ELIZABETH AS AN EXAMPLE OF ART CINEMA :: essays research papers

Bordwell and Thompson define the art pullulate as "a film which, while made under commercial circumstances take an access to form and style influenced by "high art" which offers an alternative to mainstream diversion" (1). Like avant-garde film making, this style offer the audience with a movie that takes glory in cinemas stance as a new-made art form, for art house films are not just intend to be entertaining, they are designed to be imaginative. Shekhar Kapurs 1998 film Elizabeth presents us with a contemporary art film. Although it does offer entertainment through a engrossing narrative, the film as a whole is presented in a yeasty way, owing to the auteurish vision of Kapur. Indeed, as the film is arguably British, abroad Elizabeth by definition becomes as art film, since Bordwell and Thompson also define the term art house as a phrase "used by the U.S film industry to describe import films of interest to upper -middle class, educated audiences" (2) . In America, Elizabeth was packaged solely as an art film, or at least an art interpretation of the British Heritage thriller film. This labelling is of fall debatable and by comparing the fundamental ideas regarding art films to Elizabeth, one chiffonier access the validity of its claim to being cinematic art. The characteristics of an art cinema film are outgo outlined in David Bordwells article The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film Practice and this text will form the basis of my estimate of Elizabeth. Bordwell suggests that "art cinema defines itself explicitly against the classical narrative" (3), yet Elizabeth is distinctly conventional in narrative style. Film analyst Wendy Ide, even suggests that Elizabeth follows the usance three act narrative set-up precisely, with climaxes at the end of each act. As proof she suggests that Queen Marys death is the climatic resolution to the first act, "which takes charge exactly 30 minutes into the film" following the t raditions of narrative ideals (4). Bordwell, goes on to also suggest that the "cause effect linkage of events" is "tenuous in the art film" (5), yet this narrative technique is used continually to advance Elizabeths narrative. For example, 40 minutes into the film, the royal court debate the peril of an impending "French attack" (6). Queen Elizabeth resolves to send an military, prompting a new narrative strand. The result of this (cause) is shown almost immediately (42 minutes into the film) for in a graphic scene the audience comes to realise that English army has been defeated the resolution to this specific narrative strand has been provided.