When Did Auteur Theory Start?

auteur theory, theory of filmmaking in which the director is viewed as the major creative force in a motion picture. 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.

Why was auteur theory created?

While the term “auteur theory” was coined by American film critic Andrew Sarris, the theory arose from the ideas of Andrè Bazin and Alexandre Astruc—two theorists who linked the debt and aftermath of WWII with the process of making more personal films by any means.

Who introduced auteur theory?

Auteur theory was developed by French filmmakers and critics in the 1950s, first formally articulated by François Truffaut in his Cahiers du Cinéma essay, “Une certaine tendance du cinema français” (1954) and transported to America primarily through the writings of critic Andrew Sarris.