The author of The American Cinema: Directors and Directions, 1929-1968 and former critic for the Village Voice, Andrew Sarris was a key figure in the promotion of the auteur theory during the 1960s. As a columnist, Sarris frequently engaged in public intellectual debates with noted critics such as Pauline Kael and John Simon. These printed arguments had great effects on the direction taken by American filmmakers of the '60s and '70s. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide