The Work of Great Directors
This critical studies course dissects the “Auteur Theory,” examining how legendary directors imprint their unique signature on a film. Students will analyze the visual style, thematic obsessions, and blocking techniques of masters like Hitchcock, Kubrick, Kurosawa, and Varda. The goal is to reverse-engineer their choices to understand how they construct meaning through Mise-en-scène.
§ 01 By the end you can
- Define "Auteur Theory" and identify the visual signatures of key directors
- Analyze scene blocking and camera movement specific to different auteurs
- Compare and contrast directorial styles across eras (Classic Hollywood vs. New Wave)
- Critique the thematic evolution within a single director's filmography
- Apply the techniques of a specific master to a student-directed scene
§ 02 Sixteen sessions
The whole semester.
- 01Introduction to Auteur Theory (Truffaut/Sarris)
- 02Alfred Hitchcock: Suspense & Voyeurism
- 03Stanley Kubrick: Symmetry & The One-Point Perspective
- 04Orson Welles: Deep Focus & Shadows
- 05Yasujirō Ozu: The Tatami Shot & Pillow Shots
- 06Andrei Tarkovsky: Sculpting in Time
- 07Ingmar Bergman: The Close-Up & The Face
- 08 · MidtermMidterm Examination
- 09The French New Wave: Godard & Varda
- 10Akira Kurosawa: Motion & Weather
- 11Martin Scorsese: Editing & The Moving Camera
- 12Steven Spielberg: Blocking & The "Oner"
- 13Wes Anderson: Composition & Color
- 14Contemporary Auteurs: Nolan & Villeneuve
- 15Female Auteurs: Campion & Bigelow
- 16Final Project: The Director Style Analysis
Midterm around session 8. Final project briefed at session 8 or 9 and developed in stages until the juries.
§ 03 Final project
Final Project: The Director Style Analysis
Recommended reading
- Hitchcock/Truffaut by François Truffaut
- The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968 by Andrew Sarris
- Making Movies by Sidney Lumet
- Conversations with Scorsese by Richard Schickel
- Sculpting in Time by Andrei Tarkovsky
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