effects and when he started to work in the film industry he helped in the production of different films such us; Piranha, and Galaxy of Terror. In 1984 he wrote the screenplay for terminator and was in that film where he met his future wife Linda Hamilton. Cameron married 5 times.
If you are interested in James Cameron vision of evolution of Films you will enjoy the following websites:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4MIaHG2Yf0
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2squ9HDuBeI

Filmography and Awards

During The 80s Cameron wrote 3 important screenplays: Terminator, Aliens and Rambo. In 1986 he directed a film called “Alien”, which was nominated for Best actress, Best art direction and Best sound and visual effects. In 1989 he produced a new project call “The Abyss”, this story is about some workers, who discover underwater creatures. In 1991, he directed Terminator 2. In 1994 Cameron directed “True Lies”, and in 1997 he created his best project in “Titanic” played by Leonardo Dicaprio and Kate Winslet, this was the most expensive film ever made at the time. Then directed films such as: Spiderman and Dark Angel. Cameron had created many big films, but also some documentaries are part of his work, a clear example of his is “The lost Tomb of Jesus”, which is based in real science information (DNA), biblical studies and archeological evidence. During the last time Cameron had worked in the developing of the digital 3-D technology, and with his last film “Avatar” he was recognized as one of the most important director and he included this technology. Cameron won some OSCARS for Best director, Best Film and Best Picture for his movie “Titanic”.

As a conclusion we can say that the directors that we have chosen are the best of the history of film, accordingly with our own criteria and also with some information that we have chosen from the websites that we visit and the bibliographies that we used to realize this work. We affirm that they are the best because it is very important to us as futures teacher, to know that there is more than one advance that people can use in order to create thing. It is true that we are not going to be directors, but if we pay attention to what they have done and we include their ways of see thing we can create our own works and improvements to our area as future teachers. Therefore, the directors that we chose have not just directed great films or make improvements to the industry of film, they have helped new director’s generation to create new ways of develop films by the use of cameras, filming elements that contribute to create new shots, there are also some image effects and techniques that make them greats. Directors love their job and they do it because they believe that the can make a change and also they know and they are sure about what they want to do in order to succeed in the business of Filmmakers and Directors. Finally, if you are the kind of people that enjoy with the work of amazed directors, and you want to watch a well-done piece of work, or if you want to understand a little more a director point of view about films, their contributions to the industry, the use of techniques or maybe you just want to have fun, it is very important for you to be inform and also to understand what you are watching. Finishing with our work we invite you to be part of this and enjoy one of our director’s films.




References
¹ Extracted from Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary.
² http://www.oscars.org/index.html
³ Extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock#Pre-war_British_career under the title of Technical innovations.
4 Extracted from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charlie_Chaplin#Awards_and_recognition




Web sites

http://www.filmsite.org/directors.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_Spielberg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Cameron#cite_note-Mojo2010-5
http://www.oscars.org/index.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alfred_Hitchcock
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Chaplin

Due date: May 3^rd, 2010

Objective: Create/write a research-based Blog, built around your own original work.

Guidelines

¥ Work in pairs, no individual work will be accepted.

¥ Choose from any of the following three main topics: a) Hollywood Early Years & Golden Age, b) World Cinemas and c) Best Directors of all Times.

¥ Consider resources such as books, magazines, journals, DVDs, audio, newspapers and the Internet to research your topic.

¥ Consider information on facts, discoveries, people, your ideas & opinion about the topic to write the Blog. Enrich your work/Blog.

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¥ Cite your sources (DO NOT PLAGARIZE). All work found to be copied directly from another source will be graded with a 1.0.

¥ Present your Blog to the class on May 3^rd. Consider 10 minutes maximum per group for your presentation. Both students have to participate.

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Weighting:

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Total: 30%