This is even more true of directing - if you wave the camera about and have lots of look-at-me rapid-fire editing, people notice you and say "hey, it's a Great Directorial Vision!". If you don't, they assume it's all down to the script and the actors.

Jean Renoir is one of the best examples - true, his greatness is not exactly unrecognised, but when it comes to pinpointing exactly what made him so great, things get a lot trickier: his technique was so seamless that it's only the consistent excellence of his films that make his work stand out.

And that's why La Règle du Jeu will always be second to the flashier but far shallower Citizen Kane in the critical pantheon - you can see what makes Kane tick, which makes it easy to fantasise that you can do something similar, if only you had the resources. (In actual fact, Renoir made extensive use of most of Kane's so-called "innovations" years earlier - but no-one noticed at the time because he didn't draw attention to them).

Citizen Kane is grossly overrated. Singin' In The Rain is a far, far better film. Seriously.