The Dark Auteur
Auteur theory has been influencing film critics since 1954, and has been advocated by film director and critic Francois Truffaut. Auteur theory is what sets a director apart from their peers. What makes a director an auteur is that over their body of work it has a series of signature themes and style that gives it a personal or unique stamp that is easily recognised when viewing. Tim Burton can be seen a great auteur , as his person creative vision, and the choices he makes for his films either it be recurring cast or themes he has a signature and visual style.
'I always liked strange characters.'
Burton's career has remained inside that of the mainstream of film, yet each now creation still is a unconventional one. He is famous for creating some of the most dark, quirky-themed and strange creative visions. He can also be praised for creating landscapes and characters with a haunting intensity and beauty which will always be his signature.
The main recurring themes which make Burton stand out are storytelling, returning cast members, Danny Elfman's music scores, characters which represent the outsider and how the film actually appears visually. These will be discussed in the following three clips, Edward Scissor Hands, Alice in Wonderland and Sweeny Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street.
Storytelling appears within this film as it starts with Winona Ryder's character at the start in the form of the Grandma role telling her grandchildren a story, later we find out that she is the main character of the film. Recurring cast members appear in this film in the form of Vincent Price, who did the voice over for Burton's earlier film Vincent, and most notably Johnny Depp. Depp plays the lead Edward the quirky outsider of society with the knives for fingers. Finally Edward Scissor Hands is very obviously Burton visually too down to the gothic castle, the randomly coloured houses of the town and the stunning hedge animals carved by Edward.
Johnny Depp plays another outsider character in this film who verges on having a split personality. Similarly with Edward and his love for Ryder's character in the previous film, the Mad Hatter shares a similar relationship for Alice. The returning cast features Burton's real life partner Helen Bonham Carter as the Queen of Hearts. Unlike the traditional Alice in Wonderland Burton's version has a darker feel to it, yet has all his visually stunning costumes and sets. Finally the score for this film was produced by Danny Elfman, who has worked on five of Burton's films.
Sweeny Todd also starts off on a storytelling theme and this carries on throughout the film, but this time with sining. Depp is placed as the lead role of outcast Todd playing opposite Bonham Carter as Mrs Lovett, an awarding winning partnership. This film allows Burton's darker side to show through with the portrayal of Victorian London with the costumes and sets, and the darker story line.
Sources:
www.imdb.com
www.timburton.com
www.imaginarycinema.com
www.senseofcinema.com
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