French Film Directors Series – serie

First in a series designed to situate and explain the films of French directors. A concise, accessible and original reading of Truffaut's films. A timely evaluation of the films of a popular director whose work features on most A-level French syllabuses and on the majority of University French Studies programmes both in the UK and the USA .

The first introduction in English devoted wholly to Varda and aimed at a general and student audience. Places Varda's major films in the context of her whole oeuvre and follows the development of important themes across her work.

Accessible and original analysis of all Jean Renoir's sound films, including those he made in Hollywood - this is the first major study to appear for a number of years and brings new light on some of the director's most celebrated films.. Illuminating account of critical debates concerning Renoir, and focusing on hitherto neglected areas such as gender, nation and ethnicity the book asks us to rethink our understanding of Renoir's political commitment.. Traces his output from the silent period to the age of television, tying his work into a fast-shifting, socio-historical context.. Detailed analyses of his sound films map his evolving style while individual chapters cover Renoir's career and writings, critical debates, the silent and early sound films, the Popular Front period, Renoir amèricain and the later films.

Widely taught on Film Studies courses and in French Cultural Studies programmesLuc Besson is a popular and respected filmmaker who has achieved international fameA welcome addition to the French Film Directors series.

Coline Serreau became famous in 1985 when her third film, Trois hommes et un couffin (Three Men and a Baby), the most successful French film of the 1980s. She was already known in France for her major contribution to feminist documentaries with the acclaimed Mais qu'est-ce qu'elles veulent?, a series of interviews with French women made between 1975 and 1977. She is now a key figure in French cinema and drama, with international hits including Romuald et Juliette (1989) and La Crise (1992). This appraisal of her work situates her films within the social, cultural and political context of France since May 1968, and assesses th emajor impact of the women's movement on French society and culture. Politics and sexual politics, two key aspects of Serreau's films and plays, are thoroughly examined. This book also considers the cultural influences of her work, and provides an overview of her films and filmic skills. Special attention is given to comedy, the cinematographic genre favoured by Serreau and the French audience, which is apprehended from a historical and gendered perspective. The clarity of the style and the wide-ranging analysis of Serreau's films and filming techniques make this book relevant both to students of film and film enthusiasts.

This is the first book written on Diane Kurys. It is essential for study of women filmmakers in France/Europe. An original and concise reading of Kurys' work.

This is the first book-length study in English on Chabrol since 1970. Chabrol has always been a neglected figure in the French New Wave but has recently been declared 'possibly the greatest living film director in France'.. Coincides with the recent renewal of interest in Chabrol, which has seen his back catalogue released in the UK on video.. Celebration of Chabrol's fiftieth film recently, Rien ne va plus prompted many festivals and retrospectives. Publication coincides with Chabrol's new film which is discussed in this study.. Writtten by one of the liveliest critics in French cinema - author of Contemporary French Cinema.

The most complete study of Blier's work to date, Harris traces the director's career from the early 1960s until the present. Outlines the forms, themes and style which dominate in Blier's work, and challenges the many labels that have been used to describe both the corpus of films and the man himself. Provides an original and controversial discussion of Blier's alleged 'misogyny', and invites the reader to understand the scatological and corporeal aspects of Blier's filmmaking in terms of long-established traditions of popular dramatic culture. Brings to light the comic mechanisms underpinning Blier's films and identifies strategies which navigate through one of the most entertaining and disconcerting bodies of work of recent years. The first book on Blier published in English.

This book provides a comprehensive introduction to the work of Robert Bresson, one of the most respected and acclaimed directors in the history of cinema.. The first monograph on his work to appear in English for many years dealing not only with his thirteen feature-length films but also his little-seen early short Affaires publiques and his short treatise Notes on cinematography.. The films are considered in chronological order, using a perspective that draws variously on spectator theory, Catholic mysticism, gender theory and Lacanian psychoanalysis.. The major critical responses to his work, from the adulatory to the dismissive, are summarized and analyzed.. The work includes a full filmography and a critical bibliography.

Before the turn of the twentieth century, before the nickelodeon, even before the first cinemas, Georges Méliès began making movies.. Directing, editing, producing, designing, and starring in over 500 films between 1896 to 1912, Méliès was also the first cinematic auteur.. This is the first study of Méliès's films to appear in English in over twenty years and the only book to interpret his work using the tools of modern film analysis.. Locates the roots of modern narrative cinema in Méliès's work, identifying techniques of editing and mise-en-scène previously thought to have originated with D. W. Griffith.

