auteur theory
noun
: a view of filmmaking in which the director is considered the primary creative force in a movie
Examples of auteur theory in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
American film critics were beginning to adopt a more adversarial philosophy, influenced by the auteur theory calcified in Cahiers du cinéma magazine.
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J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 24 Apr. 2025
If that sounds a lot like another, even more famous Hitchcock film (and there will be more about that one, and Hitchcock, below) just chalk it up to further support for the auteur theory.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
A lot of very dumb things have been said about the auteur theory in recent years, all of which ignore its beautiful central tenet, which is that some filmmakers’ sensibilities shine through their work no matter the material.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 June 2024
Yet Kael’s real target was Village Voice film critic Andrew Sarris, her longtime rival who had staked his reputation on the auteur theory — the exaltation of the director über alles.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
In film theory, auteur theory speaks of directors who make movies that are unmistakably theirs.
—Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2023
For more than half a century, a coterie of critics and filmmakers has been making the case for what’s known as auteur theory: the idea that great directors are the central creative forces behind their films, shaping them just as authors shape their books.
—Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2023
There may be no greater refutation of the auteur theory — the notion that a great film is the product of a single directorial genius — than the number of fine movies that were assembled by scrabbling, sometimes squabbling parties, operating with no clear end in sight.
—Louis Bayard, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2023
In an interview in Sight & Sound’s September issue, Tarantino compared Claude Chabrol to Truffaut (who, it must be said, popularized auteur theory).
—Vulture, 28 Aug. 2022
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J. Kim Murphy, Variety, 24 Apr. 2025
If that sounds a lot like another, even more famous Hitchcock film (and there will be more about that one, and Hitchcock, below) just chalk it up to further support for the auteur theory.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 19 Mar. 2025
A lot of very dumb things have been said about the auteur theory in recent years, all of which ignore its beautiful central tenet, which is that some filmmakers’ sensibilities shine through their work no matter the material.
—Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 7 June 2024
Yet Kael’s real target was Village Voice film critic Andrew Sarris, her longtime rival who had staked his reputation on the auteur theory — the exaltation of the director über alles.
—Amy Nicholson, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2024
In film theory, auteur theory speaks of directors who make movies that are unmistakably theirs.
—Paul Fitzgerald, Rolling Stone, 11 Dec. 2023
For more than half a century, a coterie of critics and filmmakers has been making the case for what’s known as auteur theory: the idea that great directors are the central creative forces behind their films, shaping them just as authors shape their books.
—Julia Jacobs, New York Times, 18 Sep. 2023
There may be no greater refutation of the auteur theory — the notion that a great film is the product of a single directorial genius — than the number of fine movies that were assembled by scrabbling, sometimes squabbling parties, operating with no clear end in sight.
—Louis Bayard, Washington Post, 24 Jan. 2023
In an interview in Sight & Sound’s September issue, Tarantino compared Claude Chabrol to Truffaut (who, it must be said, popularized auteur theory).
—Vulture, 28 Aug. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Auteur theory.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/auteur%20theory. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.
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