An auteur whose movies define the genre, Jean-Luc Godard's films are

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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended meaning of this sentence is that Jean Luc Godard is an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre, and he directed films whose relation to to the French New Wave is what Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly's relation to the spaghetti western is.

Concepts tested here: Meaning + Modifiers + Idioms

A: Trap. This answer choice incorrectly uses "An auteur whose movies define the genre" to modify "Jean-Luc Godard's films", illogically implying that the films directed by Jean-Luc Godard are an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre; the intended meaning is that Jean-Luc Godard is an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun.

B: This answer choice incorrectly uses "An auteur whose movies define the genre" to modify "Jean-Luc Godard's films", illogically implying that the films directed by Jean-Luc Godard are an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre; the intended meaning is that Jean-Luc Godard is an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option B incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "A are to B like X is to Y"; please remember, "A is/are to B what X is/are to Y" is an idiomatic construction used to convey that the relationship between A and B is similar to the relationship between X and Y.

C: This answer choice incorrectly uses "An auteur whose movies define the genre" to modify "Jean-Luc Godard's films", illogically implying that the films directed by Jean-Luc Godard are an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre; the intended meaning is that Jean-Luc Godard is an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre; please remember, in a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the unidiomatic construction "A are to B just as X is to Y"; please remember, "A is/are to B what X is/are to Y" is an idiomatic construction used to convey that the relationship between A and B is similar to the relationship between X and Y.

D: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "that are to the French New Wave similar to...is to the spaghetti western"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Jean Luc Godard directed films whose relation to to the French New Wave is what Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly's relation to the spaghetti western is.

E: Correct. This answer choice correctly uses the uses "An auteur whose movies define the genre" to modify "Jean-Luc Godard", conveying the intended meaning - that Jean Luc Godard is an auteur whose movies define the French New Wave genre. Further, Option E correctly uses the idiomatic construction "A are to B what X is to Y", conveying the intended meaning - that Jean Luc Godard directed films whose relation to to the French New Wave is what Sergio Leone's The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly's relation to the spaghetti western is.

Hence, E is the best answer choice.

To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1 minute):



All the best!
Experts' Global Team