The most important influence on a film can be described as the Auter, which is usually discussed in relation to the director but could also be anyone who takes creative control of a project. For example, the film Blade runner the auter can be described as Ridley Scott The director or even some of the actors, like the actor who played Batty. He could be described as an auter because his final monologue he wrote himself, therefore making him, arguably, an auter of Blade Runner.
The director is the most important part of the film in regards to how its shot and the plot, but not always the finished product. Studios tend to mess with films and the directors vision for finished product is not always brought to light and the studio can mess with films so much post and during production that its far from the directors original vision. Blade Runner and The Lady from Shanghai are two excellent examples of this. Both films the directors were restricted artistically and budget wise. Warner Brothers, the studio that worked on Blade Runner with Ridley, did not give, what Ridley saw, as a sufficient budget and therefore he went massively over budget. Warner Brothers also ended up taking the film from Ridley after the original cut of Blade Runner as it was 4 hours long and they were allowed to take it after 2 hours, therefore massively taking away his directorial influence. You can see some studio influence in the film as the voiceover they insisted on arguably takes way from the film and Ridley's artistic vision. As the voice over was a drastic change, it took away Ridley's directorial influence, therefore making his influence lesser. The same happened with Orson Welles with The Lady from Shanghai and it can be seen when watching the film. Columbia took the film off welles and had given the editing job to Viola Lawrence. The editing completely butchered the film and makes certain scenes in the film look strange. A prime example of this is the beginning fight scene where some of it is sped up, it makes the scene appear strange as its placing is very random, and can actually make it comical. This happens at various other moments during the film such as the cliff scene and the courtroom.
Not only is directorial influence restricted post production but it can be during as well, In Lady from Shaghai the Studio insisted on many close ups and shots of Rita Hayworth, who was the star of the film and of the studio. She was known as one of the most famous Femme Fetals of the time. And because of this, Harry Cohn who ran Columbia insisted on close ups of her, to arguably make the film more watchable. During the film there are many, random, shots of Rita Hayworth. An example of this is almost a montage of her in her swimsuit on the rocks, what could've been conveyed in 10 seconds was extended as the studio found her to be the most marketable part of the film. I feel the over excessive shots of Rita Hayworth take away from the plot, well hat can be understood of the plot, and are just unnecessary, clearly put there to ensure spectators didn't despise the film as much as Harry Cohn expected.
All of the sections of Lady from Shanghai that are off or not as well executed have studio meddling, however the end scene in the funhouse with Orson Welles and Rita Hayworth is completely Osons doing. His use of the shattering mirrors made cinematic history and is actually sill used now in films such as John Wick, Bruce Lee's Enter the Dragon and many other films.
In Blade Runner, directorial influence was arguably stripped from him after the production of the film, and this included adding and cutting key parts of the film. The studio insisted on adding a voiceover to allow for the audience to understand the film. This caused a lot of the production team, including Scott to say the film was “being made for people who didn’t understand what it was about”. Eventually, Scott agreed to the voiceover but it was the first thing he got rid of in his 1982 directors cut. Another thing the studio influenced was the cutting of the unicorn scene, which scott was not happy about as he felt it was key to the plot, and was another thing he changed in his directors cut. Personally, in regards to the unicorn scene I would agree with the studio as I feel it would've confused the audience even more. On the other hand if Scott felt it were important and added to the film artistically I do not think it should have been cut.
Although all of the previous points have been in disagreement of the above statement the director is highly influential, Scott and Welles showcase this in their respective films. Welles reflects this by actually acting in his films and this could be because he feels by having someone else in the role they wont be able to get his vision and ideas of the film across correctly. Ridley is a prime example n having a strong influence over his films, this is because he is a perfectionist and will push his cast and crew to get the desired shots. He is so much of a perfectionist the crew of blade runner grew to resent hm as they’d be working long nights in the rain and cold. They grew to despise the shot so much they made t-shirts saying “blood runner” and “I survived Blade Runner”
Overall the director is a vital influence on a film and without their influence the film would have no substance or stylistically however, the studio will more often than not have the final say on a film, and if they butcher the film toa point where the director is unhappy with the product sometimes they'll do a directors cut which Ridley did with 1982's version of Blade Runner
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