| Abstract: |
Two great movie directors were both born in 1930. One of them, Jean-Luc
Godard, revolutionized filmmaking during his 30s, and declined in creativity
thereafter. In contrast, Clint Eastwood did not direct his first movie until
he had passed the age of 40, and did not emerge as an important director until
after 60. This dramatic difference in life cycles was not accidental, but was
a characteristic example of a pattern that has been identified across the
arts: Godard was a conceptual innovator who peaked early, whereas Eastwood was
an experimental innovator who improved with experience. This paper examines
the goals, methods, and creative life cycles of Godard, Eastwood, and eight
other directors who were the most important filmmakers of the second half of
the twentieth century. Francis Ford Coppola, Stanley Kubrick, Stephen
Spielberg, and François Truffaut join Godard in the category of conceptual
young geniuses, while Woody Allen, Robert Altman, John Cassavetes, and Martin
Scorsese are classed with Eastwood as experimental old masters. In an era in
which conceptual innovators have dominated a number of artistic activities,
the strong representation of experimental innovators among the greatest film
directors is an interesting phenomenon. |