François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”

E747614

critical essay film criticism essay

François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français” is a landmark 1954 critical essay that attacked the prevailing French “tradition of quality” and helped launch the auteur theory in film criticism.

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All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema	1
François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français” canonical	1
Une certaine tendance du cinéma français	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T8626316 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”
Context triple: [Cahiers du Cinéma, hasNotableArticle, François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”]

A. Hitchcock/Truffaut
"Hitchcock/Truffaut" is a 2015 documentary film that explores the legendary week-long interview between directors Alfred Hitchcock and François Truffaut and its profound influence on cinema and filmmakers.
B. Le Cinéma
Le Cinéma is a movie theater within Tokyo’s Bunkamura cultural complex, known for screening a curated selection of domestic and international films.
C. Les Règles de l’art
Les Règles de l’art is a major sociological study by Pierre Bourdieu that analyzes the social conditions of literary production and the emergence of the autonomous artistic field in 19th-century France.
D. Bande à part
Bande à part is a 1964 French New Wave crime drama film by Jean-Luc Godard, celebrated for its playful style, iconic dance scene, and unconventional approach to genre.
E. The 400 Blows
The 400 Blows is François Truffaut’s landmark 1959 coming-of-age film that helped launch the French New Wave and is celebrated for its intimate, realistic portrayal of adolescent alienation.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”
Target entity description: François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français” is a landmark 1954 critical essay that attacked the prevailing French “tradition of quality” and helped launch the auteur theory in film criticism.

A. Hitchcock/Truffaut
"Hitchcock/Truffaut" is a 2015 documentary film that explores the legendary week-long interview between directors Alfred Hitchcock and François Truffaut and its profound influence on cinema and filmmakers.
B. Le Cinéma
Le Cinéma is a movie theater within Tokyo’s Bunkamura cultural complex, known for screening a curated selection of domestic and international films.
C. Les Règles de l’art
Les Règles de l’art is a major sociological study by Pierre Bourdieu that analyzes the social conditions of literary production and the emergence of the autonomous artistic field in 19th-century France.
D. Bande à part
Bande à part is a 1964 French New Wave crime drama film by Jean-Luc Godard, celebrated for its playful style, iconic dance scene, and unconventional approach to genre.
E. The 400 Blows
The 400 Blows is François Truffaut’s landmark 1959 coming-of-age film that helped launch the French New Wave and is celebrated for its intimate, realistic portrayal of adolescent alienation.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (47)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	critical essay ⓘ film criticism essay ⓘ
author	François Truffaut ⓘ
countryOfOrigin	France ⓘ
criticizes	French tradition of quality ⓘ conventional studio-bound production practices ⓘ literary adaptations in French cinema ⓘ screenwriter-dominated filmmaking ⓘ
dateOfFirstPublication	January 1954 ⓘ
era	postwar French cinema ⓘ
field	aesthetics of cinema ⓘ film studies ⓘ
hasEnglishTitle	A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema ⓘ linked to: François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”
historicalSignificance	foundational text of auteurism ⓘ landmark in film theory ⓘ turning point in French film criticism ⓘ
influenced	Andrew Sarris’s auteur theory writings ⓘ French New Wave ⓘ auteur theory ⓘ modern film criticism ⓘ
keyConcept	director as author ⓘ distinction between metteurs-en-scène and auteurs ⓘ personal vision in filmmaking ⓘ
language	French ⓘ
mentions	Claude Autant-Lara ⓘ Jean Aurenche ⓘ Jean Delannoy ⓘ Pierre Bost ⓘ René Clément ⓘ
movement	Cahiers du cinéma critics movement ⓘ linked to: Cahiers du Cinéma
originalTitle	Une certaine tendance du cinéma français ⓘ linked to: François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”
partOf	Cahiers du cinéma auteurist debates ⓘ
publicationType	film magazine article ⓘ
publicationYear	1954 ⓘ
publishedIn	Cahiers du cinéma ⓘ linked to: Cahiers du Cinéma
relatedTo	French New Wave directors ⓘ linked to: French New Wave politique des auteurs ⓘ
relatedWorkByAuthor	Les Quatre Cents Coups ⓘ linked to: The 400 Blows
subject	French cinema ⓘ auteur theory ⓘ film criticism ⓘ tradition of quality ⓘ
supports	auteur policy ⓘ director-centered authorship ⓘ personal cinema ⓘ
timePeriodCritiqued	early 1950s French cinema ⓘ late 1940s French cinema ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (3)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Cahiers du Cinéma → hasNotableArticle → François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français” ⓘ

Une certaine tendance du cinéma français → originalTitle → Une certaine tendance du cinéma français ⓘ

subject linked to: François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”

linked to: François Truffaut’s “Une certaine tendance du cinéma français”

Une certaine tendance du cinéma français → hasEnglishTitle → A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema ⓘ