Was Andre Bazin a realist?
He is notable for arguing that realism is the most important function of cinema. His call for objective reality, deep focus, and lack of montage are linked to his belief that the interpretation of a film or scene should be left to the spectator.
How did André Bazin theorize realism in and for cinema?
Since Bazin believes that the origins of an art reveal its nature, cinema’s quest for realism supports his claim for an objective and pure cinema. This “myth” which grew out of cinema’s beginnings stands as the touchstone cinema has progressively evolved toward.
What is realism in film according to Bazin or Kracauer?
So, it follows that like a photograph, “a film is realistic because it correctly reproduces that part of the real world to which it refers” (Kracauer 299).
What does Bazin say about realism?
For Bazin, realism was a style whose chief elements were the long take, deep focus, limited editing and, when possible, the use of non-professional, or at least relatively unknown actors. Realism for Bazin was both the essence of cinema—its ontology—and a rhetoric whose keys were simplicity, purity, and transparency.
What is the realist film theory?
Realism in film relies on both narrative and visual realism — by this I mean that the story must be grounded in reality and the visuals must match. These movies are grounded in reality with none of the escapist fantasy of the typical Hollywood blockbuster.
What does Bazin mean by montage?
Bazin makes a distinction between two different movements in silent film, one in which “montage and the plastic composition of the image are the very essence of cinema” and therefore in no need of support from sound, and another where the “image is evaluated not according to what it adds to reality but what it reveals …
What is André Bazin theory?
Bazin’s film theory acknowledges the equalizing impact of the camera lens, which is analogous to, but also different from, the human eye. In the cinema, two different kinds of eyes coexist: one is mechanical and objective, the other is human and subjective.
What is true realism according to Bazin?
By contrast with pseudo-realism, Bazin posits a “true realism,” which he defines as “a need to express the meaning of the world in it concrete aspects and in its essence.” It is on the basis of this true realism that Bazin wishes to establish an aesthetics of realism.
Does Bazin downplay the role of sound in realism in film?
However, Bazin overlooks just how important a psychological role sound played in achieving the impression of reality, and the impression of space and depth that were so important to him. Sound added immensely to realism in cinema but Bazin, perhaps so as not to interfere with his spatial/temporal claim, downplays it.
Was Bazin’s criticism of Welles a realist?
Writers who try to reveal inconsistencies in how Bazin applied his own theory to criticism often focused on his troubled affirmation of Welles as a realist. Andrew Tudor, in Theories of Film, says that Bazin enters “deep water” in doing so because Welles is the great inheritor of German Expressionism.
What is Bazin’s view of the role of Art in reality?
According to Bazin, reality in itself is meaningless, and the role of art consists, precisely, of the effort to take something meaningless (reality) and create meaning out of it.