Auteur Appendix
A is for Auteur is packed with easter eggs to over 200 films from 35 filmmakers and nearly 100 years of cinema. To decode all the references, here is a line-by-line breakdown of the book. For a full list of all the films referenced including those referenced visually, check out our Letterboxd.
A is for Anderson (Paul Thomas) Quiz kids[1], gamblers[2], cops[3] and ramblers, misfits in the valley[4]. Falling frogs[5] and father figures[6], happy-sad finales[7].
1. Quiz Kid Donnie Smith is played by William H. Macy in Magnolia.
2. Hard Eight features a compulsive gambler played by John C. Reilly.
3. Magnolia features a police officer played by John C. Reilly.
4. Three of Anderson’s features are set in the San Fernando Valley where he grew up.
5. The climax of Magnolia features a biblical rain of frogs falling from the sky.
6. One of Anderson’s most recurring themes is the relationships between fathers and sons like Tom Cruise and Jason Robards in Magnolia, or father figures like Philip Baker Hall in Hard Eight, Burt Reynolds in Boogie Nights or Philip Seymour Hoffman in The Master.
7. Many of Anderson’s features have bittersweet endings, like Boogie Nights and Magnolia where he leaves his characters in a place that’s both tragic and hopeful.
B is for Bigelow (Kathryn) Cut the red wire[8], little hand says time to rock ‘n roll[9], Fasten your seat belt[10], survive the night[11], a war zone in your soul[12].
8. The tagline for the Best Picture winner The Hurt Locker.
9. A line spoken by Patrick Swayze in Point Break.
10. Bill Paxton’s sadistic vampire character says “Fasten your f***in’ seat belt” in Near Dark.
11. The tagline for 2017’s Detroit.
12. Both The Hurt Locker and Zero Dark Thirty feature lead characters wrestling with questions of morality during wartime.
C is for Coppola (Francis Ford) Luca Brasi sleeps with fishes[13], a horse head as a warning[14]. Apocalypse redux[15], the smell of napalm in the morning[16].
13. A famous line in The Godfather to indicate this character has been killed.
14. Jack Woltz wakes up with his prized thoroughbred horse’s severed head in his bed in The Godfather.
15. Apocalypse Now Redux is a 2001 extended version of Coppola’s epic war film from 1979 and features 49 minutes of footage that had been removed from the original film.
16. An infamous line spoken by Robert Duvall in Apocalypse Now.
D is for De Palma (Brian) Femme fatales[17], phantoms[18], doubles[19] and prom queens[20], Hitchcockian thrillers[21], diopter[22] split-screens[23].
17. Femme Fatale is a 2002 French erotic mystery thriller film.
18. Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 American musical rock opera horror comedy film.
19. Many of De Palma’s films feature doubles including Sisters (about identical twins) and Body Double.
20. Carrie White is voted prom queen in 1976’s Carrie.
21. De Palma was a student of Hitchcock and frequently was accused of ripping off the Master of Suspense. The main plot from Rear Window was used for Body Double, while it also used elements of Vertigo. Vertigo was also the basis for Obsession. Dressed to Kill was a note-for-note homage to Psycho.
22. A split-diopeter shot, also known as deep focus, has a foreground and background element in focus at the same time. He used this technique frequently in the 70s and 80s, notably in Blow Out where it appears 15 times.
23. One of De Palma’s signature stylistic signatures is the use of split-screen to build suspense with parallel action. You can see this in Carrie, Blow Out, Dressed To Kill, Sisters, Dionysus in 69, and Passion among others.
E is for Ephron (Nora) Sleepless in Seattle[24] from atop the Empire State[25], Harry and Sally wondering if friends could ever date[26]?
24. Tom Hanks’ character signs his letters “Sleepless in Seattle” to Meg Ryan’s character.
25. In Sleepless in Seattle, Hanks’ and Ryan’s characters agree to meet on Valentine’s Day at the top of the Empire State Building.
26. In When Harry Met Sally, which was scripted by Ephron, Harry doesn’t think that men and women can be friends if they’re attracted to each other.
F is for Fellini (Federico) Casanovas[27] and dreamers[28], variety lights[29]. La dolce vita[30]. Roma[31] at night.
27. Casanova is a 1976 Italian film. Fellini’s films frequently featured playboys who romanced many women.
28. Many of Fellini’s films feature dream sequences and characters who long for something (Nights of Cabiria), or a director who must dream up a world (8 1/2).
29. Variety Lights is a 1951 Italian romantic drama film.
30. La Dolce Vita is a 1960 Italian drama film
31. Roma is a 1972 semi-autobiographical comedy-drama film.
G is for Godard (Jean-Luc) Photography is truth[32] and every edit is a lie[33], A band of outsiders[34] become immortal, and then die[35].
32. Godard said, ‘Photography is truth. The cinema is truth twenty-four times per second.”
33. Godard also said “Every edit is a lie.”
34. Band of Outsiders is a 1964 French New Wave film.
35. In 1960’s Breathless, a character is asked “What’s your greatest ambition?” and his reply is “To become immortal… and then die.” This infamous exchange is said to capture the spirit of the French New Wave film movement that this film helped usher in.
H is for Hitchcock (Alfred) Secret agents[36], saboteurs[37], men who knew too much[38], Psychos[39] strangers[40], blondes[41] and lodgers[42], he’s notorious[43].
36. Secret Agent is a 1936 British film,
37. Saboteur is a 1942 American film noir spy thriller film.
38. The Man Who Knew Too Much is both a 1934 British thriller and a 1956 American suspense thriller, both directed by Hitchcock. (Hence the plural “men”.)
39. Psycho is a 1960 American psychological horror film.
40. Strangers on a Train is a 1951 American psychological thriller film noir.
41. Hitchcock frequently cast blondes in his films. As Ebert remarked of his heroines “They were blonde. They were icy and remote.” The “Hitchcock Blonde” became a trope.
42. The Lodger: A Story of the London Fog is a 1927 British silent film. Marion Crane is also a lodger at the Bates Motel in Psycho.
43. Notorious is a 1946 American spy film noir. Hitchcock’s films were also notorious for their boundary pushing violence (or the implication of it).
I is for Ingmar (Bergman) Games of chess[44], scenes from a marriage[45], on a summer night[46]. Autumn sonata[47] cries and whispers[48] and the winter light[49].
44. The Seventh Seal is a 1957 Swedish historical fantasy about a medieval knight (Max von Sydow) and a game of chess he plays with the personification of Death (Bengt Ekerot), who has come to take his life.
45. Scenes From A Marriage is a 1973 Swedish Television miniseries, later edited into a feature film.
46. Smiles of a Summer Night is a 1955 Swedish comedy film.
47. Autumn Sonata is a 1978 Swedish drama film.
48. Cries and Whispers is a 1972 Swedish period drama film.
49. Winter Light is a 1963 Swedish drama film.
J is for Jonze (Spike) An orchid thief[50], a screenwriter and twin… but which is which[51]? Puppeteers, portals, Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich[52].
50. The screenplay for the 2002 film Adaptation started for writer Charlie Kaufman as an assignment to adapt Susan Orlean’s nonfiction book The Orchid Thief.
51. Adaptation fictionally chronicles Kaufman’s attempts to adapt the book and also adds a number of fictitious elements, including Kaufman’s twin brother (also credited as a writer for the film). Both roles are played by Nicolas Cage who was nominated for Best Actor for his performance(s).
52. Being John Malkovich is a 1999 American fantasy comedy-drama film that follows a puppeteer who finds a portal that leads into Malkovich’s mind. When Malkovich himself steps into his own portal, everyone looks like him and can only speak one word “Malkovich.”
K is for Kubrick (Stanley) Fidelio[53] Beethoven’s 9th, a bit of ultraviolence[54]. An icy glare[55], a slow deactivation, and then silence[56].
53. In the 1999 film Eyes Wide Shut, the password to enter the private club is “Fidelio”, from the Latin word for “faithful”, and which is the title of Beethoven’s only opera (Fidelio, or Married Love).
54. In 1971’s A Clockwork Orange, the lead character listens to Beethoeven’s 9th Symphony and drink milk laced with drugs that he said “would sharpen you up and make you ready for a bit of the old ultraviolence.”
55. A frequent composition in Kubrick’s work was that of close up, a shot of a man glowering up at the camera from beneath lowered eyebrows. It has been coined the “Kubrick Stare” and can be seen prominently in A Clockwork Orange, The Shining and Full Metal Jacket among others.
56. In 1968’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, HAL 9000 sings a song as it is deactivated, before going completely silent.
L is for Lynch (David) Strange worlds[57] and lost highways[58], filled with mystery[59], Dreams and nightmares[60], wrapped in plastic[61], fire walk with me[62].
57. Lynch said, “All my movies are about strange worlds that you can’t go into unless you build them and film them.”
58. Lost Highway is a 1997 neo-noir film.
59. Many of Lynch’s works revolve around a central mystery and characters who go deeper to uncover the truth beneath the surface. Twin Peaks, Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive all share this theme.
60. Lynch is notable for dreams and dreamlike imagery in his work, often with a darker edge that can turn nightmarish.
61. The image of Laura Palmer, “dead and wrapped in plastic” became a signature image for the show as well as the title of a popular Twin Peaks fansite.
62. “Fire walk with me” was a clue uncovered on the series as well as the title of the film, 1992’s Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me.
M is for Malick (Terrence) To the wonder[63], mother, father… always you wrestle inside[64]. The way of nature, the way of grace[65], the thin red line[66].
63. To the Wonder is a 2012 American experimental romantic drama film.
64. “Mother. Father. Always you wrestle inside me” is a line from The Tree of Life.
65. “The nuns taught us there are two ways through life … the way of Nature… and the way of Grace. You have to choose which one you’ll follow.” is another line from The Tree of Life.
66. The Thin Red Line is a 1998 Canadian-American epic war film.
N is for Nichols & May (Mike & Elaine) An evening with this comic pair[67], improv beyond belief[68]. Graduates[69] and heartbreak kids[70] turn over a new leaf[71].
67. An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May is a live comedy album by Nichols and May from 1960.
68. All of Nichols and May’s material was formed through improvisation and gradually polished into more refined comic bits. Their first album was titled Improvisations to Music.
69. The Graduate is a 1967 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Nichols.
70. The Heartbreak Kid is a 1972 dark romantic comedy directed by May.
71. A New Leaf is a 1971 black comedy film directed by and co-starring May.
O is for Ozu (Yazujiro) Tokyo stories[72], floating weeds[73], evening thundershowers[74]. Early summer[75], late spring[76], and equinox flowers[77].
72. Tokyo Story is a 1953 Japanese drama film.
73. Floating Weeds is a 1959 Japanese drama film and a remake of Ozu’s own black-and-white silent film A Story of Floating Weeds (1934).
74. In Floating Weeds there is a dramatic confrontation that takes place in the pouring rain.
75. Early Summer is a 1951 film.
76. Late Spring is a 1949 Japanese drama film.
77. Equinox Flower is a 1958 color Japanese film.
P is for Pedro (Almodóvar) Sisters, mothers, wives and lovers[78], women on the verge[79]. Matadors[80], writers[81], priests[82] and nuns who fight the urge[83].
78. Almodóvar’s films frequently center on female characters. The director has described his work as the “cinema of women” and “of great female protagonists.”
79. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown is a 1988 Spanish black comedy-drama film.
80. Both 2002’s Talk To Her and 1986’s Matador feature Spanish bullfighters.
81. Many of Almodóvar’s films are semi-autobiographical and center on characters who are writers or screenwriters Broken Embraces and Pain and Glory are two examples.
82. 2004’s Bad Education features extensive flashbacks of Catholic School priests.
83. Dark Habits is a 1983 Spanish black comedy about eccentric nuns.
Q is for Quentin (Tarantino) The man from Okinawa[84], Vincent and Mia dance[85]. Once upon a time… in Nazi-occupied France[86].
84. Chapter Four of 2003’s Kill Bill: Volume 1 is titled The Man From Okinawa.
85. In 1994’s Pulp Fiction, John Travolta and Uma Thurman’s characters famously dance at Jack Rabbit Slims.
86. The first chapter in 2009’s Inglourious Basterds is titled “Once upon a time... in Nazi occupied France.”
R is for Ray (Satyajit) Song of the little road, Pather Panchali[87]. The world of Apu[88], the unvanquished[89] Bengali[90].
87. Pather Panchali is a 1955 Indian Bengali-language drama film which translates to “song of the little road.” It was the first in the “Apu Trilogy” following the life of a Bengali boy in rural India named Apu.
88. The World of Apu is a 1959 Indian Bengali drama film and the third film in the “Apu Trilogy.”
89. The Unvanquished (also known as Aparajito) is a 1956 Indian Bengali drama film and the second film in the “Apu Trilogy.”
90. A region in India where the bulk of Ray’s films take place.
S is for Scorsese (Martin) Gangsters[91], cops[92], and taxi drivers[93], bringing out the dead[94]. Mean streets[95], New York[96] after hours[97]. “It’s what it is,” he said[98].
91. Scorsese’s films frequently feature gangsters, such as Mean Streets, Goodfellas and Casino.
92. In 2007’s The Departed, Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon play cops.
93. Taxi Driver is a 1976 American neo-noir psychological thriller film.
94. Bringing Out the Dead is a 1999 American drama film.
95. Mean Streets is a 1973 American crime film.
96. Many of Scorsese’s films are set in New York, where he grew up. In 1978 he made a musical titled New York, New York.
97. After Hours is a 1985 American black comedy film.
98. “It’s what it is,” is a recurring phrase in 2019’s The Irishman.
T is for Truffaut (François) Day for night[99], love on the run[100], and critical acclaim[101]. Antoine Doinel turns to camera, pauses, then freeze frame[102].
99. Day for Night is a 1973 French film.
100. Love on the Run is a 1979 French film.
101. Many of Truffaut’s films were critically acclaimed. He had once been a film critic himself.
102. The ending of his breakthrough film, 1959’s semi-autobiographical The 400 Blows features the lead character breaking the 4th wall by looking directly into the camera, before freeze framing. It is one of the most famous endings in the history of cinema.
U is for Underrated (Filmmakers) Corman[103], Corbucci[104], Sayles[105] and Suzuki[106]. Lupino[107], Loden[108], Frankenheimer[109], Fulci[110], Mizoguchi[111].
103. Roger Corman is an American director, producer, and actor. He has been called "The Pope of Pop Cinema" and is known as a trailblazer in the world of independent film.
104. Sergio Corbucci was an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. He directed very violent spaghetti westerns and bloodless Bud Spencer and Terence Hill action comedies.
105. John Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter, editor, actor, and novelist.
106. Seijun Suzuki was a Japanese filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter. His films are known for their jarring visual style, irreverent humour, nihilistic cool and entertainment-over-logic sensibility.
107. Ida Lupino was an English-American actress, singer, director, and producer. She is widely regarded as one of the most prominent female filmmakers working during the 1950s in the Hollywood studio system.
108. Barbara Loden was an American actress and director of film and theater. Richard Brody of The New Yorker described Loden as the "female counterpart to John Cassavetes".
109. John Frankenheimer was an American film and television director known for social dramas and action/suspense films.
110. Lucio Fulci was an Italian film director, screenwriter and actor.
111. Kenji Mizoguchi was a Japanese film director and screenwriter. Mizoguchi's work is renowned for its long takes and mise-en-scène.
V is for Varda (Agnès) Faces, places[112], documenteur[113], Cleo from five to seven[114], Vagabond[115], beaches of Agnès[116], cinephile heaven[117].
112. Faces Places is a 2017 French documentary film.
113. Documenteur also known as Documenteur: An Emotion Picture is a French-American feature film. Varda alternated between documentaries and narrative films throughout her career.
114. Cléo from 5 to 7 is a 1962 French Left Bank film.
115. Vagabond is a 1985 French drama film.
116. Beaches of Agnès is a 2008 French documentary film where Varda revisits places from her past.
117. When Varda passed away in 2019, Indiewire called her “a cinephile for the ages.”
W is for Welles (Orson) Tycoons[118] geniuses[119] and fakes[120]. Once great men, diminished[121]. Rosebud[122], Charles Foster Kane[123], and projects left unfinished[124].
118. 1941’s Citizen Kane centers on a publishing tycoon.
119. Because of his many talents at such a young age as writer/director/producer/star of his debut Citizen Kane, later called the greatest film of all time, Welles himself was called a genius.
120. F for Fake is a 1973 docudrama film.
121. Welles was a cautionary tale because of his early success. His films reflected this and featured characters with great promise brought low by time and other factors.
122. It’s the sled.
123. The titular character portrayed by Welles in Citizen Kane.
124. Welles began filming but never completed at least a half-dozen films throughout his career, including his final film The Other Side of the Wind, which was completed after his death and released in 2018.
X is for Spike (Lee) She’s gotta have it[125], jungle fever[126], Mookie[127], he got game[128]. Do the right thing[129], Malcolm X[130], on the wall of fame[131].
125. She’s Gotta Have It is a 1986 American black-and-white comedy-drama and Lee’s first film.
126. Jungle Fever is a 1991 American romantic comedy-drama film.
127. Mookie, played by Lee, is the central character of Do the Right Thing.
128. He Got Game is a 1998 American sports drama film starring Denzel Washington.
129. Do The Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy-drama and Lee’s breakthrough.
130. Malcolm X, sometimes stylized as X, is a 1992 biopic about the African-American activist.
131. In Do The Right Thing, the central conflict revolves around Sal’s Pizzeria’s “Wall of Fame,” which features many famous Italians and no African Americans. A character in the film proposes putting MLK or Malcolm X on the wall.
Y is for Yang (Edward) Mahjong[132], Yi Yi[133], a story in Taipei[134]. Terrorizers[135], on the beach[136], a brighter summer day[137].
132. Mahjong is a 1996 Taiwanese comedy directed by Yang.
133. Yi Yi is a 2000 drama about 3 generations of his middle-class Taiwanese family.
134. Taipei Story is a 1985 film. Most of Yang’s features were set in Taipei.
135. Terrorizers is a 1986 film a complex multi-narrative urban thriller.
136. That Day, On The Beach is a 1983 film about on couples and families.
137. A Brighter Summer Day is a 1991 film about youth-teen gangs.
Z is for Zinnemann (Fred) Epics, war films, westerns and thrillers[138]. With nuns[139], sundowners[140] and professional killers[141].