This volume is the first to examine, in either French or English, the films of Jean-Jacques Beineix, often seen as the best example of the 1980s cinéma du look, with cult films, such as Diva and Betty Blue (37º 2 le matin).. After an introduction which places Beineix in the context of the 1980s and the arguments centering on a postmodern cinema, the volume devotes a chapter to each of Beineix’s feature films, including the film which marked his return to feature film making after a break of a decade, Mortel Transfert (2001). Prefaced by an excellent foreword by the director himself, which includes a broad condemnation of French critics. Includes many illustrations direct from the director's own collection, complementing the interviews Powrie made with him and his collaborators.

Jean Vigo is one of the legendary figures of world cinema, whose films L'Atalante and Zéro de conduite still inspire young audiences today.Film historian Michael Temple explores Vigo's intense career and asks why it has had such a long-lasting impact on film culture, not just in France, but also for generations of filmmakers, critics and moviegoers around the world.Each film is examined under four headings:- social and political context- the making of the film, from conception to release- detailed analysis of narrative structure, main stylistic features and dominant themes- the reception of the film and its critical reputationAccessibly written, this will be essential reading for students, teachers, film enthusiasts and researchers, indeed for anyone who is interested in the cinema as a living art form.

The first book in English to deal exclusively with Duras' cinema, including such films as India Song, Le Camion, and Nathalie Granger. Provides a lucid and stimulating introduction to her films, which is accessible to a wide readerhip, both specialist and non-specialist.. Locates the films in their autobiographical as well as social and historical context, making the book broadly interesting to students and teachers in all areas of French Studies.. The book's empahasis on gender issues widens it's appeal to include those working in Women's Studies, Gender Studies and Gay and Lesbian Studies.

This is the first full-length monograph in English about one of France's most important contemporary filmmakers, perhaps best known in the English speaking world for his award winning Les Roseaux sauvages/Wild Reeds of 1994. This study locates André Téchiné within historical and cultural contexts that include the Algerian war, May 1968 and contemporary globalisation, and the influence of Roland Barthes, Bertolt Brecht, Ingmar Bergman, William Faulkner and the cinematic French wave. The originality of Téchiné's sixteen feature films lies in his subtle exploration of sexuality and national identity, as he challenges expectations in his depictions of gay relations, the North African dimensions of contemporary French culture, and the centre-periphery relationship between Paris and his native southwest.The book will be of interest to researchers and postgraduates working on French cinema, undergraduates studying Téchiné on their film courses, and all those with a general interest in cinema, contemporary France, and lesbian and gay issues.

This is a comprehensive, original and accessible account of all aspects of Jean Cocteau's work in the cinema. It is the first major study in English to appear for over forty years and casts new light on Cocteau's most celebrated films as well as those often neglected or little known.Jean Cocteau is not only one of French cinema's greatest and most influential auteurs whose work covered all the major genres but also an experimenter, collaborator, theorist and all-round ambassador of film. This lucid account provides a complete introduction to Cocteau's cinematic project in the context of his entire oeuvre, detailed analysis of individual films, and a thematic engagement with all his cinema from a range of interdisciplinary perspectives. The Cocteau that emerges is at once a materialist filmmaker and visionary who is committed to realism in all its guises and reveals the wonder and mystery of what he called 'the cinematograph'.

Bertrand Tavernier is widely recognised as the leading French filmmaker of his generation. Both a consummate artist and a controversial public figure, he is a passionate advocate for social causes and also a tireless defender of world cinema in general and the French cinematic heritage in particular. Lynn Higgins’ book offers a guided tour through Tavernier’s oeuvre, taking into account both its prodigious diversity and its unifying themes. It explores his use of genre and adaptation, his work with actors and his affection for characters, his treatment of France’s colonial history, his explorations of the powers of art and the complexities of intergenerational relations, both among fictional characters and within French cinema history.This is the most comprehensive scholarly book about Tavernier. Original and lively, sophisticated and engaging, the book will appeal to anyone interested in film studies, gender studies, and French cultural studies including academics, students, cinema enthusiasts, and Tavernier fans.

The first book in any language to study the films of this enfant terrible of contemporary French cinema, best known for his film Les Amants du Pont Neuf. Examines key ingredients in the worlds of Carax's films – Paris, pop music, 'flânerie' and 'amour fou', 'mannerist' and 'neo-baroque' aesthetics, the Nouvelle Vague and contemporary 'naturalist' cinema – making the book a good primer of contemporary French film and culture. Draws on a variety of intellectual sources, such as the philosophy of Deleuze, film criticism, theory of art, and literary monographs. Argues that the recent history of maverick mannerist and baroque auteurs, from Ruiz & Rivette to Garrel and Techine, and their explorations of the 'powers of the false' are key to Carax's cinema. Examines Carax's contribution to the strand of cinema which is focused on chance and destiny, from Wong Kar-Wai and David Lynch to films such as Serendipity and Sliding doors.

