Universal Film Magazine - Issue 8 - www.ufmag.biz

Universal FilmIssue 8 - 2013Those are the famous words spoken by whoI believe is the most important person on amovie set. A director is judged by their creativetalent and ability to run a production.They have to have complete control “on thefloor”, as they have many responsibilities: working closelywith the cast and crew and making many importantdecisions.One of the features I always associate with a film directoris their trademarks. What you associate with them andtheir films, the connection. It could be anything from:the tone of the film, frequent use of the same actors, reoccurringthemes, narrative layout, camera angles andshots. There are so many film directors out there whohave their own style and trademarks but I’ve managedto pick 5 who I believe have had a big influence on upand coming film directors.Park Chan-Wook was born 23/8/63 in Seoul, South Korea.He is also a screenwriter, producer and film critic. Heis one of the most acclaimed and popular filmmakers inhis home country. He is mostly known for his “VengeanceTrilogy” consisting of Sympathy for Mr Vengeance(2002), Oldboy (2003) and Sympathy for Lady Vengeance(2005). Despite the extreme violence in his films, Park ishighly regarded as one of the most popular film directorsin South Korea. Park decided to become a filmmakerafter seeing the film vertigo. He list William Shakespeare,Alfred Hitchcock, Roman Polanski, among others, as biginfluences on his career. Quentin Tarantino is an avowedfan of Park’s.Park’s trademarks include themes of revenge. His filmsare about the utter futility of vengeance and how itwreaks havoc on the lives of everyone involved. Parklikes to tell big stories through small, artificially createdworlds. His films are often noted for their immaculateframing and often brutal subject matter. Park openlyuses sex, as well as using the same actors in many of hisfilms.Zhang Yimou was born 14/11/51 in Xi’an, capital ofShaanxi province, China. He is also a producer, writer,actor and former cinematographer and photographer.Zhang is counted amongst the “Fifth Generation” ofChinese filmmakers (an artistic re-emergence in China,after the end of the Cultural Revolution). Some Zhang’ssuccessful films include: Red Sorghum (1987), Ju Dou(1989), Raise the Red Lantern (1991), Hero (2002), Houseof Flying Daggers (2004) and Curse of the Golden Flower(2006). He is often described as “a genius with cameraand choreography”. Zhang faced difficulties in his earlylife and some of his trademarks include showing the resilienceof Chinese people in the face of hardship andadversity. He often explores the dark side of life in smallChinese rural communities. He has a neorealist habit ofemploying non-professional actors and location shooting.Most of his films begin with the title displayed in Chinesecalligraphy style and his films are particularly noted fortheir rich use of colour.Another trademark is working with the actress Gong Li.She was considered his “muse” and was his leading ladyin 8 of his films. They had a romantic, as well as a professionalrelationship. This ended during production ofShanghai Triad (1995). They would not work togetheragain until Curse of the Golden Flower (2006).Martin Scorsese was born 17/11/42 in Little Italy, NewYork City. He is also a screenwriter, producer, actor andfilm historian. He is of Sicilian decent and was raised in adevoutly catholic environment. Scorsese’s films addressthemes of Italian American identity, Roman Catholicconcepts of guilt and redemption, machismo, moderncrime, macho posturing, bloody violence, violence asculturally endemic and sub-cultural divisions down ethwww.ufmag.org50