AUTEUR THEORY
As quoted by the Encyclopedia Britannica, Auteur theory started 'Arising in France in the late 1940s, the auteur theory—as it was dubbed by the American film critic Andrew Sarris—was an outgrowth of the cinematic theories of André Bazin and Alexandre Astruc.' Auteur theory discusses the uniqueness of style, having a certain style that makes them stand out from the crowd and makes it to their own.
An auteur is a director that can be seen as the author of their films, creating a certain style that feels and looks different to other auteurs and stands out from the crowd. Their individual style and complete control over the filming process creates a trademark stamp to the audience that any of their films can be noticed at first glance as they have so much creative force in their films. Auteurs have an individual style and normally don't aim to create a blockbuster film, the story and characters being an important and heavy part of the films that they produce.
'The theory argues that a film is ultimately a reflection of the director’s vision; so, a film by a given filmmaker will feature recognizable, recurring themes and visual tropes that allow a viewer to observe a consistent artistic identity throughout the director’s body of work.', as written by Screen prism shows that there have been multiple arguments on the exact meaning of Auteur Theory, many people seeing this theory in different ways with different conclusions behind them.
Before the theory was introduced to the film industry there were still many directors who unintentionally had made their own style which had made them noticeable to the audience. Some of the most popular Auteurs throughout history have been Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Quentin Tarantino, David Lynch and Jean-Luc Godard. Some other auteurs that are well known are Tim Burton, Steven Spielberg and Edgar Wright, although Tim Burton and Steven Spielberg are different auteurs as they create blockbuster films with their own style. After the idea of the director as the author was presented to the film industry, later directors more frequently began to create more self-consciously personal and self-referential works to create their own style and make them more noticeable to the audience.
References
Brianair.wordpress.com. (2018). Auteur Theory. [online] Available at: https://brianair.wordpress.com/film-theory/auteur-theory/ [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018].
Indie Film Hustle. (2018). What is Auteur Theory and Why Is It Important? - Indie Film Hustle. [online] Available at: https://indiefilmhustle.com/auteur-theroy/ [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018].
Encyclopedia Britannica. (2018). auteur theory | Definition & Directors. [online] Available at: https://www.britannica.com/art/auteur-theory [Accessed 17 Jan. 2018].
Screenprism.com. (2018). What is auteur theory | ScreenPrism. [online] Available at: http://screenprism.com/insights/article/what-is-auteur-theory [Accessed 22 Jan. 2018].
