In cinematic times past, particularly during the dominance of the auteur in the 1970s, the line between commercial filmmaking and artistry was blurred if not invisible. As much as I deplore reactionary film criticism, it is undeniable that before the proliferation of special effects and digitally assisted technology, audiences were more content with just a good story, solid characterisation, or suspense than they are now. Sensory engorgement – be it with effects, rapid editing, or the scale of carnage or coarseness - is now a prerequisite for a major box-office take, and while some financially successful films of quality manage to use that facility to their advantage (
The Lord of the Rings and
The Matrix, for example), the divide between consumer-oriented and creatively-focused filmmaking is very wide.
