THE AUTEUR

THEORY
WHAT IS IT AN AUTEUR?
Auteur=author
The film director is the author of the film
An auteur is a filmmaker whose films are so distinctive that they
stand out and therefore are recognised as an auteur.
They take full control over the creative aspects of the film not just
the storyline.
The films created by auteur directors are unique and personalised
by themselves so they can be recognised.
People who support the auteur theory would argue that the most
successful films are created when the director has control over
creative elements. An example of this is Francois Truffaut who wrote
the article a certain tendency of the French cinema to explain his
view on this topic.
THE AUTEUR THEORY INCLUDES:

Thematic or stylistic consistencies

Personal aesthetic vision
Recurring themes
Established technique
A defined view of the world
A significant degree of control over production
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
Alfred Hitchcock was considered an auteur because he used many
technical elements that were unique to his films. These were things such
as camera viewpoints (point of view), elaborate editing and a soundtrack
made to build suspense.
He also likes to focus on the set pieces included in scenes which
emphasises the detail and suspense in the films.
His films are very well-known for building suspense and mystery all
throughout the story, this means that the audience become more anxious
and engaged in the film. This is also a common convention of thrillers that
Hitchcock created.
Hitchcock uses the visual aspects of his films to reflect the characters
thoughts which is what his psychological thrillers stemmed from.
ALFRED HITCHCOCK
One of Hitchcock's most memorable and successful thriller films was
psycho and the most famous scene from this film is the shower scene.
This is a film which clearly demonstrates why Hitchcock is considered an
auteur.
In the shower scene he uses camera viewpoints which he was well-known
for and was therefore an established technique that he always used. The
camera angles and shots show the scene from the point of view of the
killer so we experience it as if we were them. This increases the audiences
anxiety as they are forced to watch the woman as she is being killed and it
makes them want to look away. The main focus of this scene is the prop
which is the large knife used to kill her. The soundtrack also has a big
impact on the effect that the scene has on the viewer. The music is still
recognised today and was used to increase the suspense which is
something that auteurs always do.
Alfred Hitchcock had most of the creative control over his work and used
 THE AUTEUR THEORY & FRANOIS
TRUFFAUT
Francois Truffaut wrote the article a certain tendency of the French cinema. He
wrote the article to object against directors who were getting critiques due to
them taking literature works and using them to make films.
He believed that people who did this could be categorised within the tradition of
quality. He also thought that these people should make the films more personal
and include psychological realism to focus less on the original literature but more
on their adaptation so the directors should be given more creative control.
This is similar to what Alfred Hitchcock did because of the fact that he focused on
his set pieces. This shows that he thought the creative side of the film was
important as well as the story line which is one of the things that makes him an
auteur.
MARTIN SCORSESE
Martin Scorsese is someone who would be considered a modern day
auteur. Most of his films have a main character that is a male and there are
strong themes of violence and there are usually elements of survival of
the fittest. He also has trademarks that he uses such as long tracking
shots and slow motion. He also uses pop music throughout lots of his films
which often juxtaposes the themes within the film. Scorsese often uses
POV shots and this makes the audience feel more involved in the film and
they feel as if they are part of the story. All of these things put together
makes his films unique and for this reason he is an auteur.
An example of a film that demonstrates this is the psychological thriller,
Taxi Driver (1976). The main character is a male and we can see that he is
mentally unstable. Also towards the end there is lots of violence and many
people are killed by the main character. He also uses his trademark shots
in this film to show that he is an auteur.