POSTWAR CINEMAPOSTWAR CINEMA

THE FRENCH NEW WAVE(“la nouvelle vague”)

THE “TRADITION OF THE “TRADITION OF QUALITY”QUALITY”

French films of late 1940s & 1950s known as “Tradition of Quality”

3 general characteristics:– High PRODUCTION VALUES– THEATRICAL & LITERARY– Made in a STUDIO SYSTEM

BRESSON & TATIBRESSON & TATI 2 important directors Post-war Era who

had an important impact on New Wave, but were not part of it

Also were outside of mainstream filmmaking of the period

Common an obsession with perfection– Films took years to make, financed

independently (not by major studios)– Demanded complete control of their films,

refusing the contributions of anyone else– Their films share a meticulous subtlety

ROBERT BRESSONROBERT BRESSON

Films consist mostly of close-ups, details of mise-en-scène

Rejects extensive use of nondiegetic sound, using instead natural sounds

Keeps dialogue to a minimum, often relying on voiceover narration

Leaves out exciting stuff, puts in "boring details"

ROBERT BRESSONROBERT BRESSON

Known for his treatment of actors– He disliked them & thought they were

generally stupid, esp. those who had been trained in acting

– Preferred to think of them as part of the mise-en-scène

– Refused to let them contribute; they did what they were told or were fired

Films tend to be depressing dramas about hopeless situations

Robert Bresson

Robert Bresson, Diary of a Country Priest (1950)

Robert Bresson, A Man Escaped (1956)

JACQUES TATIJACQUES TATI Like Bresson, but made comedies Began career in 1930s, as vaudeville mime

& acrobat (this is evident in his films) Influenced by silent film comedians, esp.

Hollywood actor/directors Chaplin & Keaton But comedies are subtle, never

sentimental, not exactly slapstick Instead, comedies based on film form itself

JACQUES TATIJACQUES TATIWe refer to Tati as a parametric

filmmaker– Tended to use the parameters, or

extremes, of film style– All of elements of film style

choreographed to make jokes about possibilities of film form

– Best known are Jour de fete (1949; Mr. Hulot's Holiday (1953); & Playtime (1967)

Jacques Tati, Mon Oncle

Jacques Tati, Play Time

THE “AUTEUR THEORY”THE “AUTEUR THEORY”

THE GROWTH OF FILM CRITICISM IN FRANCE– ALEXANDER ASTRUC

Wrote an article in 1948 on the “CAMERA-STYLO”

Camera to the filmmaker what the pen is to the writer

– CAHIERS DU CINÉMA Founded by ANDRE BAZIN Promoted 2 basic principles:

– Mise-en-scène aesthetics– “AUTEUR THEORY”

ANDRE BAZIN

THE “AUTEUR THEORY”THE “AUTEUR THEORY”

CHARACTERISTICS– Film should be a MEDIUM OF SELF-

EXPRESSION– The best films bear the director's

PERSONAL SIGNATURE– A director's OEUVRE more important

then any particular film– Worst film of an auteur is better than

the best film of a non-auteur (or “metteur-en-scène”)

THE “AUTEUR THEORY”THE “AUTEUR THEORY”

Rejected the French Tradition of Quality– Too concerned with being literary, not

cinematic– Jean-Luc Godard:

“Your camera movements are ugly because your subjects are bad, your casts act badly because your dialogue is worthless; in a word, you don't know how to create cinema because you no longer even know what it is.”

THE “AUTEUR THEORY”THE “AUTEUR THEORY”

Auteur critics preferred:– Directors of French Poetic Realism– Obscure French directors of 1940s &

1950s (Jacques Tati)– French documentary filmmakers (Alain

Resnais, Jacques Cousteau)– Italian Neorealism

Hollywood directors: John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, Orson Welles & Jerry Lewis

FRENCH NEW WAVE,FRENCH NEW WAVE,1959-681959-68

Directors of the New Wave were critics 1st

– Influenced by films instead of stage & literature

– Became critics; couldn’t get into the industry– Borrowed money & services to finance low-

budget productions The New Wave Arrives in 1959

– FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT made The 400 Blows– JEAN-LUC GODARD made Breathless– ALAIN RESNAIS (not a critic, older) made

Hiroshima, mon amour

FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT

FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT, The 400 Blows

FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT, The 400 Blows

JEAN-LUC GODARD

JEAN-LUC GODARD, Breathless

JEAN-LUC GODARD, Breathless

ALAIN RESNAIS

ALAIN RESNAIS, Last Year at Marienbad

ALAIN RESNAIS, Last Year at Marienbad

ALAIN RESNAIS, Last Year at Marienbad

FRENCH NEW WAVE:FRENCH NEW WAVE:FORM & STYLEFORM & STYLE

NARRATIVE FORM relatively DISCONTINUOUS– Lack GOAL-ORIENTED

PROTAGONISTS– CAUSAL CONNECTIONS are loose– Less CLOSURE than the CHC

FRENCH NEW WAVE:FRENCH NEW WAVE:FORM & STYLEFORM & STYLE

CHARACTERISTICS OF CINEMATIC STYLE– CASUAL LOOK– LOCATION SHOOTING– NATURAL LIGHTING– IMPROVISATION of lines, actions, etc.– THE MOVING CAMERA– DISCONTINUOUS EDITING; JUMP CUTS

are common– THE LONG TAKE

SELF-REFLEXIVE SELF-REFLEXIVE CINEMA & THE OPEN CINEMA & THE OPEN

TEXTTEXT New Wave films tend to be SELF-

REFLEXIVE– Remind us that we are watching a film,

don't allow us to get too involved with the story

– AESTHETIC DISTANCING– Self-reflexivity result of style & form in

general, but also of 2 specific techniques: DIRECT ADDRESS HOMMAGE

THE OPEN TEXT

DECLINE OF THEDECLINE OF THEFRENCH NEW WAVEFRENCH NEW WAVE

Came to an end around 1968ABSORPTION INTO STUDIO

SYSTEM– Many directors absorbed into

studio system– Directors & films attractive to the

studios: Low-budget, little financial risk Popular at the box office Critically praised internationally

DECLINE OF THEDECLINE OF THEFRENCH NEW WAVEFRENCH NEW WAVE

THE “BIG 3” DIRECTORS– FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT

Became a mainstream director Made literary adaptations with high production

values Died in 1984

– ALAIN RESNAIS Made big-budget films for a number of French

studios Critically acclaimed but obscure

– JEAN-LUC GODARD Became increasingly political Films popular with intellectuals but not audiences

INFLUENCE OF THEINFLUENCE OF THEFRENCH NEW WAVEFRENCH NEW WAVE

Popularized the open text Major step in rise of European Art

Cinema Influenced other movements & national

cinemas (American, British, Australian) Conventions (freeze frames, jump cuts,

etc.) absorbed into mainstream cinema & TV

Auteur theory became common “Personal expression” approach

influenced directors worldwide