Auteur Theory
CHAPTER 1: Auteur theory in the context of Film theory
Although the term auteur dates back to the 1920s in the theoretical writings of French film critics and directors of the silent era, it is worth pointing out that in Germany, as early as 1913, the term ‘author’s film (Autorenfilm) had already been coined (Hayward,2000: 20). Hayward believed that the Autorenfilm emerged partly as a response to the French Film d’Art (art cinema) movement, which began in 1908. Film d’Art was particularly successful in attracting middle-class audiences to the cinema theatres because of its respectability as art cinema (Hayward, 2000: 20). Autorenfilm is also associated with a more polemical issue regarding questions of authorship. Film writers of started campaigning for their rights to Autorenfilms, where they staked their claim not just to the script but also to the film itself. The film was to be judged as the work of the author rather that the person responsible for directing it (Eisner, 1969: 39).
In France, the concept of the auteur originated in the belief that the filmmaker is the author, irrespective of the origin of the script. In almost all cases, the author of the film and filmmaker were the same (Hayward, 2000: 20).
The debate in France centered on the auteur led films versus the scenario led film. A scenario led film consists of scenario led films commissioned by studios and production companies from scriptwriters and subsequently directed by someone appointed by the studio. This distinction contributed to the debate of high art versus low art already set in motion in 1908 in relation to film criticism. Auteur films had as much value if not more than literary adaptations (for example Cleopatra-1934), which in turn had more value than adaptations of popular fiction (for example To Kill a Mockingbird 1962) (Hayward, 2000: 20).
French film theorist Alexandre Astruc viewed film as a medium of personal expression, similar to literature. Elaborating this
Although the term auteur dates back to the 1920s in the theoretical writings of French film critics and directors of the silent era, it is worth pointing out that in Germany, as early as 1913, the term ‘author’s film (Autorenfilm) had already been coined (Hayward,2000: 20). Hayward believed that the Autorenfilm emerged partly as a response to the French Film d’Art (art cinema) movement, which began in 1908. Film d’Art was particularly successful in attracting middle-class audiences to the cinema theatres because of its respectability as art cinema (Hayward, 2000: 20). Autorenfilm is also associated with a more polemical issue regarding questions of authorship. Film writers of started campaigning for their rights to Autorenfilms, where they staked their claim not just to the script but also to the film itself. The film was to be judged as the work of the author rather that the person responsible for directing it (Eisner, 1969: 39).
In France, the concept of the auteur originated in the belief that the filmmaker is the author, irrespective of the origin of the script. In almost all cases, the author of the film and filmmaker were the same (Hayward, 2000: 20).
The debate in France centered on the auteur led films versus the scenario led film. A scenario led film consists of scenario led films commissioned by studios and production companies from scriptwriters and subsequently directed by someone appointed by the studio. This distinction contributed to the debate of high art versus low art already set in motion in 1908 in relation to film criticism. Auteur films had as much value if not more than literary adaptations (for example Cleopatra-1934), which in turn had more value than adaptations of popular fiction (for example To Kill a Mockingbird 1962) (Hayward, 2000: 20).
French film theorist Alexandre Astruc viewed film as a medium of personal expression, similar to literature. Elaborating this