Editing Andrew Sarris (section)

==Criticism==
Sarris's method of ranking directors in ''The American Cinema'' has been criticized as elitist and subjective. Those who do not make the cut of his 1968 ''Pantheon'' category were sorted under categorical headings listed in the table of contents that descend as follows: ''The Far Side of Paradise''; ''Expressive Esoterica''; ''Fringe Benefits''; ''Less Than Meets The Eye''; ''Lightly Likable''; ''Strained Seriousness''; ''Oddities, One-Shots, and Newcomers''; ''Subjects for Further Research''; ''Make Way for the Clowns!''; ''and Miscellany.''<ref name=autogenerated1>Sarris, Andrew. The American Cinema. New York: Dutton, 1968.</ref>

Criticism of the auteur theory often stems from a misunderstanding of its "dogmatic" nature. Endlessly reviewing and revising his opinions, Sarris defended his original article "Notes on Auteur Theory" in ''The American Cinema'' stating: "the article was written in what I thought was a modest, tentative, experimental manner, it was certainly not intended as the last word on the subject".<ref name=autogenerated1 /> He further stated that the auteur theory should not be considered a theory at all but rather "a collection of facts", and "a reminder of movies to be resurrected, of genres to be redeemed, of directors to be rediscovered."<ref>Sarris, Andrew. Quoted in Kent Jones "Hail the Conquering Hero: Andrew Sarris Profiled." ''Film Comment Magazine Online'' <{{cite web|url=http://www.filmlinc.com/film-comment/article/hail-the-conquering-hero-andrew-sarris-profiled |title=Hail the Conquering Hero: Andrew Sarris profiled &#124; Filmlinc.com &#124; Film Society of Lincoln Center |access-date=October 26, 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120405144009/http://www.filmlinc.com/film-comment/article/hail-the-conquering-hero-andrew-sarris-profiled |archive-date=April 5, 2012 }}> Accessed October 25, 2011.</ref>