Emily Smith 1
Theory in Action
‘French New Wave & Auteur theory ’
Internet:
http://www.filmeducation.org/pdf/resources/secondary/FrenchNouvelleVague.
pdf
http://theculturetrip.com/europe/france/articles/the-french-new-waverevolutionising-cinema/
http://www.newwavefilm.com/new-wave-cinema-guide/nouvelle-vague-whereto-start.shtml
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053472/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057345/fullcredits?ref_=tt_ov_st_sm
Books:
1. ‘Media Studies’ – Stuart Price -page 273-276
2. ‘The Media Student’s book 4th edition’ – Gill Branston and Roy Stafford
-Page 117 & page 103
3. ‘The Media Student’s book 2nd edition’ – Gill Branston and Roy Stafford
-Page 351
“Auteur” – A film director who, it is claimed, is able to imbue his/her films with
a recognisably distinctive personal vision or style.
‘Auteur’ translates from France into ‘author’. Which means that a director’s
film reflects their creative vision. Introduced in the 1950’s, by French film
directors like Francois Truffaut.
Auteur theory focuses on:

Unique stylistic features

How texts are determined by artists’ imagination.

How texts emerge as part of an artist’s body of work.
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The directors of the Nouvelle Vague. And those of their like-minded
contemporaries in other countries, created a new cinematic style, using
breakthrough techniques and a fresh approach to storytelling that could
express complex ideas while being both direct and emotionally engaging.
Crucially, these filmmakers also proved that they didn’t need the mainstream
studios to produce successful films on their own terms. By emphasising the
personal and artistic vision of film over it’s worth a commercial product, the
Nouvelle Vague set an example that inspired others across the world. In every
sense they were the true founders of modern independent film and to watch
them for the first time is to rediscover cinema.
Above is an introduction to the French New Wave and how they went around
filmmaking and experimenting within that space of the era 1958-1965. The
French wanted to remake to type of cinema that was already created. This
involved them going into the history with how the French were with reading
subtitles as you watched the film. However as the cinema was changing with
new technologies and experiences, it’s almost described as the French New
Wave were resisting changing within this same way as the cinema. By these
occurrences happening, different directors and editors created the different
movies. Some of those being:
-
Les Quarte Cents Coups (The 400 Blows, 1959) Francois Truffaut
-
A Bout De Souffle (Breathless 1960) Jean-Luc Godard
-
Tirez Sur Le Pianiste (Shoot the Piano Player, 1960) Francois Truffaut)
-
Les Bonnes Femmes (The Good Girls, 1960) Claude Chabrol
-
Jules et Jim (Jules and Jim, 1962) Francois Truffaut
-
Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live, 1962) Jean-Luc Godard
The New Wave itself may no longer be ‘new’, but the directors and their films
are still important. They are the progenitors of what we have come to think of
as an alternative cinema today, and they had, and continue to have, a
profound influence on cinema and popular culture throughout the world.
Again, the paragraph above is from www.newwavefilm.com, it explores and
describes the differences but yet the similarities of the French New Wave. It is
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an important purpose and meaning towards the cinema in today’s culture and
society.
The French New Wave was a group of trailblazing directors who exploded
onto the film scene in the late 1950s; revolutionising cinematic conventions by
marrying the rapid cuts of Hollywood with philosophical trends. Lindsay
Parnell explored how this group of young directors reshaped cinema.
The definition used here is a fantastic outline of how the cinema was changed
and had a new spark to it when the French New Wave was introduced.
Leaving it’s own unique and individual mark to cinemas from across the world.
The differences that you can compare between the modern and the New
Wave, can be rapidly similar as well as unusual.
Originating from the artistic philosophy of ‘auteur theory’; a concept that
acknowledges film as a product of the director’s absolute imaginative and
inspired aesthetic vision, New Wave filmmakers inspired the cult of the
director as artistic icon on a par with writers and painters. Through their films,
these screenwriters and directors also illustrated philosophical concepts of
absurdity, existentialism and the human condition, which were indebted to
French literary and philosophical traditions. Technically, French New Wave
Cinema was a brilliantly innovative experimentation with not only storytelling,
but also the process of filmmaking. New methods of editing and shooting films
broke through limitations in the way in which narrative was created in the
cinema.
Prior to all other research and information given, the source
(theculturetrip.com) allows the reader to understand the link between French
New Wave and ‘auteur theory’. With brief examples of the personal beliefs
and facts that come along with New Wave, they’re inspiring and original to the
very root of filmmaking towards the directors. Without storytelling in the
narrative, it works perfectly to adjust the scenery and the dialogue to fit into
one another, without giving too much to the audience on a plate. By using this
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technique, the audiences are able to figure things out for themselves whilst
the film travels them through.
Those directors succeeding within the French New Wave:
www.theculturetrip.com
François Truffaut - A cinephile from childhood, François Truffaut’s passion for
film shaped his life entirely. Working intimately with close friend and fellow film
philosopher Bazin, François Truffaut was a critical presence in Cahiers du
Cinéma.
Alain Resnais - Alain Resnais never associated himself with the nouvelle
vague movement, choosing instead to surround himself with writers such as
Alain Robbe-Grillet and Marguerite Duras. In fact, Duras wrote the screenplay
to Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), Resnais’s most famous work that not only
questioned, but ultimately broke with linear storytelling, blurred
characterisation and jumped between plots and subplots, memories and
fictions.
Éric Rohmer - A favorite among international film festivals and a former editor
of Cahiers du Cinéma, Éric Rohmer (born Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer) was
FRENCH TITLE
ENGLISH TITLE
YEAR
DIRECTOR
a truly gifted storyteller whose talent transcended form and led to successful
careers in academia, journalism and fiction writing in addition to his critically
acclaimed films.
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À bout de soufflé
Breathless
1960
Jean-Luc Godard
Décade prodigieuse,
Ten Days Wonder
1971
Claude Chabrol
Near Orouct
1986
Pierre Kast, Jean-
La
Du côté d'Orouet
Daniel Pollet
Gai savoir, Le
Joy of Learning
1986
Jean-Luc Godard
Je t'aime, je t'aime
I Love You, I Love You
1986
Alain Jessua
Nuit américaine, La
Days For Night
1973
Francois Truffaut
Statues meurent
Even Statuses Die
1953
Chris Marker, Alain
aussi, Les
Resnais
Claude Chabrol - Much like his fellow New Wave members, especially
Rohmer, Claude Chabrol established himself as a respected philosophical film
academic before embarking on a filmmaking career.
Jacques Rivette - Although he dismissed Truffaut and Bazin’s notions of
‘auteur theory’ in the later years of his esteemed career, Jacques Rivette was
greatly inspired by his fellow writers and directors in the New Wave
movement. Known for films featuring free flowing narratives, Jacques Rivette
is a legend of modern French cinema
To simplify transportation and filming, basic sound recording was used whilst
shooting meaning that many of the main actors had to re-dub their dialogue in
post-production. As a result, many fluffed lines remain in the final cut.

