 Who
speaks? Who is the author? Who
controls what the text (movie) "says"?
 In film (especially in American movies)
this is often difficult to establish
• Commercial model of moviemaking
• Many “cooks”—Read those end credits
• Remakes/Sequels/Prequels/Adaptations
• Etc.???
 l.
Auteur theory developed by
French writers in Andre Bazin's
journal, Cahiers du Cinema
during the 1950's (other
theories--realism, genre
theory)
Andre Bazin
 2.
An auteur is noted to have a
distinctive style and preoccupations-themes, visual & production styles, ways
of handling scenes, etc. . . . recurring
motifs
• NOTE:
 Iconography = widely understood cultural symbols
vs.
 Motif = recurring theme in a single film (or a set of
films by same auteur)
Check out the black
leather jacket
• NOTE:
 Iconography = widely understood cultural symbols
vs.
 Motif = recurring theme in a single film (or a set of
films by same auteur)
Strangers on a Train
• NOTE:
 Iconography = widely understood cultural symbols
vs.
 Motif = recurring theme in a single film (or a set of
films by same auteur)
 3.
Is an auteur always a director?
• Auteur = director?
• Auteur = star?
• Auteur = screenwriter?
 4.
"Film-style" shooting gives the auteur
artistic power

5.
Can we identify an auteur empirically?
• (Patrika Janstova, 2007 masters thesis, Cleveland State—the
case of Jane Campion (The Piano, In the Cut)
 Content analysis of all 6 Jane Campion-directed films as of
2007 plus a matched sample of 18 “non-Campion” films
(random sample of films matched on genre (drama), years,
English language)
 Measured 56 form (techniques) and 113 substance (themes
and character quality) variables
• Campion films significantly:
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Fewer male leads
More female and male nudity
More sex (esp. oral sex and kissing)
More often using female POV
More physical and sexual abuse to opposite gender
More identity change due to marriage, religion
More instances of psychological disorder
More characters traveling, living abroad, appearing lonely,
Less non-diegetic music
More closeups of face, hands, feet, arms, legs, touching
More shots of mirrors, windows
More slow motion
More hand-held camera
More use of color filters (red, blue)
Greater presence of angels
 Tempering
Auteur Theory with Reception
Theory
• Assuming an active audience
• “The text proposes, the viewer disposes.”
 Let’s
watch a portion of Hitchcock: The
Man and His Movies (1975, D: Richard
Schickel)

Common Thematic Motifs
• falsely accused man
• "The villain doesn't kick the dog - - he's a charmer.“
• aloof blonde woman (e.g., Grace Kelly, Tippi Hedren, Eva Marie Saint) . . . sexual
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
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fire beneath a cool exterior
malevolent crowd
ironic use of religious symbols
use of some important cultural artifact (a "safe" place) at the narrative climax
(e.g., Albert Hall, Mt. Rushmore, Statue of Liberty, a train, a merry-go-round)
"Film is life with the dull parts cut out.“
Carefully planned mise-en-scene (memorized his storyboards)
Hitch's own cameo appearances--a gimmick
Key production techniques . . . e.g., high-angle shots, canted camera angles,
CUs, tracking shots
Bomb theory of suspense
Hitch's own fears & phobias
MacGuffin theory of dramatic foils
 Let’s
watch a portion of Buster Keaton: A
Hard Act to Follow (1985, D: Kevin
Brownlow)
 Common
Thematic Motifs
• The Keaton character - - stone-faced, he is
considered a brainless idiot, & is kicked around
(literally!) by others. . . but in all things perseveres &
prevails.
• The plot - - a young man courts a woman whose
social position is more respectable than his own.
Through ingenuity, & feats of daring & imagination,
he wins her. (NOTE: Keaton did all his own stunts.)
• Keaton's adversaries: machines & nature
• Usual shot is LS, to show relation of man to natur