A great film is made up of numerous different elements, ranging from the spark that creates the idea, through shooting, to the final post-production. While each of these elements on their own are imperative, it is only by incorporating them all into a film that a comprehensive, rounded piece can be formulated.
The first of the most important aspects of a film is the storytelling. I never understand how studios can fling millions at a movie, while overlooking the narrative foundations on which it is built. “No amount of great animation will save a bad story”, John Lasseter, the Chief Creative Officer of Pixar, once stated. This is true not just of animation, however. While a story should be engaging, it’s important to give the viewer a little room for interpretation. V. Renée of nofilmschool.com suggests the audience should “[be] allowed to explore the story and figure it out themselves”, rather than just being told what’s going on. For films which weave together complex stories and plot twists, check out classics Fight Club (1999) and The Good The Bad And The Ugly (1966).
Part of that story is, of course, made up by the characters — they bring to life an otherwise empty stage. The key to creating an outstanding character is apparently found in casting Harrison Ford: he occupies both the first and third spots in Empire magazine’s list of the 100 greatest film characters, as Indiana Jones and Han Solo respectively. But pondering both characters, they share traits other than just in their casting: both are scruffy-looking but self-assured icons, propelling the franchises they inhabit. The same may be said of Hermione Granger, Princess Leia, or James Bond (in all his various manifestations) — recognisable in an instant, the power of their characters radiating through the both story and the screen.
No character can hold our our attention without screen presence however, and this is made possible only with a talented actor or actress in their shoes. Marcus Geduld, the Artistic Director of a New York Theatre, theorizes that not only does an actor need to show complete confidence in front of the camera, they also have to show vulnerability. “One skill great actors have is allowing themselves to be (emotionally) naked in front of a lot of strangers.” And much like with the plot, subtlety is often key, rather than theatrically overacting their part — Lots of clownish arm-flailing is perhaps suitable for Jim Carrey in Ace Ventura: Pet Detective, not so much for Clint Eastwood’s solemn Walt Kowalski in Gran Torino — Geduld praises Anthony Hopkins’ captivatingly corked-up performance in Remains of the Day (1993). Other standout performances include Sigourney Weaver as Ripley in the Alien series, Heath Ledger as the Joker, and basically anything by Robert De Niro (even the rom-coms). The list is impossible to boil down.
Helping to tie all these elements together is the soundtrack. Made up of dialogue and sound effects, as well as the score, a notable soundtrack will lend a sense of immersion. Not only does each boom in a blockbuster need to be felt in the chest of the viewer, the same can be said for the almost silent creaking floorboard in a horror film — just enough to make the terrified, lonesome character’s heart flutter. Similarly, a score flows with the tone of the film: the iconic crescendo of the opening title, to the muted, vulnerable strings as the hero is inevitably shot in the chest, before the soaring celebration of his miraculous recovery in front of his lover. The score can help define a film — think of Star Wars (1977-) or Psycho (1960). Of course, other films adopt a more alternative approach, perhaps incorporating contemporary music, such as Baby Driver (2017) or Goodfellas (1990).
Of course, there are many more crucially important elements which go into creating a critically acclaimed film, both in terms of cinematography, and boardroom politics. Indeed it could be argued that the single most important figure is the producer, who often oversees the script and budget, the casting, and post-production. Without them, there is no film.
However, these constituents are all coordinated by probably the single most important requirement for a great film: the director. It is their central vision which brings the film to fruition. They choose the scripts to shoot, envision the sets and costumes, the actors performances, the editing — a fantastic director really seals a promising film. According to the Director’s Guild of America, some of the top 10 best directed films are (unsurprisingly) The Godfather I and II, 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), and Schindler’s List (1993). There are recurring names, too: Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, and Francis Ford Coppola.
And it was Coppola who, according to The New Yorker, stated that having a mass audience obligated him “to affect people in ways he considered worthwhile, and part of that influence involved craft or finish.” He recognised the overarching power that a director has, responsible for raising the film from an idea to a polished, finished work of art.