For a sense of immediacy and urgency, many scenes shot on the
streets were unrehearsed and unannounced. As a result, you’ll notice
many members of the public looking at the camera and the characters
as they pass by. No need for extras here!

Many sequences rely on natural lighting and there are scenes and
even shots that last for many minutes.

Scenes jump to and from different points in time, skipping over
establishing or linking material that the Hollywood movies would have
used to make the narrative explicit. Even more startling is the lack of
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establishing shots in the films: this style of filmmaking was intended to
grab the audience’s attention, and can be slightly confusing the first
time you see it.

Lots of the main characters seek solace or refuge in the cinema, a
reference to the director’s love of the movies.
Within the differences of French New Wave and cinema now, some
audiences may find boring or predictable with the subtitles or the
sound/picture not being perfect. However some might say the complete
opposite, this can be said opposite because really, the cinema’s original root
was the viewing experience and the realistic scenes that are involved within it.
Jean-Luc Godard is a French film director, film critic and screenwriter. He is
well known as being involved around the ‘French New Wave’ era. Ever since,
Jean has become popular and a challenged director with his talents and
capabilities of the work he has created.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000419/

Born in Paris, December 3rd, 1930.

The second of four children.

1949 - Studies at the Sorbonne to prepare for a degree in ethnology.

1950 - Godard founded “Gazette du cinema” with Rivette and Rhomer.

January 1952- Began writing film criticism for ‘Les cahiers du cinema’.

1953 - Returned to Paris before becoming a construction worker on a
dam project in Switzerland.
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
1958 – Shot Charlotte and Her Boyfriend, his homeage to Jean
Cocteau.

1958 – His mother was killed in a motorcycle accident in Switzerland.

1958 – Spent more time writing scenarios and critical writings, which
allowed him to precursor the French New Wave.

1960 – Began to work on Breathless (A Bout de Soufflé).

1961 – Godard shot A woman Is a Woman.

1963 – Completed a film in homage to Jean Vigo entitled The Soldiers.

1965 – Godard shot Alphaville.
Although the French new wave marked a break with dominate modes of
representation, some of the subject matter, particularly in Godard’s films and
put highly familiar to audiences. Images were recycled from Hollywood films
and put to new uses. Godard would deliberately mix different film conventions
in order to force his audience into reassessing their relationship to what they
saw.
Throughout the small analysis above, include Jean-Luc Godards inspiring
work that put cinema into the mind-set of the different uses of experimenting.
With the different messages being sent across to the audience, it is almost
their own interpretation. For the audience to interpret their own meaning into
films, and their own critic, can be said as a better viewing experience with
working out issues yourself. However some may say opposite when opinions
vary.
Another method adopted by Godard was to allow the characters/actors to be
interviewed on film, again making it difficult for the viewer to become
engrossed in the familiar pleasures of identification.
An interview in Godard’s film “A Bout de Soufflé” can confuse the audience as
it is interpreted naturally and unnoticeably. Jean-Luc Godard experimented on
a risk within this. Moving into this, even if it’s a risk to experiment this much,
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it’s a talent to work with experimentation and try different cases out, which is
what made Godard successful when creating films for the French New Wave.
It is worth noting that the 1960s was a particularly difficult period for
Hollywood. The studio system of the classical era came to an end. Television
was a major rival, at the very time when the French new wave was turning out
films, which did not depend on vast amounts of capital investment.
Directors would’ve turned towards creating films within the French new wave
because of the low cost, the less actors needed, and the simplicity of creating
a film with the director’s own interpretation. Whatever the plot or narrative of a
French new wave film is, all comes down to the directors input and creative
imaginative ideas.
A Bout de Soufflé
A black and white, French
narrative created in 1959
and based in Paris.
Explores the romance and
the sneaky ways of a
murderer, thief and lover
of a young naïve woman.
With unique dialogue and
use of
editing/cinematography,
creates an impressive film.
As soon as the viewer is watching A Bout de Soufflé, it is introduced with the
countryside of France and the different scenes of a man driving an old 1950’s
American car. He is portrayed as an inpatient, rude and peculiar man. We get
the feeling of this, as an audience from when he talks to himself at the
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beginning of the film; he is being inpatient with other drivers and admiring his
surroundings, which makes us understand what is happening from reading
the English subtitles. He has a slight humour towards him and has a very
distinctive personality to the norm. From this, it already introduces the film to
be unique and different from others that you may have watched.
Straight away, when the mise-en-scene is introduced, the audience are
drawn in from this film because it is so different from others that you may
come across. The whole idea of a French New Wave was a huge event within
the 1950’s. Therefore has history behind it. The fact that the French film is all
black and white, and it is also in English subtitles, makes the audience focus
so much more on what is being said and what they are viewing on the screen.
You are analysing and taking in much more than if you were to watch an
English film today in 2014. By doing this, some might say that it is irritating
and difficult having to read through subtitles whilst watching a black and white
film. However if audiences look at the creative side to it, they can open their
eyes to what can be understood and interpreted from such little description
and less dialogue than in a normal film. By having less dialogue within the
film, it makes it much more interesting to watch and more realistic!
Throughout some films in 2014, they’re much more cheesier and have more
dialogue because the director wants to fill in the gaps to where there isn’t as
much action or direction happening within the film. Prior to this, Jean-Luc
Godard has been very clever and representative within the way he created
and allows the audience to interpret this film. It has a completely different feel
and individual tactic towards it.
Michael is the main character within A Bout de Soufflé. As described
above, he is very different to other personalities that you would expect him to
have. At the beginning of the film, he shoots a French policeman and then
