By analysing the recent work of three of the mainstays of the New Latin American Cinema of the 1960s and 1970s -- the Argentine Fernando Solanas, the Cuban Julio García Espinosa, and the Bolivian Jorge Sanjinés --, this article focuses on the notion of film authorship to question these filmmakers' uses of it as a means of lending historical depth and narrative continuity to their careers, which are indissolubly linked to their respective political and ideological agendas. In parallel, and given the persistence of a socially committed Latin American cinema that is manifest not just in the films of such 'classic' directors but also in those of a new generation of Latin American filmmakers, this paper ponders the possibilities and the reach of reading such a cinema from an auteur-oriented critical perspective. Furthermore, given the prominence and importance of film authorship throughout the history of Latin American cinema, the article asks to what extent these directors' recent productions -- and indeed the whole 'New Latin American Cinema' project itself -- really do constitute a clean break with their previous work, or whether they are simply recycling tried-and-tested strategies.