Vulgar auteurism is a movement that emerged in early 2010s cinephilia and film criticism associated with championing or reappraising filmmakers, mostly those working in the horror, sci-fi and action genres and whose work has otherwise received little attention or negative reception in the critical mainstream.[1][2] It became a controversial topic in the cinephile community following the publication of an article in the Village Voice in 2013 and has been described as "a critical movement committed to assessing the 'unserious' artistry of popcorn cinema with absolute seriousness."
Background
According to film critic Peter Labuza, vulgar auteurism "seems to have been an unconscious movement before it ever had a name", as the earliest criticism identified as exhibiting "vulgar auteurism" was published in the Canadian film magazine Cinema Scope in 2006 and 2007.[3] Cinema Scope writer Andrew Tracy coined the term 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] Over the years which followed, MUBI's online film magazine began to publish more and more articles defending genres and directors that were unpopular with the critical mainstream.
It 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.[6] 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.[7]
In 1981, J. Hoberman coined the term "vulgar modernism"[8] to describe the "looney" fringes of American popular culture (e.g. the animators Tex Avery and Chuck Jones, MAD Magazine, TV pioneer Ernie Kovacs and the films of Frank Tashlin).[9][10][11]
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. 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. The question of whether vulgar auteurism is a legitimate separate movement or a subset of the auteur theory is a point of disagreement among film critics.
Vulgar auteurist ideas gained currency when one of the movement's leading proponents,[12] 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.[13][14]
Controversy and criticism
Marsh's article was immediately controversial.[13] While some took issue with the films and filmmakers being championed by the proponents of vulgar auteurism, others took issue with the idea that vulgar auteurism was a movement distinct from the auteur theory.[4]
Former Village Voice critic Nick Pinkerton has been associated with vulgar auteurism, as he has written essays in praise of directors championed by the movement and whose 2012 article "The Bigger and Better Mousetraps of Paul W. S. Anderson" has been described as vulgar auteurist.[13][14] However, Pinkerton has been critical of the movement; in an article written in response to Marsh's, he decried the term "vulgar auteurism" as "a shameless attention grab", arguing that "no persuasive argument has yet been made for why the phrase should be vitally necessary to modify old, fuddy-duddy Auteurism."[15] He further objected to the argument that film critics routinely panned the works of directors included within the movement, writing, "Fast & Furious 6, which we're assured is scorned by critics the world over, currently stands at 61% at Metacritic, above The Great Gatsby (54%), and within striking distance of arty jazz like Simon Killer and Post Tenebras Lux."[15]
Author Soraya Roberts, in her article "Indie Cinema Is Now Genre Cinema" wriiten for the website Defector, stated that "Vulgar auteurism has given way to capital auteurism."[16]
Notable directors
- Paul W. S. Anderson[6][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29]
- Michael Bay[6][30][31][32][33][20][21][25][26][34][29]
- Kathryn Bigelow[30][35][36][37]
- John Boorman[34]
- Mel Brooks[38]
- Joe Carnahan[28][22][25]
- John Carpenter[30][37][36][39][24]
- Park Chan-Wook[38]
- Jon M. Chu[30][29]
- Jaume Collet-Serra[40]
- Roger Corman[41]
- David Cronenberg[42][39]
- Brian De Palma[37][43][39]
- Clint Eastwood[36]
- Roland Emmerich[44][45][46][47][38]
- Peter Farrelly & Bobby Farrelly (the Farrelly brothers)[5][37]
- Abel Ferrara[48][36][37][39]
- David Fincher[36]
- Isaac Florentine[22][23]
- Antoine Fuqua[38]
- Renny Harlin[49]
- Walter Hill[50][36]
- Godfrey Ho[51]
- Hughes Brothers[38]
- John Hyams[22][23]
- Donald G. Jackson[51]
- Kim Jee-woon[34]
- Richard Kelly[36]
- Karyn Kusama[38]
- Mark L. Lester[49]
- Baz Luhrmann[52]
- Justin Lin[30][53][54][22][26]
- McG[36]
- Michael Mann[30][26][27][34][55]
- John McTiernan[4][56][57]
- Takashi Miike[58]
- Rudy Ray Moore[51]
- Russell Mulcahy[36][59]
- Mark Neveldine and Brian Taylor[36][37][21][22][34]
- Todd Phillips[60]
- Alex Proyas[61]
- Sam Raimi[36]
- Matt Reeves[36]
- George A. Romero[36]
- Joel Schumacher[37]
- Tony Scott[31][62][63][64][21][24][65][27][26]
- M. Night Shyamalan[36][20]
- Don Siegel[34]
- Zack Snyder[66][67][38]
- Steven Soderbergh[36]
- Steven Spielberg[36]
- Sylvester Stallone[36]
- Quentin Tarantino[68]
- Johnnie To[37]
- Paul Verhoeven[4][36][37][24]
- Denis Villeneuve[38]
- Lars von Trier[69]
- The Wachowskis[70]
- James Wan[38][71]
- John Waters[72]
- Simon West[73][37]
- Doris Wishman[51]
- Edgar Wright[38]
- Jim Wynorski[51]
- Edward D. Wood Jr.[51]
- Rob Zombie[37][51]
Notable "vulgar auteur"/"vulgar auterist" films
- 300 (2006)[38]
- 8mm (1999)
- Aeon Flux (2005)[38]
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
- Ali (2001)
- Antichrist (2009)[69]
- Anonymous (2011)[38]
- Armageddon (1998)[38][25]
- Army of the Dead (2021)[38]
- The A-Team (2010)
- Audition (1999)[58]
- AVP: Alien vs. Predator (2004)
- Baby Driver (2017)[38]
- Bad Boys (1995)[38]
- Basic Instinct (1992)
- Batman vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)[38]
- The Black Dahlia (2006)
- The Blackout (1997)
- Blazing Saddles (1974)[38]
- Blue Steel (1990)
- The Book of Eli (2010)[38]
- Bound (1996)[38]
- A Bucket of Blood (1959)[41]
- Captain America: The First Avenger (2011)[38]
- The Cat in the Hat (2003)[74]
- Changeling (2008)
- Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle (2003)
- Che (2008)
- Christine (1983)
- Cloud Atlas (2012)[38]
- Cloverfield (2008)
- Con Air (1997)[73]
- The Conjuring (2013)[38]
- Crank (2006)[75]
- Creature from the Haunted Sea (1961)[41]
- Crimson Tide (1995)[26]
- The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
- Dangerous Game (1993)
- Dawn of the Dead (2004)[38]
- The Day After Tomorrow (2004)[38]
- Days of Thunder (1990)[26]
- Dead Presidents (1995)[38]
- Decision to Leave (2022)[38]
- Deja Vu (2006)[26][27]
- Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)
- Domino (2005)
- Dracula: Dead and Loving It (1995)[38]
- The Driller Killer (1979)[76]
- The Driver (1978)[77]
- Enemy of the State (1998)[26]
- The Equalizer (2014)[38]
- Escape From L.A. (1996)
- The Expendables (2010)
- The Expendables II (2012)
- Event Horizon (1997)
- The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift (2006)[6]
- Fast & Furious 6 (2013)
- Fast Five (2011)
- Flags of Our Fathers (2006)
- The Game (1997)
- Geronimo: An American Legend (1993)
- G.I. Jane (1997)[37]
- The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011)
