Okay, fair enough. But I can think of only a few directors whose productions are of the same kind of example: Hitchcock's masterpieces, Wilder's best work, probably Sirk, too.
I guess I could revise what I said and say Kane is rare in that it is also very good...
But you might disagree with that, too.
Yes, I do disagree, respectfully. It's unreasonable to think that, with the enormous output and resources that Hollywood had, very good autueristic-collaborative movies in the studio system are rare.
I agree with your examples of Hitchcock, Wilder, and Sirk.
But, the best work of auteurs like Ford, Nicholas Ray, Lang, Hawks, Keaton, Chaplin, Sturges, Walsh, late Murnau, Avery, Chuck Jones, Clampett sit in the company of Citizen Kane.
Movies like Singin' in the Rain do as well.
Some directors, who on the whole, maybe aren't elite, but some of their films are: Berkeley, Bacon, Minnelli, Preminger, Peckinpah, Anthony Mann, Penn, von Sternberg
The best of the modern auteurs range from very good to masterpieces and definitely sit in the company of Citizen Kane: Malick, Scorsese, Altman, Coppola, Spielberg, Kubrick
Some obviously are auteurs doing fine work, sometimes: PTA, Fincher, Michael Mann, Wes Anderson, Nolan
