It was not a _theory_ championed by the French, it was a _policy_ and then understood/taken as a theory by the American historian Andrew Sarris (it should be noted that the American and the French have a different conception of "theory".) On Fri, 29 Aug 1997, Jerry wrote: > Peter Latham writes: > >I hate to admit to a lack of knowledge in front of a group whose views I > >respect as much as I do yours. But I have always had difficulty in > >understanding the "auteur" theory, and in applying it to anyone other > >than Hitchcock and Truffaut. > > > >My (limited) understanding is that the auteur theory holds that films can > >best be understood through a knowledge of their authors' views and > >techniques, assuming the author is an "auteur". In this view, one might > >look at a narrative story (say Rebecca), and examine the auteur's methods > >of realizing it, methods which often present a richer or different > >subtextual story which represents the auteur's stamp. > > >Is this correct? If it is, does the theory apply to all films, or only > >those of an "auteur?" If the latter, how does one know who is an "auteur"? > > Yes, this is the basic thrust of the auteur theory. It was a theory > championed by young French film critics (including Truffaut, Godard, > Rohmer, etal) to justify their adoration of American cinema, which at the > time suffered from critical charges of commercialism and hegemony. In > other words, much of American cinema could be regarded as "art" because > auteurs such as Ford, Hawks, Walsh, Hitchcock, Lubitsch, Ray, through their > own personal "genius," were able to withstand and even transcend > constraints imposed upon them by the Hollywood studio system. While > theoretically suspect in may regards, auteurism did serve a much needed > purpose in that it made it possible to regard such aforementioned directors > as important filmmakers rather than mere "competent craftsmen." > > As for how they determined which filmmakers were auteurs, I'm not sure. > Needless to say, all designated auteurs were at least "good" directors; but > why other good directors were completely disregarded (such as John Huston > or Billy Wilder) is more ephemeral. > > ****************************************************************** > > Jerry Johnson > Austin Film Society > (512) 322-0145 > > "I begin with documentary and give it the truth of fiction." > > -Jean-Luc Godard > > ****************************************************************** > > ---- > Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the > University of Alabama. > ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama.