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An Analysis of Steven Spielberg

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Introduction Steven Spielberg is a critically acclaimed director who has filmed many of the film industry’s most popular films, such as Jaws (1975), Jurassic Park (1993), and Saving... Private Ryan (1998). Spielberg has also directed many science fiction films including E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982), A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), and Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977). The question I will be analyzing is, to what extent is Steven Spielberg considered an auteur and how do his films portray his own creative direction? Spielberg’s status as an auteur can be confirmed through his use of common themes throughout his films and his ability to communicate a story through film elements other than dialogue. History and Definition of Auteur The auteur theory’s beginnings can be traced back to France during 1954 when a French film critic and director, François Truffaut, published an article describing his discontent with the films being created at the time and their inability to produce a “tradition of quality.” This article was titled “Une Certaine Tendance du Cinéma Français” which translates to “A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema.” 1 This article criticized directors for not creating films using their creative expressionism, but instead were making films just to place them into film festivals. Truffaut expressed his concern that the screenwriter was becoming more of a centerpiece of films than the director, and he called for a change in direction in the way the film industry was heading. Truffaut’s article contained the first usage of the word auteur, or author, to describe a director. [Show More]

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