Vulgar auteurism

Vulgar auteurism, introduced by writer Andrew Tracy in an article for CinemaScope[8], derives its name[5] from the auteur theory, a key component of film criticism which posits that the director is the author ("auteur") of a film and that films should be analyzed in terms of how they fit into a director's larger body of work.[5][9] Also known as "auteurism," the auteur theory was introduced by French critics associated with the film magazine Cahiers du cinéma during the 1950s and popularized in the United States in the 1960s by Andrew Sarris.[3]

Several critics, including Richard Brody of The New Yorker and Scott Foundas of Variety, have drawn parallels between the earliest French and American proponents of the auteur theory and vulgar auteurism.[3][5] However, many commentators on the movement consider vulgar auteurism to be distinct from the classical auteur theory, pointing to its concern with visual style over theme.[4] The question of whether vulgar auteurism is a legitimate separate movement or a subset of the auteur theory remains a source of controversy in the film critic community.[4] According to film critic Peter Labuza, vulgar auteurism "seems to have been an unconscious movement before it ever had a name."[4] The earliest criticism identified as exhibiting "vulgar auteurism" was published in the Canadian film magazine Cinema Scope in 2006 and 2007.[3][4] Cinema Scope writer Andrew Tracy coined the term[3][4] in his 2009 article, "Vulgar Auteurism: The Case of Michael Mann".[4] Initially pejorative,[4] the term was repurposed by MUBI user John Lehtonen.[4] In the early-going, the theory was explored not through text, but through images via a Tumblr simply entitled "Vulgar Auteurism",[10] spearheaded by Lehtonen and filmmaker Kurt Walker, with contributions from MUBI critics Adam Cook and Daniel Kasman. Over the years which followed, Mubi's online film magazine began to publish more and more articles defending genres and directors which were unpopular with the critical mainstream.[4]

Vulgar auteurist ideas gained currency[4] when one of the movement's leading proponents,[7] critic Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, became the co-host of the television program Ebert Presents: At the Movies, produced by Roger Ebert. However, while "vulgar auteurist" criticism was becoming popular, the term and the movement to which it corresponded remained obscure until the publication of an article by Calum Marsh, "Fast & Furious & Elegant: Justin Lin and the Vulgar Auteurs", in The Village Voice on May 24, 2013.[4][6][11]

• Paul W.S. Anderson[3][13]
• Kathryn Bigelow[14]
• Michael Bay[14][15] [16][17]
• Joe Carnahan[18]
• John Carpenter[14]
• Jon M. Chu[14]
• Joe Dante[19]
• Brian De Palma[20][21]
• Latter-day Clint Eastwood[18]
• Roland Emmerich[22][23] [24]
• Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly (aka Farrelly brothers)[5]
• Abel Ferrara[18]
• David Fincher[18]
• James Gray[18]
• Walter Hill[25]
• John Hyams[5]
• Richard Kelly[18]
• Justin Lin[14][26][27][27][28]
• Richard Linklater[29]
• McG[18]
• Michael Mann[14][30]
• John McTiernan[4][31][32]
• Takashi Mike[33]
• John Milius[34]
• Russel Mulcahy[18]
• Alex Proyas[35]
• Sam Raimi[18]
• Matt Reeves[18]
• Latter-day George A. Romero[18]
• Tony Scott[3][36][37][38][39][40]
• M. Night Shyamalan[18]
• Zack Snyder[41]
• Latter-day Steven Soderbergh[18]
• Latter-day Steven Spielberg[18]
• Sylvester Stallone[18][42]
• Johnnie To[43][20]
• Paul Verhoeven[4]
• John Woo[44]
• Robert Zemeckis[45]
• Rob Zombie[20]

• Music video
• Postmodernist film
• Cinéma du look
• French New Wave
• Cinephilia
• New Hollywood
• Classical Hollywood cinema
• B movie
• Exploitation film
• Arthouse action film
• Giallo
• Social thriller
• Extreme cinema
• Grindhouse
• Video games