Alain Resnais, director of 'Hiroshima mon amour' (1959) and 'L'Annee derniere a Marienbad' (1961), has transformed the representation of memory, fantasy and desire in modern cinema. This illuminating introduction to his work, extending from his earliest documentaries to the musical films of the last decade, traces the evolving patterns of his filmmaking, its changing reflections on mortality, guilt, chance and human doubt. Exploring questions of the time-image, of trauma, of the senses, this volume sets Resnais' films in the context of important current debates in film theory, and provides a concise account of critical discussions of his work in France and beyond. Yet it also offers a highly personal and detailed engagement with individual images and scenes in Resnais' films. A passionate and partial defence of Resnais' work, old and new, this volume stands apart in its attention to the more tangible and moving pleasures of his films, their pathos, rigour and visual beauty.

Lisa Downing's comprehensive study of the films of Patrice Leconte traces lines of continuity and revision through a body of apparently disparate films whose "messages" often appear both contradictory and controversial. Pursuing a close reading of the recurrent themes, styles, intertexts and techniques which structure Leconte's filmmaking, Downing re-evaluates Leconte's status as an enigmatic artist offering complex and paradoxical commentary on contemporary questions of sexuality, ethics and identity. This book is the first full-length critical work in English on Leconte's cinema. It provides essential reading for both enthusiasts of French cinema and for those fascinated by the relationship between popular culture and theory.

Claire Denis is one of France's most acclaimed and original filmmakers. Since her remarkable debut success with 'Chocolat' (1986), she has produced an impressive series of features which have been intriguing, visually striking, and often highly controversial (including 'Beau Travail' (2000) and 'Trouble Every Day' (2001)). Beugnet provides a thematic and stylistic framework within which to consider Denis' work, as well as a comprehensive analysis of individual films. She highlights the resonance of Denis' films in relation to ongoing debates about French national identity and culture, and issues of postcolonial identity, alienation and transgression, as well as examining their exploration of the interface between sexuality, desire and sensuality. This is an essential introduction to Denis, and a sophisticated and illuminating study of her work to date.

This volume offers a new interpretation of one of the most innovative directors in the history of cinema. It is the first book to cover the whole of Godard's career, from the French New Wave to the recent triumphs of Histoire(s) du cinéma and Eloge de l’amour. Drawing on a wide range of literary, filmic and philiosophical texts, the book places Godard's work within its intellectual context, examining how developments in French culture and thought since 1950 have been mirrored in - and sometimes anticipated by - Godard's films.Numerous sequences from Godard's films are singled out for close analysis, demonstrating how the director's radical approaches to narrative, editing, sound and shot composition have made the cinema into an analytical tool in its own right.The book will be essential to all students of Godard's films, and of interest to scholars of modern and contemporary French cinema, culture and thought.

One of the most gifted directors of the post New Wave, Maurice Pialat is frequently compared to such legendary filmmakers as Jean Renoir and Robert Bresson. A quintessentially realist filmmaker, who, like Bresson, was also trained as a painter, Pialat’s particular form of realism influenced an entire generation of young filmmakers in the 1990s. This volume is the first book-length study of Pialat’s cinema in English. It provides an introduction to a complex and difficult director, who saw himself as a marginal and marginalised filmmaker, but whose films are deeply rooted in French society and culture. Pialat was long considered the only major filmmaker to portray ‘la France profonde’, the heart of France - the people who, as he put it, ‘take the subway’. Taken as a whole, Pialat’s work can be seen both as an oblique autobiography and the portrait of a fundamental institution - the family - over several generations.

‘Georges Franju' is the fullest study to date of this little-known French director, the co-founder of the Cinémathèque française, and the first book on him in English since 1967. Born in 1912, but only enjoying his real debut as a director in 1948 with his notorious documentary about Parisian abattoirs 'Le Sang des bêtes', Franju went on to make thirteen more courts métrages and eight longs métrages, including his horror classic 'Les Yeux sans visage'. Ince takes a new approach to Franju's films, investigating the areas of genre and gender, and grouping the films thematically rather than chronologically. A chapter on Franju's cinematic aesthetics offers a new synthesis of existing writings, combined with the author's responses to the films. A full introduction and conclusion set Franju's directorial career in the context of his lifelong commitment to France's cinema institutions.'Georges Franju' will be essential reading on Franju, and of great interest to researchers, academics and students in film studies

‘Georges Franju' is the fullest study to date of this little-known French director, the co-founder of the Cinémathèque française, and the first book on him in English since 1967. Born in 1912, but only enjoying his real debut as a director in 1948 with his notorious documentary about Parisian abattoirs 'Le Sang des bêtes', Franju went on to make thirteen more courts métrages and eight longs métrages, including his horror classic 'Les Yeux sans visage'. Ince takes a new approach to Franju's films, investigating the areas of genre and gender, and grouping the films thematically rather than chronologically. A chapter on Franju's cinematic aesthetics offers a new synthesis of existing writings, combined with the author's responses to the films. A full introduction and conclusion set Franju's directorial career in the context of his lifelong commitment to France's cinema institutions.'Georges Franju' will be essential reading on Franju, and of great interest to researchers, academics and students in film studies

Mathieu Kassovitz is arguably the most important filmmaker to have emerged from French cinema in the past two decades. As a director, his work often engages with highly controversial socio-political issues whilst still managing to attract and connect with a popular audience – and, above all, with a youth audience.He is also one of the few contemporary French filmmakers who is capable of productively engaging with Hollywood, in terms of cinematic style, narrative and genre, yet still retaining his own identity as a French filmmaker. In addition to his directorial successes, Kassovitz has also achieved considerable critical and commercial success in France as a screen actor. His films – whether directed by or acted in, or both – show an astonishing variety, from his early Métisse (1993), his break-through, La Haine (1995) through to Jeunet's Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2000), Astérix et Obélix: Mission Cléopatre (2002) and Gothika (2003).Will Higbee's study is the first to explore of one of the most fascinating characters in French cinema.

This book provides the first detailed analysis of the work of four important contemporary directors whose work falls between the reductive labels of 'auteur cinema' and 'popular cinema'. Their work is contextualised within this timely investigation into the shifting relationship between the privileged status of the auteur and questions of genre, gender and cinematic production in France today. This important contribution to understanding the shifting landscapes of contemporary French film identifies an essential intermediacy in the films of these directors, which works to undo a series of dominant oppositions, generic template and contestation, public collectivity and personal intimacy, to offer a new perspective on the location of the political in contemporary French cinema. The four chapters provide detailed critical analysis of films by Dominique Cabrera, Laetitia Masson, Noémie Lvovsky and Marion Vernoux, and present common thread including the possible construction of social intimacy, the political demystification of romance narratives and the role of nostalgia, to argue that their work uses popular genres in order to challenge dominant cultural representation that resonates beyond the immediate parameters of contemporary French cinema. This book will be of interest to researchers working in French and European cinema, to students of Film Studies and French and Francophone Studies, and to film enthusiasts.

Few filmmakers have taken the principle of the ‘talking picture’ so far as Eric Rohmer, the internationally reknowned director of the Moral Tales, Comedies and Proverbs, and Tales of the Four Seasons cycles. Occasionally dismissed as precious or overly literary, Rohmer’s features may leave the impression that there is more to listen to than to look at. Yet as the secretive director (b. Maurice Schérer in 1920) points out, dialogue is no less engaging than the best gunfights, and if his characters prefer discussing love to making it, they are no less the ‘heroes’ of the stories they tell.Charges of political conservatism aside, the author of My Night at Maud’s, Summer and such period films as Perceval and the all-digital The Lady and the Duke emerges - like Hitchcock before him - as a singular inventor of cinematic forms. This critical overview, which contains an extensive bibliography and a filmography, will appeal to students of Film Studies, French Studies, and enthusiasts.

Though long ignored or dismissed by film critics and scholars, Marcel Pagnol (1895-1974) was among the most influential auteurs of his era. This comprehensive overview of Pagnol’s career, the first ever published in English, highlights his unique place in French cinema as a self-sufficient writer-producer-director and his contribution to the long-term evolution of filmmaking in a broader European context. In addition to reassessing the converted playwright’s controversial prioritisation of speech over image, the book juxtaposes Pagnol’s sunny rural melodramas with the dark, urban variety of poetic realism practised by influential peers such as Jean Renoir and Marcel Carné.In his penchant for outdoor location shooting and ethnographic authenticity, as well as his stubborn attachment to independent, artisanal production values, Pagnol served as a precursor to the French New Wave and Italian Neo-Realism, inspiring the likes of Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Vittorio De Sica, and Roberto Rossellini.

Jacques Rivette is perhaps the best-kept secret of French cinema. A founding figure in the New Wave, and at the centre of the Cahiers du cinéma team, he developed into one of the most unusual and adventurous French directors of the last sixty years, yet his work remains little-known in comparison with his contemporaries, and this study is the first in English to look at the full span of his career. Starting with his decisively influential film criticism of the 1950s, it moves from the New Wave through the complex, experimental films of the 1970s to the challenging, playful dramas which ensured his visibility during the following two decades, and ends in the present, including Rivette’s most recent films, Histoire de Marie et Julien (2003) and Ne touchez pas la hache (2007).The book takes a thematic approach, offering detailed discussion of key elements of Rivette’s film world, including games, conspiracy and jealousy, as well as a study of what Rivette’s cinema adds to our understanding of key theoretical concepts in Film Studies such as narrative, space and adaptation. There are many close analyses of sequences from Rivette’s films including Paris nous appartient (1961), Céline et Julie vont en bateau (1974) and La Belle Noiseuse (1991).