David Ehrenstein wrote:

>....An auteur creates. Wyler working with Davis can only
>REACT to her presence.....
>

I don't agree with this at all. There's a long tradition in American
auteurism of using the word "auteur" to refer to a director who through
the force of his style imparts meaning and beauty to a project that he
had little creative control over in terms of casting, performances,
script, et cetera..

David, if Seznick is an auteur, do you find it more interesting to
compare "Rebecca" with "Gone With the Wind" than it is to compare
"Rebecca" with "Vertigo"?

About one-shots, I do agree with David that if a film is great enough we
should have no problem calling its director an "auteur." But one
important aspect of auteurism for me is that thinking about the
relationship between different films by the same director illuminate
them and deepens my aesthetic experience of them. Russell Metty is a
terrific cinematographer, but for me thinking about "Written on the
Wind" in relationship to a far different, much earlier and non-Metty
Sirk such as "Summer Storm" is far more useful than thinking about
"Written on the Wind" in relation to "Touch of Evil." The two Sirks
share deep similarities that go to the core of his art and meaning; the
two Mettys share a similar bravura look (not found in "Summer Storm")
that is certainly an important part of the films, but I don't think
nearly as important as what's common to the Sirks.

- Fred C.