Shane Meadows, Alan Clarke and Mike Leigh

[mollyrose]

Hey, for my A Level film studies project i am looking at the question:

Can directors that achieve social realism in their films, such as Shane Meadows, Alan Clarke and Mike Leigh ever be considered auteurs?

It has been argued that because their films are so realistic, they lack a distinctive authorial stamp;

I would be very grateful to hear from anyone with an oppinion on this topic, cheers

[tonyyeboah]

I wouldn't say Shane's films are ultra realistic. He has a directors eye for a good looking shot and will sometimes make comprimises for realism in that respect. Moreover, he often throws in a few curve balls of comedy and or/fantasy even. Think he is a more complicated story teller than he appears to be on first watch!

[jim woolley]

Molly, might be something to have a look at the whole 'auteur' theory and discuss that at some length, is it really a good way of looking at directors...etc.

Recent letters to Sight and Sound magazine have been very derisory with regards to the sunny response critics gave to Mike Leigh's HAPPY GO LUCKY and note how his improvisational technique and view of London create a vision for us that is far from realistic. The character of Poppy in the film - I would agree, she is certainly not realistic. It's up to you how else you may choose to define the effect Leigh creates. In NAKED the feeling is far from happy-go-lucky and impressionistic, creating a very dark mood. Leigh's films create these moods in certain ways, using realistic scenes that feel true, with more dreamy or moody scenes. Maybe that interests you. I think that mood-piece thing is true for Meadows and Clarke, too.

With Alan Clarke's films, the script in say MADE IN BRITAIN is fantastic. It's not just off-the-cuff stuff so then, is that realistic? The film certainly feels real. But is that the result of a lot of hard work and planning? Of course. Same with SCUM.

A documentary is of course real but if you film fiction in a documentary style where does that lead?

It pretty much depends where you approach a certain film from, which standpoint and what you are trying to ask is 'realistic'...This could certainly be quite a subjective matter.

[josephcroft]

I'm into my Dogme 95, me.