What is the Auteur Theory?

The definition for the term "Auteur" derives from the French word that means "author" & was birthed from the movement known as nouvelle vague, or New Wave. It has been associated with film directors like Stanley Kubrick, Christopher Nolan, or Alfred Hitchcock.

The "Auteur Theory" has not been fully accepted by other parts of the film industry because it takes writers, producers, editors, studio moguls and countless other essential crew to shape a film into its final form.

The theory of director-as-author was principally advanced in Bazin’s periodical Cahiers du cinéma (founded in 1951) by André Bazin & Alexandre Astruc in France. The term was dubbed by the American film critic Andrew Sarris from the outgrowth of the theory.

"A Filmmaker who's individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp." - Andrew Sarris

The new generation of filmmakers grew up on the auteur theory because of the influence that the theory had on filmmakers like Spielberg, Scorsese, Lucas, and Coppola. The debate about whether or not movies should be made with a singular vision is still hotly debated.

Isn't a screenwriter the Auteur by definition? Technically they are, but since a script can go through many different screenwriters who are credited and uncredited, therfore the sole writer voice of a film ends up being a bit complex because it can't be attributed to one writer.

French director Francios Truffaut railed against the current state of cinema in his writings & pointed to the work of certain American directors, like Alfred Hitchcock & Howard Hawks, as being a model for better work because of the distinct signature qualities of their films.

If you ever find yourself in a room with hardcore movie buffs, you will probably hear the term "Auteur" or "The Auteur Theory" being thrown around. And you might think it has something to do with classic cinema or the golden age of Hollywood and your assumption would be close.

If film is a collaborative artform, then how can a director be an auteur? When people define a director as an auteur it means that there is a singular dominant voice that permeates through their work that is associated with that filmmaker. Their fingerprints are all over it.

Regardless of if you believe that the director is the author of a film or not, it takes many collaborators to fulfill the director's vision. The director might be able to have a style that is distinctly theirs but it doesn't exist without input from other artists.