Christopher Nolan Auteur Theory
Michael Bergonzi
Mr. Shafer Film as Literature
18 December 2008
Christopher Nolan: Director or Something More Director Christopher Nolan has made a total of six feature films, including the ever popular Memento (2000) and The Dark Knight (2008). People who are merely fans say that he is an auteur. Film majors, however, disagree and believe that he doesn’t have enough movies out and that he is just good in relation to box office results and should not be considered an auteur. I have to disagree with the people who say Nolan is not an auteur. The Auteur theory states that when a director has reached a level where he, or she, has a “stamp” on all his films, he is considered an auteur. The road a director must take is to have his, or …show more content…
The Dark Knight isn’t just your average super hero film. It’s a crime drama where batman actually has to solve a crime and stop the bad guy. “Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is a haunting film that leaps beyond it’s origins becomes an engrossing tragedy… because of he direction, because of the writing… this film, and to a lesser degree, Iron Man redefine the possibilities of the comic book movie” (Roger Ebert). Roger Ebert gave The Dark Knight a four star rating. The story of this movie, and the comic book in a sense, has a lot of origins from film noir. In this movie batman is on the borderline between hero and vigilante. The Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger) is a “Mephistopheles whose actions are fiendishly designed to pose moral dilemmas for his enemies” (Ebert). In a sense the world of Gotham City is grey rather then black and white. There is one particular scene that, in my opinion has more mise en scene then other parts of the movie. The scene is early in the film and makes sense if you have seen the end, or read the comics. The scene where Jim Gordon (played by Gary Oldman) is talking to Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart) about meeting Batman (played by Christian Bale) the camera shots of the two in the district attorney’s office give a foreshadowing essence, when you add actual dialogue. When Jim enters the office of Harvey dent the camera tracks Gordon and dent revealing dent’s office. Dent’s office is, in my opinion, somewhat cluttered. There are papers all over his desk and over flowing paper files on the shelf. Seeing the end of the movie a person might think of this scene as cinematic foreshadowing because it shows just how “disorganized” Harvey Dent is early on in the movie. Another mise en scene moment is the background behind Dent’s head. Behind his head there is a glass window that, in most cases, symbolizes an open mind that is open to interpretation. Combining
Mr. Shafer Film as Literature
18 December 2008
Christopher Nolan: Director or Something More Director Christopher Nolan has made a total of six feature films, including the ever popular Memento (2000) and The Dark Knight (2008). People who are merely fans say that he is an auteur. Film majors, however, disagree and believe that he doesn’t have enough movies out and that he is just good in relation to box office results and should not be considered an auteur. I have to disagree with the people who say Nolan is not an auteur. The Auteur theory states that when a director has reached a level where he, or she, has a “stamp” on all his films, he is considered an auteur. The road a director must take is to have his, or …show more content…
The Dark Knight isn’t just your average super hero film. It’s a crime drama where batman actually has to solve a crime and stop the bad guy. “Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight is a haunting film that leaps beyond it’s origins becomes an engrossing tragedy… because of he direction, because of the writing… this film, and to a lesser degree, Iron Man redefine the possibilities of the comic book movie” (Roger Ebert). Roger Ebert gave The Dark Knight a four star rating. The story of this movie, and the comic book in a sense, has a lot of origins from film noir. In this movie batman is on the borderline between hero and vigilante. The Joker (played by the late Heath Ledger) is a “Mephistopheles whose actions are fiendishly designed to pose moral dilemmas for his enemies” (Ebert). In a sense the world of Gotham City is grey rather then black and white. There is one particular scene that, in my opinion has more mise en scene then other parts of the movie. The scene is early in the film and makes sense if you have seen the end, or read the comics. The scene where Jim Gordon (played by Gary Oldman) is talking to Harvey Dent (played by Aaron Eckhart) about meeting Batman (played by Christian Bale) the camera shots of the two in the district attorney’s office give a foreshadowing essence, when you add actual dialogue. When Jim enters the office of Harvey dent the camera tracks Gordon and dent revealing dent’s office. Dent’s office is, in my opinion, somewhat cluttered. There are papers all over his desk and over flowing paper files on the shelf. Seeing the end of the movie a person might think of this scene as cinematic foreshadowing because it shows just how “disorganized” Harvey Dent is early on in the movie. Another mise en scene moment is the background behind Dent’s head. Behind his head there is a glass window that, in most cases, symbolizes an open mind that is open to interpretation. Combining