University of Bath PHD Tradition or subversion: questions of identity and technique in the films of Eric Rohmer Ennis, Thomas Award date: 2004 Awarding institution: University of Bath Link to publication Alternative formats If you require this document in an alternative format, please contact: [email protected] General rights Copyright and moral rights for the publications made accessible in the public portal are retained by the authors and/or other copyright owners and it is a condition of accessing publications that users recognise and abide by the legal requirements associated with these rights. • Users may download and print one copy of any publication from the public portal for the purpose of private study or research. • You may not further distribute the material or use it for any profit-making activity or commercial gain • You may freely distribute the URL identifying the publication in the public portal ? Take down policy If you believe that this document breaches copyright please contact us providing details, and we will remove access to the work immediately and investigate your claim. Download date: 05. Oct. 2021 UNIVERSITY OF BATH LIBRARY AUTHOR: THOMAS ENNIS YEAR: 2004 TITLE: TRADITION OR SUBVERSION: QUESTIONS OF IDENTITY AND TECHNIQUE IN THE FILMS OF ERIC ROHMER Attention is drawn to the fact that copyright of this thesis rests with its author. A copy of this thesis has been supplied on condition that anyone who consults it is understood to recognise that its copyright rests with the author and they must not copy it or use material from it except as permitted by law or with the consent of the author. This thesis may be made available for consultation within the University Library and may be photocopied or lent to other libraries for the purpose of consultation. Signed : Date: 1 f*9^-ZolO UMI Number: U575997 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. Dissertation Publishing UMI U575997 Published by ProQuest LLC 2013. Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106-1346 UNIVERSITY OF BATH ¥ £ A ) " 5 NOV Pk& Abstract The aim of this thesis is to reveal the many complexities and ambiguities in Eric Rohmer’s film-making that have been constantly overlooked by contemporary critics in order that his importance in world cinema may be better understood. This thesis begins with an assessment of the general reputation of Rohmer as a repetitious filmmaker who lacks a sense of the cinematic and does not merit sustained critical attention. The first section examines the Rohmer ‘myth’ - for he is an extremely private man and information on his private life is frequently contradictory: there is even lack of agreement on his date of birth. His working methods are then described and the use of realism within his films is examined. Rohmer was a key figure within the French New Wave and his role within this movement, including his work as a film critic, is analysed in some detail. A critical framework is then provided in order to examine the function of intertextuality within Rohmer’s work. Three forms of adaptation are identified: those involving works by other authors, those involving stories by Rohmer and, finally, those involving stories by the actors in his films. A series of case studies examines these forms of adaptation and explores the role of intertextuality in Rohmer’s work over the course of his career. There then follows an analysis of the filmic techniques employed by Rohmer including his frequent use of titles and texts (both diegetic and extra-diegetic), his employment of documentary techniques, the self-conscious nature of his camera, the use of a blank screen, and the role of paintings and songs in his work. This sustained analysis will reveal the intrinsic cinematic quality of Rohmer’s work and the way in which he uses a variety of texts in order to create new material. The aim is to produce a better understanding of the significant role which he has played in French cinema over the last fifty years. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract i Table of Contents ii Acknowledgements iv Abbreviations v INTRODUCTION 1 SECTION 1: Images and Perceptions of Rohmer 7 The New Wave 18 Working Methods 24 Contes Moraux 25 Comedies et proverbes 33 Contes des quatre saisons 37 Contes des quatre saisons : written text and film 42 The Filming Process 45 Realism 47 Sound 54 Production 56 Rohmer as critic 59 SECTION 2: Notions of Adaptation 76 Types of adaptation in Rohmer 84 The role of the actors in the screenplay 92 The role of space in the screenplay 96 The role of time in the screenplay 102 SECTION 3: Case Studies: 114 La Marquise d ’O... 115 Perceval le Gallois 130 L ’Anglaise et le Due 147 Le genou de Claire 156 L ’amour I ’apres-midi 168 Ma nuit chez Maud and Conte d ’hiver 179 Le rayon vert 195 Conte de printemps 207 SECTION 4: The Self-consciously Filmic in Rohmer’s work 217 Use of titles 218 Documentary Technique 229 The self-conscious camera 241 Jump Cuts 244 Empty Space 246 The Blank Screen 250 Painting 257 Songs 265 CONCLUSION: Conte dfautomne 274 Filmography 287 Select Bibliography 293 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I should like to express my gratitude to my supervisor, Wendy Everett, of the University of Bath. She has offered help and advice throughout the long gestation period of this thesis and, indeed, without her continued support, this work might never have been submitted. The work for this thesis has involved trips to a number of libraries and I am grateful for the access and advice I have received from the staff in the BFI National Library, the British Library, the Bibilotheque Nationale, the Forum des Images, the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. and the University of Dayton Library in Ohio. Finally, there are a number of people to whom I owe a personal thank you: to my parents and my sister for their continued help and support over the years; to Professor Keith Reader for his infectious enthusiasm and encouragement; to my work colleagues, especially Peter Davies, for their stimulating conversations; and last, but certainly not least, to my wife Catherine for her never-ending love, support and positive criticism: without her this thesis would probably never have even started and certainly never reached a conclusion. V ABBREVIATIONS List of Abbreviations used for Rohmer’s films: Lion = Ze dw Lion Boulangere = La boulangere de Monceau Suzanne = La carriere de Suzanne Etoile = Place de I ’Etoile Collectionneuse = La collectionneuse Maud = Ma nuit chez Maud Genou= Le genou de Claire Amour = L ’amour I ’apres-midi Marquise = La Marquise d ’O... [Die Marquise von O...] Perceval = Perceval le Gallois Femme = La femme de I ’aviateur Mariage = Le beau mariage Pauline = Pauline a la plage Nuits = Les nuits de la pleine lune Rayon = Le rayon vert Reinette = Quatre aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle Ami = L *ami de mon amie Printemps = Conte de printemps Hiver = Conte d ’hiver = L ’arbre, le Maire et la mediatheque Rendez-vous = Les rendez-vous de Paris Ete = Conte d ’ete Automne = Conte d ’automne VI L Anglaise = L ’Anglaise et le Due Agent = Triple Agent Page references to the published screenplays are given in parenthesis in the text. 1 INTRODUCTION 2 French Cinema in the 1990s: Continuity and Difference was published in 1999 and covers the work of over twenty French film directors during this decade.1 However, one notable absentee is Eric Rohmer, despite the fact that he released six features in this period. His absence is all the more surprising when the commercial nature of his work is assessed. All of his films since 1966 have received distribution both in France and internationally (with the sole exception of Arbre) and at least twenty of his works are currently available on DVD/video in the UK or the USA. This director appears to suffer from a reputation for ‘turning out [...] gentle and - for modem moviegoers - perilously talkative examination(s) of human relationships without ever faltering. This is cinema with all the gigantic modem technological edifice discarded’.2 Thus his work is repetitious, lacks a sense of the cinematic and so deserves little critical attention. At worst watching one of his films is, in the words of Night Moves' s Harry Moseby, ‘ kinda’ like watching paint dry’.3 A brief overview of books written on Rohmer (in French and English) will serve to reveal the extent to which this view is held by other critics. The first full length study of his films was written in 1977 by Marion Vidal and concentrates almost exclusively on the Contes Moraux.4 While Vidal clearly expresses the importance of Rohmer’s work, she also stresses its roots in the past and claims that he searches for order, clarity, discretion and analysis in his films, all qualities at the 3 heart of classicism itself.5 Joel Magny (1986) produced the next important study of Rohmer’s films and he underlines the discreet nature of a shot by this director which contrasts with the immediately identifiable shots by a Welles or a Mumau.6 It is thus not surprising that much of this book concentrates on other aspects of the films (plot development, etc.) rather than on the mise-en-scene.