Andrew Sarris

Andrew Sarris, born on October 31, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, is a U.S. film critic and a leading proponent of the auteur theory of criticism. He is generally credited with popularising this theory in the Americas and coining the half-English, half-French term, "auteur theory," in his essay, "Notes on the Auteur Theory," which was inspired by critics writing in Cahiers du Cinéma. He wrote the highly influential book The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929-1968, published in 1968, an opinionated assessment of films of the sound era, organized by director. The book was influential on other critics and helped raise an awareness of the role of the film director among the general public. In The American Cinema, Sarris lists what he terms the "Pantheon" of the fourteen greatest film directors who had worked in the United States. The list includes the Americans Robert Flaherty, John Ford, D. W. Griffith, Howard Hawks, Buster Keaton, and Orson Welles, the Germans... full article at wikipedia