Exam Question

 ' The director is the most important creative influence on the production and content of a film '.

 How far do you agree with this statement when applied to both of your chosen films?  

I lightly disagree with this statement because in Apocalypse Now, Coppola didn't take full control of the entire production, he actually took in ideas and contribution from the cast, for example he would spend days talking with his cast about how he can make better the production of the film since it was unfinished and he had to finish the film whilst he produced it. On the other hand Coppola did have an important creative influence for example most of the aesthetics, scenery and background were all influenced by Coppola whereas the character surroundings were influenced by the cast. 

On the other hand Casablanca was like the opposite of Apocalypse Now, it followed the "traditional" ways of film-making that Apocalypse Now had broken, which was to do as the producer is told and do everything in a tidy-neat way. Casablanca was finished in 2 weeks whereas Apocalypse Now took 3 years to produce. Casablanca was all produced in a studio whereas Apocalypse Now was produced in the Philippines.

One thing that these two films have in common though is how they both portray a view of realism. How in Apocalypse Now they emphasise how unserious some soldiers were showing the realistic point of views of what actually happens in a war, and then how in Casablanca they show how people were trying really hard to get out of Casablanca so they could go to America and avoid the first world war. 

Directors first gained important roles with lots of power and influence during the 1960s and 70s when Hollywood films became particularly popular especially amongst youngsters. Also when young filmmakers started making a name for themselves and gaining the titles of auteurs, since then directors have been recognised as auteurs for having particular ways of producing films through the use of film form in a certain particular way.

Classical Hollywood style became massively popular rapidly after WW1 used to describe both narrative and visual style of filmmaking it eventually became the most powerful style of filmmaking in the world and Apocalypse Now was the first ever to break the rules of a traditional "classical" Hollywood style film by using ideas not only from his own but from his surroundings making Apocalypse Now awarded for Best Cinematography which is surprising considering he didn't use a classical Hollywood style.

Overall both Apocalypse Now and Casablanca explore the different views of whether the director is the most important creative influence on the production, I personally disagree with that because I believe that if Coppola can create a masterpiece such as Apocalypse Now through the use of his cast's ideas and his own then not all films should be in a classical Hollywood style and should spice things up to make them stand out from different films.