Frank Capra Influences

Throughout recent history, thousands of films have been created by a large amount of directors. However, few have made as big an impact as Frank Capra. His work has been regarded as some of the most inspiring pieces of cinema and should be looked to for inspiration. Even though he was an underrated director for his time, Frank Capra was one of the biggest influences on modern cinema. He was able to accomplish this by creating a series of films that all followed the same, unique recipe spanning the elements of story, directing, and editing that survive the test of time. Most, if not all, of Frank Capra’s films follow the exact same storyline, just with different characters in different situations. Each film goes something like this: The …show more content…
Unlike many film directors of the time, Frank Capra did not get his start in the United States. Capra was born in Sicily and immigrated to America when he was five years old. Later on, Capra got a job at Columbia Pictures, and thirteen years later, he left the studio as Hollywood’s number one filmmaker (Capra 294). Capra was able to transform himself from a poor immigrant into a successful filmmaker. He is, “The American dream personified” (Freer). Capra’s immigrant roots may be the reason behind the trends in his films. Similarly to Smith’s political stand in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Capra used his films to show his moral duty, and that moral duty may have been focused on giving hope back to society (Cavallero …show more content…
For years, Capra worked alongside screenwriter Robert Riskin. In fact, Frank Capra and Robert Riskin joined together to start Frank Capra Productions, in which Meet John Doe was their first film (Gunter 41). There were also certain stars that Capra preferred to work with. Jean Arthur, Barbara Stanwyck, and James Stewart were among the most popular stars to appear in Capra’s films—collectively appearing in at least six of Capra’s films. Capra truly was the gateway to the future of cinema. He created inspirational films by focusing on the story and characters and using the camera as a tool to tell the story—not the main feature of the film. It is almost impossible to measure the range of influence that Capra has had on modern cinema and entertainment. Traces of Capra’s style can be found in the works of many modern directors including Ron Howard, Steven Spielberg, and Oliver Stone in the way of goofy characters and inspirational stories and