The Auteur Theory

The Auteur Theory began in France during the late 1940’s and was created by a group of critics like Andre Bazin who wrote for Cahiers du Cinema and was later given the name by Andrew Sarris in 1962 and is the belief that a film is a reflection of the creative vision of the director. The director is the most important person just like an author is in a novel.

Over time two different types of opinions were born which derived from the original theory. Those who sided with Auteur, and those in favor of Metteur en scene who believe the director should add nothing to the script beyond making the film look pretty. The distinction between which path should be followed is not always clear which created many controversies if directors should be Auteur or Metteur en scene. One product of the Auteur Theory is that the most important features of a director's work are that he has a distinguishable personality and pattern that can be seen over and over again as well as having a deep or interior meaning in his work.

A great example of an Auteur director is Howard Hawk who has worked in Hollywood for many years. Hawk has directed films in almost every genre
Yes, Auteurs place a great deal of heart within their work but just because a director is not an Auteur does not make them or the movie terrible. In fact, sometimes this is a good thing, many times the original story is perfectly fine how the author wrote it but the only thing missing is the right aesthetics to accompany it. That's when the Metteur en scene director jumps in he has the same amount of power as the author however in a different aspect. He is able to add his personal style when it comes to lighting, set, and camera angles which can make the difference of a good or bad movie. I believe that both Auteur and Metteur en scene have both the same amount of importance and you can still these two styles of directing in Hollywood