New Books in Popular Culture Robert P. Kolker and David Wyatt, "The Film Auteur: Angles of Vision" (Routledge, 2026)
Feb 17, 2026
David Wyatt, professor emeritus and former indie theater operator, and Robert P. Kolker, long‑time film scholar, discuss the history and scope of auteur theory. They trace its French origins, postwar movements like Neorealism and the New Wave, and how directors work within and against genres. They also explore canon formation and questions about women auteurs and the cinematic gaze.
AI Snips
Chapters
Books
Transcript
Episode notes
Auteurism Versus Hollywood Collaboration
- The auteur concept acknowledges directors as primary shapers of images, yet often remains a 'necessary untruth' in collaborative Hollywood production.
- Even when studios exert control, distinctive directorial images and recurring choices let us identify an auteur's hand.
Auteur Theory Named Directors As Authors
- Auteur theory gave cinema a named set of makers and allowed film to be discussed like literature, removing anonymity from films.
- Andrew Sarris crystallized this by ranking directors, which institutionalized competitive canons in U.S. film studies.
Why The Book Begins With Postwar Cinema
- Kolker and Wyatt start their survey in 1945 because postwar cinema—neorealism, the New Wave, and New American Cinema—refreshed global film language.
- That postwar renewal offered a logical entry point for mapping modern auteur practices and movements.
