“The critics who, at the time of Becker’s death, were recognized as the filmmakers of the French New Wave were among the very few writers of their time to recognize and exalt Becker’s artistry. Their affinities were predicted even before. As early as 1944, Becker celebrated the artist of filmmaking as “the auteur (i.e., author) of films,” and, in a 1947 article titled “The Author of Films: A Complete Author?,” he went into detail on the subject of the director as “auteur,” saying that “The author of a talking film tells a story with images, words, and sounds,” and emphasizing the importance of directors working on their own screenplays and making their films “personal,” whether the subject was one of their own invention or one provided by another writer. Becker proved his ideas with his films, even before the future New Wave, following in his footsteps, did the same. His films don’t merely reflect and criticize the moods and mores of the times; they embody and foretell the artistic history of the era, the future history of the cinema." – Richard Brody

Jacques Becker Ranked