Auteur Theory

This is applicable to 'Blade Runner' and 'The Lady from Shanghai' Hollywood segment of the course.
Auteur theory is the theory that a director is the driving creative force behind a motions picture and, as such, leave their 'signature' upon the film making it recognisable to them.
It was introduced in the 1950s by Directors such as Francoise Truffaut who said "An auteur is someone who bring something genuinely personal to his subject instead of producing a tasteful, accurate but lifeless rendering of the original material."
If a director is an auteur it means that across many of their films the same themes and stylisation are used and that this is easily recognisable as distinctive of them. Good examples are Guillermo Del Torro and Tim Burton.
However, there is a counter argument because the making of a film involves such a large team of people. People like Billy Wilder have been advocates for this counter argument that a films visual aesthetic can't possibly be all down to the one person.  "Film's thought of as a director's medium because the director creates the end product that appears on the screen. It's that stupid auteur theory  again, that the director is the author of the film. But what does the director shoot- the telephone book? Writers became much more important when sound came in, but they've had to put up a valiant fight to get the credit they deserve."
Jean Luc-Goddard once also said that "With mobile phones and everything, everyone is now an auteur."
It is arguable either way but the founder of Auteur Theory Andre Bazin first started drawing the patterns of certain directors in the 1940's at the dawning of 'New Wave' cinema. Throughout history there have been great cinematic directors who inarguable have a specific style recognisable to them. From Alfred Hitchcock to Orson Welles to Ridley Scott and Speilberg, There is evidence of auteur theory throughout history and to this day.
Auteurs:
Use mise-en-scene to imprint their vision.
Use films to express their own feelings.
lighting, setting, staging and editing to add to their vision.
Personal style in terms of how the film looks and feels.