Auteur Recognition

1839 Words4 Pages

The auteur theory was introduced in the film industry in 1954 when Francois Truffaut claimed that directors are significantly using their films to express their personal ideas (Thompson and Bordwell 33). The importance of the theory has been under criticism in the recent past. Critiques have questioned the basis for which a director would be recognized as “author.” Moreover, there have been concerns on whether the auteur is recognized more based on the creative aspects of the film or on the scripts that he/she chooses to display in the film. This paper would seek to assess the components of a director’s film that are highly influential in his recognition as an auteur. Auteur theory became a predominant issue in the film industry during or slightly after the Second World War. During that time, many French movies were sold to Europe so that the people in Europe could update themselves with what had transpired in France during the world war. Those who watched the films noticed that every collection had somewhat a personal signature associated with its director. There was a certain theme or style that dominated each specific collection. This notion drew the attention of the major stakeholders in the film industry into investigating why some of the directors would present the given qualities while others could not (Truffaut 103). From the onset, auteur theory would appear simple; its primary premise that the director under certain circumstances would be recognized as the author of the film (Thompson and Bordwell 105). However, the underlying question is what the issues and circumstances investigated for a director to be considered an auteur would be. Should they be the scripts that the directors choose to use or the dominant th... ... middle of paper ... ...his works. In summary, Hitchcock, Burton and Renoir were each considered auteur based on the dominant theme and the identical style that was evident in their film collections. Consequently, it is evident that an auteur is recognized more for the creative aspects of the film, that is the theme and style used and not the ideas/scripts that he chooses to use (Traffaut 147). Works Cited Auteur Theory. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from http://dlibrary.acu.edu.au/staffhome /siryan/screen/auteur%20theory.htm BBC. Auteur Theory in Film Criticism. Retrieved February 5, 2011, from http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/A22928772 Durgat, Raymond. Auteur and Dream Factory. Cambridge. 2007. Thompson, Kristin and Bordwell, David. Film History: An Introduction. New York. McGraw Hill, 2003. Truffaut, Francois. A Certain Tendency in French Cinema. Boston. Little Brown. 2009.

Open Document