AuteurTheoryisthe Ideathat the filmdirectorisan author. - “AuteurTheoryisbasedon the simple
ideathat itpositsthe directoras the author of the film”(1).
Much like an artist,Auteurexplainsthatadirectorleaveshisartisticstampona film(tothe point
that youcan distinguishthe directorbyanalysingthe conventionsof the film.)
The conventionsof Auteurtheoryare shownveryclearlyinthe filmsof the new wave movement
and there isa clear link. –“AuteurTheoryisalso a kindof pathogenesis…Itpavedthe forfuture films
of the youngnewwave directors”(2).
On topof this,I couldalsolookat the Young FrenchCinemaWave fromthe 1990’s. “No filmwaves
inthe pastsix centurieshave seenthe emergence of somanysignificantfilmmakers”(3)
Useful information:“Inthe turbulentsixties,the provocative Frenchfilmjournal "Cahiersdu
Cinema"wasat itsmost influentialandcontroversial.The firstsuccessesof the New Wave bymajor
"Cahiers"contributorssuchasJean-LucGodard,FrançoisTruffaut,JacquesRivette,EricRohmer,and
Claude Chabrol focusedinternational attentiononthe revitalizationof Frenchcinemaandits
relationtofilmcriticism;andinthe early1960s the journal'slaudatorycritiquesof popularAmerican
movieswere attainingthe greatestnotoriety.
As the livelyarticles,interviews,andpolemical discussionsinthisvolume reveal,the 1960s saw the
beginningsof significantnewdirections infilmmakingandfilmcriticismchangesinwhichthe New
Wave itself wasa majorfactor. The "auteur"theorythat the journal hadchampionedinthe 1950s
beganto be rethoughtandrevalued.Atthe same time,alongwithareassessmentof Americanfilm,
"Cahiers"begantoembrace new,oftenoppositional formsof cinemaandcriticism, culminatingin
the political andaestheticradicalismof the ensuingdecade”(4).
Unlike ‘Auter’theorywhichlooksatthe conventionsthatthe ‘artists’of the FrenchNew Wave,I
couldalsolookat RolandBarthestheoryof semioticswhichlooksatsignsandcultural symbols
insteadof cameraconventions.BydoingthisIwouldbe able toanalyse if anycultural formsof the
newwave have beentransferredintofuturefilmsorweatherit’sonlycameratechniques. - “His
EngagementwithFilmdatesbacktoa 1976 logabout‘Cahiersducinéma’inwhichhe discussedthe
Frenchnewwave andthe ideathatsemioticshada stronginfluence uponthem.”(5)
I wouldalsolike totouchuponthe ideathatthe French New Wave stemmedfromsocialist
ideologiesandhowthismighthave changedthroughthe growthof Capitalismandcommercialism
that are more prominenttoday. - “Hence the future filmmakersdrew theirinspirationfromItalian
NeorealismandSovietmontage cinéma”(6)
“Capitalismhasa huge influence onsocietyandinturnon cinema”(7)
Finally, Iwouldlike tolookatTimBurton andwhy he isso commonlyknownasan ‘auteur’.I’dlike to
analyse the conventionshe usestoalsosee whetherhisfilmsfollow the conventionsof the French
NewWave cinema

Author theory research

  • 1.
    AuteurTheoryisthe Ideathat thefilmdirectorisan author. - “AuteurTheoryisbasedon the simple ideathat itpositsthe directoras the author of the film”(1). Much like an artist,Auteurexplainsthatadirectorleaveshisartisticstampona film(tothe point that youcan distinguishthe directorbyanalysingthe conventionsof the film.) The conventionsof Auteurtheoryare shownveryclearlyinthe filmsof the new wave movement and there isa clear link. –“AuteurTheoryisalso a kindof pathogenesis…Itpavedthe forfuture films of the youngnewwave directors”(2). On topof this,I couldalsolookat the Young FrenchCinemaWave fromthe 1990’s. “No filmwaves inthe pastsix centurieshave seenthe emergence of somanysignificantfilmmakers”(3) Useful information:“Inthe turbulentsixties,the provocative Frenchfilmjournal "Cahiersdu Cinema"wasat itsmost influentialandcontroversial.The firstsuccessesof the New Wave bymajor "Cahiers"contributorssuchasJean-LucGodard,FrançoisTruffaut,JacquesRivette,EricRohmer,and Claude Chabrol focusedinternational attentiononthe revitalizationof Frenchcinemaandits relationtofilmcriticism;andinthe early1960s the journal'slaudatorycritiquesof popularAmerican movieswere attainingthe greatestnotoriety. As the livelyarticles,interviews,andpolemical discussionsinthisvolume reveal,the 1960s saw the beginningsof significantnewdirections infilmmakingandfilmcriticismchangesinwhichthe New Wave itself wasa majorfactor. The "auteur"theorythat the journal hadchampionedinthe 1950s beganto be rethoughtandrevalued.Atthe same time,alongwithareassessmentof Americanfilm, "Cahiers"begantoembrace new,oftenoppositional formsof cinemaandcriticism, culminatingin the political andaestheticradicalismof the ensuingdecade”(4). Unlike ‘Auter’theorywhichlooksatthe conventionsthatthe ‘artists’of the FrenchNew Wave,I couldalsolookat RolandBarthestheoryof semioticswhichlooksatsignsandcultural symbols
  • 2.
    insteadof cameraconventions.BydoingthisIwouldbe abletoanalyse if anycultural formsof the newwave have beentransferredintofuturefilmsorweatherit’sonlycameratechniques. - “His EngagementwithFilmdatesbacktoa 1976 logabout‘Cahiersducinéma’inwhichhe discussedthe Frenchnewwave andthe ideathatsemioticshada stronginfluence uponthem.”(5) I wouldalsolike totouchuponthe ideathatthe French New Wave stemmedfromsocialist ideologiesandhowthismighthave changedthroughthe growthof Capitalismandcommercialism that are more prominenttoday. - “Hence the future filmmakersdrew theirinspirationfromItalian NeorealismandSovietmontage cinéma”(6) “Capitalismhasa huge influence onsocietyandinturnon cinema”(7) Finally, Iwouldlike tolookatTimBurton andwhy he isso commonlyknownasan ‘auteur’.I’dlike to analyse the conventionshe usestoalsosee whetherhisfilmsfollow the conventionsof the French NewWave cinema