The concept of authorship implies a certain autonomy to specific directors. It it arose in the late 1950s, originating in France (hence often the French word auteur is used).
A director’s work was now analyzed for its common elements. said to reflect the individual’s special “world view.”
Many critics are now questioning the validity of this way of discussing directors because of the special way that cinema works, as an institutional apparatus, but noone denies the force and impact of influential directors on the final shape and structure of their features.
Film Theory: Authorship, Auteurism, Directors
AUTHORSHIP/AUTEURISM/DIRECTORS
The concept of authorship implies a certain autonomy to specific directors. It it arose in the late 1950s, originating in France (hence often the French word auteur is used).
A director’s work was now analyzed for its common elements. said to reflect the individual’s special “world view.”
Many critics are now questioning the validity of this way of discussing directors because of the special way that cinema works, as an institutional apparatus, but noone denies the force and impact of influential directors on the final shape and structure of their features.
See Andrew Sarris on auteurism
Source: Ann Kaplan