Concept of Authorship (Discussion)

Readings

Introduction, by John Caughie

Group 1

1. What are the basic assumptions of auteurist critics?
2. How did auteurism differ from previous film criticism?

Edward Buscombe

Group 2

1. What elements of romanticism underpin auteurism?
2. What is the difference between Hawks and "Hawks"?

Cahiers du Cinéma

Group 3

1. What is "formalism" and how did it relate to Cahiers-style auteurism?
2. What is "personalism"?

Movie

Group 4

1. What was Movie?
2. How did Movie's approach to auteurism differ from that of Cahiers du Cinéma?

Andrew Sarris

Grad Group

1. What, according to Sarris, are the three premises of the auteur theory?
   • Explain, if you can, what Sarris means by "élan of the soul".
2. What does Sarris mean when he uses the term "mise-en-scene"? (Hint: it's not how Bordwell and Thompson use it in Film Art.)
   • And how does this image (below) illustrate it?

Jean Renoir in Rules of the Game (French title: La Règle du jeu).

Bibliography

All from Theories of Authorship, John Caughie, ed. (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981):

1. Introduction, John Caughie, 9-16.
2. Edward Buscombe, "Ideas of Authorship," 22-34.
3. Cahiers du Cinéma, 35-47.
4. Movie, 48-60.
5. Andrew Sarris, 61-67.

External links

1. Auteur Theory Illustrations
2. Auteurism's defining moment, according to Sarris.