The term auteur (French for author) is used to describe film directors (or, more rarely, producers or writers) who are considered to have a distinctive, recognizable vision, either because they repeatedly return to the same subject matter, or habitually address a particular psychological or moral theme, or employ a recurring style, or all of the above. In theory, an auteur's films are identifiable regardless of their genre. The term was first applied in its cinematic sense in François Truffaut's 1954 essay "A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema" (see Auteur theory).
* Chantal Akerman (1950â€"). Belgian, makes films in France.Gwendolen Audrey Foster, ed. Identity and Memory: The Films of Chantal Akerman (Southern Illinois UP, 2003) * Fatih Akın (German) * Robert Aldrich (1918â€"1983). AmericanHollywood director. Tony Williams, Body and Soul: The Cinematic Vision of Robert Aldrich (Scarecrow Press, 2004) * Woody Allen (1935â€"). American independent filmmaker. Mary P. Nichols, Reconstructing Woody: Art, Love, and Life in the Films of Woody Allen (Rowan and Littlefield, 1998) * Pedro Almodóvar (1951â€"). Spanish. Mark Allinson, A Spanish Labyrinth : The Films of Pedro Almodovar (Tauris, 2001) * Wes Anderson (1969-). American * Theo Angelopoulos (1936â€"). Greek. Andrew Horton. The Films of Theo Angelopoulos: A Cinema of Contemplation (Princeton UP, 1999) * Michelangelo Antonioni (1912â€"). Italian, makes film in Europe and the United States. Peter Brunette, The Films of Michelangelo Antonioni (Cambridge UP, 1998)
* Ingmar Bergman (1918â€"). Swedish. Jesse Kalin, The Films of Ingmar Bergman (Cambridge UP, 2003) * Bernardo Bertolucci (1941â€") Italian, makes films in Europe and the USA. Claretta Micheletti Tonetti, Bernardo Bertolucci: The Cinema of Ambiguity (Twayne, 1995) * Luis Buñuel (1900â€"1983). Spanish, made films in Europe and Mexico. Gwynne Edwards, The Discreet Art of Luis Buñuel: A Reading of His Films (Marion Boyars, 1991) * Tim Burton (1958â€"). American Hollywood filmmaker. Alison McMahnan, The Films of Tim Burton: Animating Live Action in Contemporary Hollywood (Continuum, 2005) * Robert Bresson (1901â€"1999). French. Joseph Cunneen, Robert Bresson: A Spiritual Style in Film (Continuum, 2004)
