Andrew Sarris loved movies. He wrote about films for many years. He taught students how to watch movies. He helped people see the director's skill. His ideas changed how we see art. Do you like to watch movies?
Andrew Sarris was a man who loved movies. He was a film critic. This means he wrote about films.
He lived in New York. He also spent time in France. In France, he met many film makers. This helped him learn more about art.
Andrew had a big idea. He believed the director was the most important part of a movie. He called this the auteur theory.
He wrote books about great directors. He even taught classes at a college. He wanted people to see the skill in films.
He wrote about movies for a very long time. His work helped many people enjoy cinema.
Andrew Sarris was a famous film critic. This means he studied movies and wrote about them. He was born in Brooklyn, New York. Later, he moved to Paris, France. There, he met many famous film makers. These friends helped him see movies in a new way.
Sarris is well known for the auteur theory. An auteur is a director with a special style. Sarris believed the director is the main artist of a film. He wrote a big book called "The American Cinema." In this book, he listed the best directors. He called these great artists the "pantheon." This group included people like Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford.
Sarris loved to share his opinions. He even made lists of his ten favorite films. He thought "Madame de..." was the best film ever made. He taught film classes at Columbia University for many years. He also helped start a group for film critics. Sarris wrote about movies for most of his life. His work helped people understand why directors matter so much.
Andrew Sarris was a famous American film critic. He spent his life studying movies and writing about them. Sarris was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1928. His parents were Greek immigrants named Themis and George. He grew up in Ozone Park, Queens. Sarris loved movies so much that he made it his life's work. He wanted to help people see the art in every film.
Sarris is most famous for the auteur theory. An auteur is a director with a very special style. He helped make this idea popular in the United States. He wrote about it in a 1962 essay. He believed the director is the main artist of a movie. This was different from how many people thought before. He wanted people to notice how a director's vision shapes a story.
His career took him to many interesting places. After serving in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, he moved to Paris. In France, he became friends with filmmakers like Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. He saw many new films there. When he returned to New York, he wrote for *The Village Voice*. His first big review was for the movie *Psycho* in 1960. He also taught film at Columbia University for many years.
Sarris wrote many important books and lists. His big book, *The American Cinema*, came out in 1968. He used it to rank the best directors in a group called the "pantheon." This group included names like Alfred Hitchcock and John Ford. He also listed directors from Germany, Austria, Britain, and France. He even changed his mind about some directors later in life. For example, he upgraded Billy Wilder to the pantheon in 1998.
Many people still talk about his work today. He was a co-founder of the National Society of Film Critics. He even had famous rivals, like the critic Pauline Kael. They had long debates about movies. Sarris always kept revising his own opinions. He said his ideas were not the final word. He wanted his work to help people rediscover great movies.
Andrew Sarris was a highly influential American film critic. He spent his career analyzing how movies function as art. Sarris is best known for introducing the auteur theory to American audiences. An auteur is a director who exerts significant creative control over a film. This theory suggests the director is the primary artist of the work. Sarris believed a director's unique style should be visible in every movie they make. His work helped change how people study and value cinema.
Sarris developed his ideas through deep observation and writing. He focused on how a director's specific vision shapes the final product. In his 1962 essay, "Notes on the Auteur Theory," he popularized this concept in the United States. He was inspired by critics writing for the French magazine *Cahiers du Cinéma*. Sarris did not view his ideas as rigid laws. Instead, he described the auteur theory as a collection of facts. He saw it as a way to rediscover great directors and redeem certain movie genres.
His career involved several distinct stages and professional roles. He began by writing for *Film Culture* before moving to *The Village Voice*. In 1960, he published a famous review of the film *Psycho*. He later wrote for *The New York Observer* until 2009. Sarris was also a dedicated educator. He served as a professor of film at Columbia University. There, he taught courses on American cinema and international film history. He even earned an M.A. in English from the university in 1998.
Sarris's life was shaped by travel and military service. He was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1928 to Greek immigrant parents. After graduating from Columbia University in 1951, he served in the U.S. Army Signal Corps. This service occurred during the Korean War. Following his service, he moved to Paris for one year. In France, he befriended famous filmmakers Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut. This experience expanded his understanding of film criticism and the French New Wave movement.
One of Sarris's most significant contributions was his book, *The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968*. Published in 1968, this book provided an assessment of films from the sound era. He organized the book by director and included a "pantheon" of 14 great directors. This group included Americans like John Ford and Orson Welles. It also included international directors like Alfred Hitchcock and Jean Renoir. He used different categories to rank other directors. Some categories included "Expressive Esoterica" or "Lightly Likable." Sarris was known to revise his opinions over time. For example, he upgraded director Billy Wilder to the pantheon in his 1998 book.
Sarris's work often sparked intense debate within the film community. He had a famous critical rivalry with Pauline Kael. Kael attacked the auteur theory in her essay "Circles and Squares." Sarris viewed their disagreements as a helpful dialectic. He believed their competing views helped define the field of criticism. When asked for the greatest film ever made, Sarris often cited Max Ophüls' *Madame de...* (1953). He also frequently recommended films by Mizoguchi, Renoir, and Hitchcock. He maintained a list of ten all-time favorites that he would share with others.
Today, the legacy of Andrew Sarris remains strong in film studies. He was a co-founder of the National Society of Film Critics. Many modern critics, such as A. O. Scott and J. Hoberman, have cited him as an influence. In 2001, a collection of 39 essays titled *Citizen Sarris* was published to honor him. This collection included writings from filmmakers like Martin Scorsese. Sarris passed away in June 2012 at St. Luke's Hospital in Manhattan. His life's work continues to encourage people to look closer at the artistry of directors.
Where will your curiosity go next?
More to explore
✨ What else?
Related topics you might enjoy
What is Nepedia?
A free, ad-free encyclopedia for children. Every article is written at five reading levels, so the same page works for a five-year-old and a fifteen-year-old — use the level switcher above to see this one change. No account needed to read.