This document discusses methods for analyzing films, including genre analysis and auteur theory. Genre analysis examines common elements in different genres like horror films, while auteur theory looks at directors who put their own style on films across genres. Examples are given of auteur directors like Quentin Tarantino, Ridley Scott, Tim Burton, and Wes Craven who infuse their signature style into various film genres. The document also outlines the seven key areas to examine when determining a film's genre, such as codes/conventions, characters, themes, and ideological messages.

1. Jack Mulligan
How Do We Analyse Film?
There are number of methods to analyse films but the two ways I am going to be looking at are
genre analysis and auteur theory. The genre analysis is looking at genres of films and seeing what
you expect to see in these types of films, you do this by look at the 7 key areas. But unlike expecting
what you normal see in a film you see a cross with different genres together or directors own take
on a genre, this is called auteur theory. There are a number of auteur directors and one of the most
famous of them is Quentin Tarantino who makes films in different genres but puts his own style on
them. The codes and conventions in certain genres such as the horrors which takes place in the
haunted house or a metaphor for the house such as the sea in Jaws (dir. Steven Spielberg 1975) or
your dreams in Nightmare on elm street (dir. Wes Craven 1984).
When we are analysing a film you have to look at the 7 key areas to show what type of genre the
film is. The 7 key areas you need to look for are codes and conventions, the location or setting, the
types of character which are used, the iconography is what you expect to see in the film, the
narrative, the types of themes which you expect to see and the ideological message is the message
which the director is trying to put forward. Such as the James bonds car in the films is an Aston
Martin which is putting forward the idea of British power or UK dominance because his car is
significantly better than the enemies’ car and in car chase his car is always faster. Also in horror films
when the bad guy has a big, strong weapon which is used as a phallic symbols and to show male
dominance.
When you watch a typical western film such as High noon or hang em high you will find the type of
character you would expect to find such as the lone wanderer who ends up being the hero, the
corrupt officials and the gang members. The hero uncovers a plot and they end up fighting each
other. Within a typical western the mise en scene is small frontier town in the middle of the desert,
with horse, gun and saloons this is what you call the mise en scene are thing which you expect to
find in a western genre. The themes which a typically western tackles are revenge, wealth, power
and corruption. But in the film cowboys and aliens (dir. Jon Favreau 2011) put
two film genres together which are similar in some aspects and aren’t in others
aspects, because you could say that space is much like the desert and they are
exploring space as settlers explored America. Instead of horses they ride
around in spaceships, the themes in a sci-fi are the same with good vs. evil and
just like westerns the good wins most of the time. The way the dress gives you
an indication of with side each person is on, like the good will wear white or
lighter colours and the evil will wear black or darker clothes. In cowboys and
aliens the film the aliens look was very generic because they looked like the
aliens which are in the film district 9, so just by knowing the genre of the film
you have early preconception of what they will look like.

2. Jack Mulligan
During the opening sequence of the film quantum of solace (dir. Marc Foster 2008) which is a car
chase though Italy you know start was that it is an action thriller because you
have the fast car, set in Italy, the big loud guns people dying but you don’t see
them die you have the idea that they are dead with show that. Know these are
all convention s of the action thriller genre but when you look at the film Leon
(dir. Luc Besson 1994) and it opening scene you see him trying to assassinate
someone important or in power because of the security which the person has,
you see the skill which Leon have to kill people and the location which is set in
Ney York City.
Know the similarities in the both films are the guns, death of the enemy that
both films are set in fancy or glamorous locations.
Luc Besson who Directors the film Leon would be described as an Auteur because at the start of
Leon you believe that is an action thriller because it has all the conventions of that genre but you
soon find out that the film is a type of family drama. This is because you see the young girl whose
family gets murdered and Leon takes her in. As the story goes on you see the relationship of the two
people blossom which looks like a father daughter relationship. Even though the film is an action
thriller genre thought out it’s not the typical action thriller film.
Ridley Scott is an auteur because he changed the sci-fi genre because when he did the film alien this
was a change because the sci-fi films which were out was like star war and star trek. But when Ridley
Scott did alien it had the typical codes and conventions of a sci-fi but the film had aspect of the
horror genre because of the people were being killed. Also space or the spaceship is a metaphor for
the haunted house in horror film.
Tim Burton is a good example of an auteur because all his films are unique and you know that he
directed him. His film styles spread across different genres and all have that dark and creepy feel
about them, even if he’s doing action like batman or a children’s film such as Charlie and the
chocolate factory, so even thought the codes and conventions of the different film genre there is still
an horror aspect with in the film. One aspect which makes him an auteur is that he uses the same
actor in films like Johnny deep and Helena Bonham Carter.
Was Craven is an auteur within the horror genre became an auteur because he was original in a
genre which is quiet difficult to be original, because he cam the idea that the haunted house
metaphor would be you own dream or subconscious. Where sleeping is a natural part of life he used
that as something scary and made people frightened.

3. Jack Mulligan
I believe that Jon Favreau the director of Cowboys and aliens is not and auteur because he is not the
soul creator of the film because cowboys and aliens was originally a comic book and he used the
idea to make the film. I felt that within the film there is no ideological message or meaning which
Jon Favreau has put in his film but most or all auteur film makers have ideological messages within
the concept of their films. As Favreau uses well know actor as main characters, that the aliens aren’t
original because they look like the aliens in district 9. The idea of the film is described as a hybrid
because the idea is two very similar genres have been but into one film, although this idea hasn’t
been done before. The film doesn’t have its own individual style and themes within his different
genres of film, his films are just like the prototypical big Hollywood blockbuster which looks all the
same. Now because of his other films like Iron man, Wimbledon and G-force there is nothing which
jumps out which watching the film which you automatically know that it’s a Jon Favreau film.