Component 1 Section A - Auteur Essay - due 04/01/21

 'The director is always the most important influence on a film.' Compare how far your two chosen films support this statement. [40]

In both Wilder's 'Some Like It Hot' and Penn's 'Bonnie & Clyde', the director can be seen to the most important influence on a film. Both filmmakers have recurring themes in their filmographies, unique to them, making them auteurs, and these qualities are exemplified in the two films mentioned above.

In Wilder's 'Some Like It Hot', the director is essential to the film's identity. This is first scene with the social and political values it presents, where Wilder goes against ordinary conventions of the time to insert themes of gender representation and sexuality, using the guise of comedy to get it through the Hay's code. These underlying societal critiques are also seen in Wilder's 'Sunset Boulevard' where there are underlying themes of mental illness and alcoholism, proving that these qualities are part of Wilder's body of work as an auteur. Similarly to Wilder, Penn uses social commentary in 'Bonnie & Clyde' to show the lack of progress in America between the 1930s and the 1960s in everything from civil rights to gender roles. Social commentary is characteristic in Penn's work as also seen in 'Alice's Restaurant', once again, demonstrating the importance of the director's influence on a film. Another example of a director's influence is through the cinematic style of the film. Penn is influenced by the French New Wave and their modern generation of directors who broke free from the traditions of old cinema. This is most clearly seen in 'Bonnie & Clyde's' unclear distinction between documentary and fiction, with Penn using real footage and photographs to open the film - a key component of the French New Wave. The influence of a director on a film through style is also seen in Wilder's 'Some Like It Hot' where Wilder uses elements of film noir - a style he was very much familiar with in his other films such as 'Sunset Boulevard' and 'Double Indemnity' - to relate the moral ambiguity of the 1920s, when the film is set, through the visual tropes of bootlegging and organised crimes, to the supposed moral ambiguity of gender roles and sexuality that was prevalent at the time. This aspect of 'Some Like It Hot's' identity is made possible due to Wilder's influence on the film as a director.

However, it can be argued that the director is not always the most important influence on the film. This can be seen in how the films are remembered. The most iconoclastic aspect of Wilder's 'Some Like It Hot' is Marilyn Monroe's character of Sugar. Monroe was one of the largest products of the Hollywood star system which drove the film industry for the average consumer. Most people went to see films based on the stars rather than the directors and that is the evident through the way the film was marketed with Marilyn Monroe as the focal point on the film's posters. Whilst Wilder's reputation as an auteur could be said to put him above the star system, Some Like It Hot does stand out in his filmography as a much lighter and more playful film, at least on the surface. Therefore, generally, the stars of 'Some Like It Hot' are more recognised as the driving force of the film, especially as the focus of the film is on the identity of the characters, making the actors essential in making that theme come across. Similarly, in Penn's 'Bonnie & Clyde', Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway are the focal point of the film, especially given the fact that their characters make up the title. The film is, therefore, defined by the actors seen onscreen rather than the director offscreen.

All in all, the director is a huge influence on a film, from its themes to its identity but it is impossible to pin one influence as the most important one over a film. Whilst the director creates the world of the film, the actors define it and make it come to life - both parts having a large influence. However, in the films of Wilder and Penn, specifically 'Some Like It Hot' and 'Bonnie & Clyde', the director is shown to go above-and-beyond in carving their films' identities through societal criticisms and innovative ideas, signifying that, in this case, the director is the most important influence on a film.