International Cinema Auteurs of the 1950s and 1960s

Today, people in most countries of the world can rent international movies on video or DVD or buy copies online. It was not always so easy to find movies from other countries, however, beyond the Hollywood mainstream.

American films have nearly always enjoyed international success. But the silent era was a golden age of international film distribution, largely because translating silent film titles was far easier than dubbing sound films. Silent films also depended far less on the cultural and idiomatic nuances of dialogue. The move to sound film and the start of World War II nearly destroyed international cinema. During the war, many countries curtailed film production and cut back on imports and exports of films from other countries.

A tentative rebirth of international cinema began in the 1950s. Films that won major awards at Cannes and at the American Oscars began to be exported in 35mm prints to major cities around the world. Anyone outside of major cities who wanted to see international films depended on the distribution of 16mm films through film clubs, societies, and university film programs. Coupled with the journalistic and critical rise of the "auteur theory," these two forms of distribution made the resurgence of international film possible.

To learn more about the directors most famous for rejuvenating international cinema in the 1950s and 1960s, play the International Directors Game.

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