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Home , Claude Chabrol, Jean Cocteau

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COM 320, History of Film Examples

Pre-New Wave: The French New Wavers rebelled against the “status quo” of French filmmaking. . . with some exceptions, e.g., The Four Jeans!:

A. Jean Vigo -Vigo is still revered as a true innovator, one who unfortunately died young—at age 29, having complete only 4 films! -e.g., Zero for Conduct, Jean Vigo, 1933: This film draws on Vigo's boarding school boyhood to reveal a repressive educational establishment in which surreal acts of rebellion are depicted

B. Jean Renoir -The son of impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir is considered the master of French Poetic Realism, with his grounded examinations of social issues -e.g., Rules of the Game, Jean Renoir, 1939: In this film, the parallel social orders of the landed gentry and their servants are explored

C. Jean-Pierre Melville -Born Jean-Pierre Grumbach, he took the name Melville during his time in the French Resistance as a tribute to Herman Melville -Known for his “minimalist” detective and film noir works (e.g., Bob le Flambeur (Bob the Gambler), 1956; Le Samourai, 1967)

D. Jean Cocteau (1998-1963) -Known first for his spectacular surrealist films (e.g., , 1930) -e.g., , Jean Cocteau, 1946: Having moved from to fantasy, Cocteau provides an “icy perfection” in this beautifully photographed fairy tale

New Wave

1. , , 1958 Clip: “Snowy rescue” -Story set in small rural community; examines the nature of friendship -Very early French New Wave–note the long takes, roughness to the footage, sense of realism (a “bridge” between Italian Neorealism and mainstream FNW)

2. , Francois Truffaut, 1959 Clip: Ending--“Reaching the sea” -Semi-autobiographical story of young boy who turns to life of petty crime -Note the famous ending–long tracking shot followed by freeze frame

3. Jules and Jim, Francois Truffaut, 1961 Clips: “Introduction to Catherine”; “Footrace” -Starring , Oskar Werner, Henri Serre -Love triangle gone wrong 2

-Note how we meet Catherine–with multi-angle shots and jump cuts; the footrace sequence is characteristic of the loose, “anything goes” forms that FNW can take–very selective audio (e.g., we hear them breathing), very jumpy handheld camera

4. Breathless, Jean-Luc Godard, 1959 Clip: Ending: “What’s a scumbag?” -Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, -Romanticized gangster-hero takes up with American girl and goes on the lam -Note the overall violation of “classic” editing techniques–jump cuts, violation of 180- degree rule, sudden time jumps (elliptical cutting in the extreme), actor looks at camera; also, handheld

5. Alphaville, Jean-Luc Godard, 1965 Clips: “The electronic brain”; “Weirdest car chase ever”; “He cried when his wife died” -Starring Eddie Constantine, reprising his popular Lemmy Caution character from French detective films of the 1950's -Revisionist science fiction examines society run by an “electronic brain”. . . yeah -Note the pseudo-freeze frames (a la My Own Private Idaho much later) that seem to capture the “essence” of the scene; sudden switch to negative footage; the strange, surreal, almost comical “car chase”

6. Last Year at Marienbad, , 1961 Clip: “Flashing back” -A non-linear narrative about a man and woman who may (or may not) have met “last year at Marienbad,” and their divergent memories of the event (or non-event)–got that? -Note the shifting rhythm of the editing back and forth into the flashback; look for repeated footage, repeated events with different footage; Resnais’ ultimate experiment with time, geometry, memory, and reality

7. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, , 1964 Clip: “For a thousand summers. . . I will wait for you” -Starring , Nino Castelnuovo -Operatic musical about young lovers separated by war -Music by Michel Legrand, a favorite among New Wavers -Note the use of primary colors–audacious throughout (in parts not seen here, the characters’ clothes sometimes even match the wallpaper) -Note the use of a dolly to make the characters glide rather than walk (a la later)

Also recommended: Hiroshima, Mon Amour, Alain Resnais, 1959 : Phantom of the Cinematheque, Cleo from 5 to 7, Agnes Varda, 1962 Jacques Richard, 2004 Contempt, Jean-Luc Godard, 1963 The Beaches of Agnes, Agnes Varda, 2008 Weekend, Jean-Luc Godard, 1967 And many more ! 11/16