Video: “The Origins of Auteur Theory”

Filmmaker IQ has been running a recurring series of videos on the history and development of movies. Their latest offering is excellent: “The Origins of Auteur Theory”.

The very idea that the director is the “author” of a movie, ushered in during the French New Wave movement, and its acceptance by film critics and promulgation by university cinema professors was a massive blow to screenwriters, a battle we are still fighting to this day.

Yes, directors go off and make movies. They can do anything they want to the script. However unless they write the script, it is specious to claim they are the “author” of the movie. Moreover filmmaking is a collaborative effort involving dozens or even hundreds of people. The notion is simplistic.

Anyhow the mentality still exists, more or less, and if you wish to work in Hollywood, you would do well to understand the historical context out of which the auteur theory arose. The video above does a good job in presenting that history.

For the rest of the videos in the Filmmaker IQ series, go here.