- Girlfight (2000)[38]
- Go Go Tales (2007)
- Godzilla (1998)[38]
- Gran Torino (2008)
- The Handmaiden (2016)[38]
- The Happening (2008)
- Halloween II (2009)
- Halloween III: Season of the Witch (1982)
- High Anxiety (1977)[38]
- Highlander II: The Quickening (1991)
- History of the World: Part 1 (1981)[38]
- Hollow Man (2000)
- Hot Fuzz (2007)[38]
- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)[74]
- Incendies (2010)[38]
- Independence Day (1996)[38]
- Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
- In the Cut (2003)[78]
- The Intruder (1962)[41]
- Jennifer's Body (2009)[38]
- Jupiter Ascending (2015)[38]
- Justice League: The Snyder Cut (2021)[38]
- Lady in the Water (2006)
- Last Action Hero (1993)
- Last Night in Soho (2021)[38]
- Legend of the Guardians: The Owls of Ga'Hoole (2010)[38]
- Life Stinks (1991)[38]
- The Magnificent Seven (2016)[38]
- Making Contact (1985)[38]
- Maniac Cop (1988)
- Man of Steel (2013)[38]
- Man on Fire (2004)[27]
- The Masque of Red Death (1964)[41]
- The Matrix (1999)[38]
- The Matrix Revolutions (2003)
- Me, Myself and Irene (2000)
- Menace II Society (1993)[38]
- Miami Vice (2006)[79][55]
- Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (1997)
- Million Dollar Baby (2004)
- Mission to Mars (2000)[37]
- Multiple Maniacs (1970)[72]
- Mystic River (2003)
- Near Dark (1987)
- New Rose Hotel (1998)
- Nymhomaniac (2011)[69]
- Ocean's 12 (2004)
- Ocean's 13 (2007)
- Oldboy (2003)[38]
- Olympus Has Fallen (2013)[38]
- Pain & Gain (2013)
- The Patriot (2000)[38]
- Pearl Harbor (2001)[38]
- Point Break (1991)
- Polytechniqnue (2009)[38]
- Prisoners (2013)[38]
- Predator (1987)
- The Producers (1967)[38]
- The Punisher (1989)
- Public Enemies (2009)
- Redacted (2007)
- Resident Evil (2002)
- Resident Evil: Retribution (2012)
- Robin Hood: Men in Tights (1993)[38]
- Rocky Balboa (2006)
- The Rock (1996)
- Rock All Night (1957)[41]
- Rollerball (2002)
- Saw (2004)[38]
- Sicario (2015)[38]
- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)[38]
- The Shadow (1994)
- Shallow Hal (2001)
- Shaun of the Dead (2004)[38]
- Showgirls (1995)
- Silent Movie (1976)[38]
- Smokin Aces (2007)[25][28]
- Snake Eyes (1998)
- Solaris (2002)
- Southland Tales (2006)
- Spaceballs (1987)[38]
- Speed Racer (2008)[38]
- Spider-Man 2 (2004)
- Spider-Man 3 (2007)
- Stargate (1994)[38]
- Starship Troopers (1997)
- Stuck on You (2003)
- Sucker Punch (2011)[38]
- Sudden Impact (1983)
- Sympathy for Lady Vengeance (2005)[38]
- Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (2002)[38]
- Taken (2009)
- The Taking of Pelham 123 (2009)[27]
- There's Something About Mary (1998)[80]
- The Tomb of Ligeia (1964)[41]
- Total Recall (1990)
- Training Day (2001)[38]
- Transformers (2007)[38][25]
- Transformers: Dark of the Moon (2011)
- The Trip (1967)[41]
- The Twelve Chairs (1970)[38]
- Unbreakable (2000)
- Unstoppable (2010)[62][21][26]
- Universial Soldier (1992)[38]
- The Village (2004)
- War of the Worlds (2005)
- Watchmen (2009)[38]
- White House Down (2013)[38]
- The Wild Angels (1966)[41]
- The World's End (2013)[38]
- X: The Man with the X-ray Eyes (1963)[41]
- Young Frankenstein (1974)[38]
See also
Related movements
Related genres
Similar debates
References
- ↑ Brunsting, Joshua (2013-06-11). "What Vulgar Auteurism Gets Wrong". CriterionCast. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
- ↑ Tracy, Andrew (2013-05-31). "Trash Humping: On "Vulgar Auteurism"". Cinema Scope. Retrieved 2022-09-15.
