Concept of Authorship (Discussion)
From Screenpedia
Readings
Introduction, by John Caughie
Group 2
- What are the basic assumptions of auteurist critics?
- How did auteurism differ from previous film criticism?
Edward Buscombe
Group 3
- What elements of romanticism underpin auteurism?
- What is the difference between Hawks and "Hawks"?
Cahiers du Cinéma
All Groups
- What is "formalism" and how did it relate to Cahiers-style auteurism?
- What is "personalism"?
Movie
Group 4
- What was Movie?
- How did Movie's approach to auteurism differ from that of Cahiers du Cinéma?
Andrew Sarris
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".
All Groups
- 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?
Pauline Kael, "Circles and Squares," Film Quarterly (reprinted in I Lost It at the Movies), response to Sarris:
Bibliography
All from Theories of Authorship, John Caughie, ed. (Boston: Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1981):
- Introduction, John Caughie, 9-16.
- Edward Buscombe, "Ideas of Authorship," 22-34.
- Cahiers du Cinéma, 35-47.
- Movie, 48-60.
- Andrew Sarris, 61-67.
External links
- Auteur Theory Illustrations
- Auteurism's defining moment, according to Sarris.