The Auteur Theory In Film Making

Auteur Theory Continues to be an Important Part of Filmmaking

The auteur theory is an idea or principle, which states that the film is a reflection of a director’s creative personal vision, as if to say the he or she is the primary author (which in French, means “auteur”). This theory first came to be in 1954, by a French film director named Francois Truffaut. The auteur theory’s birth was through the French New Wave, which was a group of new French filmmakers during the 1950’s and 1960’s. In the beginning, the theory received positive and negative responses. And to this day, it will create a heated debate. Many have questioned the theory, because there are usually multiple people involved in the development of a film. Ultimately, a film will have a writer, alongside the director, which makes it difficult to put all of the weight on the director, alone. At the same time, there are directors that exist, which can bypass all of the levels in producing a film and still add their staple to it. Regardless of the storyline, there is something distinct within their production that will stand out and be recognizable. With that being said, it is understandable how the auteur theory could exist. When it is all said and done, the end result is the director’s style of filming. And the more passion that a director pours into a film, the more they develop a voice. This is why I chose to display how the auteur theory truly is possible and the director that I chose for my thesis is Spike Lee.

Spike Lee entered the film industry under a different light. He chose to go outside of just producing entertainment and instead create thought-provoking art. This decision, alone would cause Spike Lee to establish his own vision through his films. The two ...

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...other character in a totally new scene.

I totally agree with the auteur theory, because the way the scenes are filmed is totally up to the director. A script could be laid out for the director to follow, but they are only words. When the words are brought to life, it is up to the director to determine the clothes, the lighting, the background, the distractions, etc. Spike Lee has consistently managed to leave his “stamp” upon films. Do the Right Thing was written and directed by Spike Lee, so it easy for him to be viewed as the primary author. On the other hand, Malcolm X screenplay was written by Spike Lee and Arnold Perl. At the same time, it was based on a true story. This further displays that regardless of the process involved in creating a film, a director still has the ability to display their personal, creative vision and become the primary auteur.