auteur

[oh-tur; French oh-tœr]

noun, plural au·teurs

[oh-turz; French oh-tœr] /oʊˈtɜrz; French oʊˈtœr/.

a filmmaker whose individual style and complete control over all elements of production give a film its personal and unique stamp.

Origin of auteur

1960–65; < French: literally, author, originator < Latin auctor. See author

Related formsau·teur·ism, nounau·teur·ist, adjective, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for auteur

Contemporary Examples of auteur

They seemed very much like auteur works—but the auteur works of a writer, not the auteur works of a director.
Inside the Obsessive, Strange Mind of True Detective’s Nic Pizzolatto
Andrew Romano
February 4, 2014
But apparently the studio is aware of a possibility that its auteur prefers to ignore.
Hollywood Declares 2014 the Year of the Bible
Andrew Romano
January 9, 2014
Every film by Sofia Coppola, the Oscar-winning auteur behind Lost in Translation with the choice genes, is an event.
Sofia Coppola on ‘The Bling Ring,’ Celebrity Culture, Kanye West, More
Marlow Stern
June 13, 2013
(German auteur Tom Tykwer co-wrote and directed Cloud Atlas with the Wachowskis).
Best of Toronto Film Festival: ‘Cloud Atlas,’ ‘Argo,’ Ryan Gosling & More
Chris Lee
September 5, 2012
You can see an animated depiction of them debating the auteur theory.
The Only Critic That Mattered
Allen Barra
November 2, 2011

British Dictionary definitions for auteur

auteur

noun

a director whose creative influence on a film is so great as to be considered its author

Derived Formsauteurism, nounauteurist, adjective

Word Origin for auteur

French: author

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for auteur

1962, from French, literally "author" (see author (n.)).