- ↑ Foundas, Scott. "'Pompeii' doesn't suck: Paul W.S. Anderson and Vulgar Auteurism". Variety.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Labuza, Peter (June 3, 2013). "Expressive Esoterica in the 21st Century—Or: What Is Vulgar Auteurism?". LabuzaMovies.com. Archived from the original on 2014-02-13. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
- 1 2 Brody, Richard. "A Few Thoughts on Vulgar Auteurism". The New Yorker.
- 1 2 3 4 Vulgar auteurism and Justin Lin|Westword
- ↑ Why It's OK to Love Bad Movies - Google Books (ch. "The Good, The Bad and the Good-Bad")
- ↑ Japanese Film and the Challenge of Video - Google Books (pg.1981)
- ↑ Vulgar Modernism - Routledge Encyclopedia of Modernism
- ↑ Vulgar Modernism - Artfourm International
- ↑ Film Theory - Google Books (pg.171)
- ↑ Patches, Matt (February 21, 2014). "The Other Paul Anderson: The Psychotic Action Vision of 'Pompeii' Director Paul W.S. Anderson". Grantland.
- 1 2 3 Singer, Matt. "Some Refined Discussion About Vulgar Auteurism".
- 1 2 Kenigsberg, Ben. "From the Wire: Pinkerton's Notes on Vulgar Auteurism". Indiewire.
- 1 2 Pinkerton, Nick. "BOMBAST #96". SundanceNow. Archived from the original on 2014-03-02. Retrieved 2014-02-26.
- ↑ Indie Cinema Is Now Genre Cinema|Defector
- ↑ Monster Hunter Review: Paul W.S. Anderson Crafts a Hyperkinetic, Faithful Videogame Adaptation|The Film Stage
- ↑ New to Streaming: To the Wonder, Monster Hunter, Nomadland, Test Pattern & More|The Film Stage
- ↑ The Never-ending Quest to Adapt 'Resident Evil' - The Ringer
- 1 2 3 Why It's OK to Love Bad Movies - Google Books (ch.5, pg.168)
- 1 2 3 4 5 Daily | "What Is Vulgar Auteurism?" - Keyframe
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 The Elusive Auteur - Google Books
- 1 2 3 Direct Action: how stars like Scott Adkins are landing more hits direct to viewers · Journal · A Letterboxd Magazine · Letterboxd
- 1 2 3 4 Mortal Kombat Shouldn’t Forget the Pulpy Fun of Paul W.S. Anderson’s Original - The Escapist
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vulgar Auteurism Needs to Drop the "Vulgar" - PopQptiq
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 FilmSlot: Vulgar Auteurism: As Low As It Goes - Filmkrant
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Obsessed With the Image: Vulgar Auteurism and Post-Cinematic Affect in the Late Films of Tony Scott by Ethan Cartwright|Chapman University
- 1 2 3 Start your engines: Seventh ‘Furious’ film provides winning shot of adrenaline - Columbia Daily Tribune
- 1 2 3 Film Criticism in the Digital Age - Google Books (ch."The Persistence of Auteurism")
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Vulgar Auteurism-Film Theory
- 1 2 Fresh blood: Three Great Directors of Direct-to-Video Action|Balder and Dash|Roger Ebert.com
- ↑ The artistic genius of Michael Bay – Macleans.ca
- ↑ The Michael Bay 'Ambulance' Movie Review Drinking Game - Rolling Stone
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 Review: Pieta - Slant Magazine
- ↑ "Vulgar Auteurism": Out with the New, In with the Old|Antenna
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 Vulgar Auteurism: A Guide Or: The "Mann-Scott-Baysians" - MUBI
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 For Love of the Vulgar - MUBI
