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What Does Tour De Force Mean

What Does Tour De Force Mean?

Have you ever watched a film in which a character accomplished some incredible feat. And did so with a display of great strength and skill? What about a film that you’ve seen which you just think to yourself, if you know, you know. Some films are such an exceptional achievement. So much so that when you watch it you just know that there has been, and never will be, anything that relates. It’s just perfect, a stroke of genius. When things like this come along, there’s a term known as tour de force that is sometimes used to describe them, but what does tour de force mean exactly?

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Tour De Force Definition

Tour de Force by definition is a noun that represents an exceptional achievement by an artist, or author, such as a screenplay writer or filmmaker, that is unlikely to be equaled by the filmmaker or by anyone else.

You might call it a stroke of genius or an amazing feat of unusual value, skill, ingenuity and strength. We see the tour de force come up sometimes in a character’s ability to maneuver or handle a situation in films.

But we also see tour de force as a meaning in which a filmmaker has achieved great success with his or her production.

Examples of Tour De Force in Film

So, what does tour de force mean in film? It means that the filmmaker or screenwriter was incredible! That nothing, no film or screenplay, can compare to the works of this particular artist.

Can you think of a few directors that have such profound abilities and skills that any film or creation they lay their hands on or set their minds on is changed for the good? We can!

You might recall some of the greatest filmmakers of all time, as having this tour de force ability about them. Think Alfred Hitchcock, Martin Scorsese, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg and Quentin Tarantino. Of course there are many more.

A French Expression

Tour de Force is a French expression. Additionally, while you may not hear it used all so frequently in the U.S., in filmmaking it is sometimes used to define the amazing feats that a particular filmmaker will go through in order to produce something that is a cut above the rest.

Likewise, great achievements like this, and the powerful steps towards taking the upper hand in a production can be described in many other ways.

Perhaps you’ve heard the term “Checkmate” in chess. This is the great skill and ability of the other player to take over. Above all, gaining the upper hand on the board.

For Example

In film, the tour de force is seen in some of history’s greatest filmmakers. Like Martin Scorsese coming out of Queens having lived in poverty. And now representing some of the most profound and prominent cinematic films in history.

So what does tour de force mean? It’s like a force to be reckoned with. An exaggeration of skill and intelligence. Such that you might think there’s a stroke of genius involved. 

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