it's a theory that basically says that the director is the true "author" of a film.
you should know that there's more than one kind of auteurism: the first invented by french film critics/directors (godard, truffaut) in the 50s and the second a rather more literal version used by andrew sarris and some other american critics in the 50s. it's a contentious theory at best but not totally without merit.
― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Friday, 25 July 2003 13:05 (twenty-three years ago)