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 Vulgar Auteurs - Google Podcasts
- 1 2 3 4 The 10 Most Underrated American Independent Films of The 1990s - Page 2 - Taste of Cinema
- ↑ Director Jaume Collet-Serra Knows What Makes Liam Neeson an Incredible Action Hero|GQ
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Melbourne Cinematheque June Round-up: Fast And Cheap With Roger Corman - ScreenAnarchy
- ↑ Review: 'Elvis' + 'Top Gun: Maverick' - OnlySky Media
- ↑ 'Dressed to Kill' and 'The Hunger': So Lethal, So Very Fashionable
- ↑ The Golden Age of TV: Rise of the Television Auteur|Facets Features
- ↑ Army of Milla: Resident Evil and Modern Auteurism-End of Cinema
- ↑ Secret Defense: Roland Emmerich's "Anonymous" on Notebook|MUBI
- ↑ Why Clint Eastwood Can't Buy Into The Idea Of An 'Auteur' Director|/Film
- ↑ Ms.45 - NOW Magazine
- 1 2 CLASS OF 1999 — Brattle Theatre Film Notes
- ↑ Walter Hill on his EIFF retrospective-The Skinny
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Dreams for the Dreamers as They Are in Their Tortured Dreams - Bright Wall/Dark Room
- ↑ Elvis|Cinema St Louis
- ↑ Vern Tells It Like It Is: Those Damn Vulgarians-Vern's Reviews on the Films of Cinema
- ↑ The rise and fall of auteur theory - Film Stories
- 1 2 FOR CRITERION CONSIDERATION: SOFIA COPPOLA’S MARIE ANTOINETTE - CrriterionCast.com
- ↑ Back to "Basic" on Notebook|MUBI
- ↑ The Noteworthy: R.I.P. Nagisa Oshima (1932-2013), The Formative Years of Cinema, Foreign Languages on Notebook|MUBI
- 1 2 The Encyclopedia of Japanese Horror Films - Google Books (pg.12)
- ↑ Sound And Vision: Russel Mulcahy - ScreenAnarchy
- ↑ Joshua Reviews Athina Rachel Tsangari's Chevalier (PIFF 2016) - CriterionCast.com
- ↑ "Gods of Egypt Director Alex Proyas Hates Film Critics". /Film. 2016-02-29. Retrieved 2019-07-25.
- 1 2 Smearing the Senses: Tony Scott, Action Painter on Notebook|MUBI
- ↑ Tony Scott: A Moving Target—Movement A on Notebook|MUBI
- ↑ 35 Years On, Why I've Never Lost That Loving Feeling For 'Top Gun'|WBUR
- ↑ "Heaven's Gate" and Film Maudit Culture - Film at Lincoln Center
- ↑ It's time to take a serious look at Zack Snyder-Little White Lies
- ↑ Zack Snyder's Worst to Best Movies|The Artifice
- ↑ Here's 10 of Quentin Tarantino's Best Movie Characters, Ranked - MovieWeb
- 1 2 3 The 15 Best Music Videos Made by The World's Greatest Filmmakers - Inverse
- ↑ The Medium Must Be the Message: The Matrix and the Future of Cinema|In Review Online
- ↑ M3GAN @ Movie Theaters Across Seattle - The Ticket
- 1 2 John Waters' Multiple Maniacs|EDGE United States
- 1 2 The Expendables 2 is Idiotic and Brain Dead in All the Right Ways — Nathan Rabin's Happy Place
- 1 2 A Dreadful Mike Myers Is in Netflix's Top 10 - PopCulture.com
- ↑ John Wick: Chapter 3 - Parabellum - Paste
- ↑ The Not-So-Savage Messiahs - MUBI
- ↑ Vulgar Auteurism - Movie List on mubi.com (archived via Wayback Machine)
- ↑ Film Society unveils new season, from silents to sex thrillers - Chicago Tribune
- ↑ For Criterion Consideration: Miami Vice - Criterion Cast.com
- ↑ "The Director of 'Dumb & Dumber' Is This Year's Oscar Frontrunner (Really)". Decider. 2018-11-21. Retrieved 2022-09-20.
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