best film made by a metteur en scene. This brings us to the idea of what can be considered when examining a metteur en scene. The definition seems to take on exactly the opposite quality than that of an auteur. A metteur en scene may make decent or even good films, but there seems to be a link missing when comparing all their works as a whole. When regarding the works of an Auteur, we must examine their films as a whole; to greater understand the thought process in film creation. This is where we are able to make the distinction between Kurosawa as an auteur and Zemeckis as a metteur en scene. The unknown consistency that is present in an “auteurs” film seems to be lacking in the films of a metteur en scene. While there may not be a consistent feeling present in the films of a metteur en scene, this is not to say that their films are not quality ones. Zemeckis may be considered to be a successful director in the eyes of the viewing public, however, that is not to assume that he is also an auteur. The distinguishing differences between the concepts of auteurism and metteur en scene will be demonstrated throughout this essay using the examples of Back to the Future and Forrest Gump for Zemeckis and Rashomon and Dodes ‘Ka-Den for Kurosawa respectively. With these films we will examine the use of reoccurring themes or lack there of in each directors work: Themes illustrated by the directors include the director’s use of social themes and attitude towards his audience. To fully understand any film, we must try to understand the ideas which the director was attempting to portray to his viewers. One of the ways that auteurism has been defined is the consistency of ideas portrayed to the viewer over the scope of a directors career. A film early on in a director’s career has the same running themes and attitudes as a later film and thus we see a thematic bridge that links his/her films together. The uses...