escapes from the crime scene. After this, he is walking about Paris, with an
outgoing and confident personality. We are shown that he is a thief and
enjoys the company of casual relationships with women in hotel rooms.
However this is jeopardised from when he meets another unique looking
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English woman who lives in Paris and speaks fluent French. From the
moment we see the two on the screen, it is shown that they have a sexual
and integral relationship with one another. By the end of the film, they had
been running from the police and eventually got caught. Michael is shot
unexpectedly, which created shock within the audience because of how
random and obnoxious it seems. From this event occurring, it ends the film
with an unexpected happiness or sadness! Some audiences can be happy for
the woman because she is free to live her life independently, as the man
seemed very demanding and controlling over her throughout the film. On the
other hand, some audiences may feel a sadness that Michael had died. Not
only because this is a natural occurrence of emotion that flows throughout
films when these events happen, but because of his different and humorous
personality that he had created within himself. The audience become warm to
him and revolve a relationship amongst his character throughout watching the
film.
Regarding cinematography, within A Bout De Soufflé is an important
concept for the era it was set in. The entire movie was set in black and white,
which instantly gives the movie an old effect. By having the whole movie in
black and white, it creates the illusion and the stereotype of the movie being
out of date and ‘old’. Prior to this effect being created, the audience know
straight away that they are going to be watching a different type of film than
what they would usually watch at new cinema today in 2014. This is where the
most obvious cinematography effect is created.
Throughout the whole movie, the scenes have an awful lot of cutting
within it. By cutting the clips, it can go two ways. The audience can either
interpret it into a confusing mess of a movie where everything is jumpy and all
over the place, or you can also view it as cutting purely helps the story come
together. The cutting of the scenes is a very important key cinematographic
point to remember. The facilities that they would have had, and the
technology they had access to in 1950, would have made it cut into scenes as
they were. Therefore, because of the whole ‘French New Wave’ era coming
together, directors wanted to achieve and sustain the old effect of
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cinematography and keep everything as tied in as possible when it comes to
keeping it as that certain style that they wanted to accomplish for the movie.
Moving onto a key scene within the movie, which is the sound effects
and editing that have emerged together when violence or a mellow-dramatic
scene is occurring. At the beginning of the movie, a policeman is shot and
Michael runs away. The editing of this scene has use of the gun shot sound
and dramatic musicians playing at the same time. By using this effect, it draws
attention from the audience because of the interesting movements and
decisions that are being made. With the use of less dialogue, the scene has a
fantastic effort that has to be made and pronounced by the audience. By
doing this, the audience have their own interpretation and way of looking at
what is happening.
Another easy effect that comes in use is the transitions from scene to
scene, and location to location. Because the whole film is pretty much all set
in the same location (Paris) and there are a lot of repetitive scenes within it,
therefore if you include the use of transitions, it separates each scene and
changes that are taking place. The main locations within the movie include;
the streets of Paris, driving in different cars, shopping malls, and everyday life
scenes that you would come across. Therefore, it is acceptable to have these
changes within scenes because each scene parallel is very similar when
considering the setting.
The main sounds throughout the whole movie are musical instruments
and old-fashioned music to go with the style of the film. To make the sounds
and orchestras match the film and the events occurring, the style of the music
can go from being mellow and calm, to extremely dramatic and rushed. This is
simply the nature and correct use of sounds within the films at this time.
Another use of sounds used is the sound effects of guns, slaps, and more
dramatic events that may occur and deserve that extra emphasis on sound.
For example, when a gunshot is released, the shot is propounded with more
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soundly and effect than it would have in real life. Prior to using this effect, it’s
simply more exciting and lifting for audience to watch and listen.
Another ‘French New Wave’
movie that emphasises and
explores the use of romance
and exploitation against the
different roles within women
and men, traditionally.
With arguments and
stressful situations that run
throughout it and how the
characters deal with these
situations.
Firstly, with, Le Mepris is another movie that has been directed and
created by Jean Luc Godard, as was the last analysis of A Bout De Soufflé.
Le Mepris is a movie that is set in 1965, which is coming out of the French
New Wave era, however is was made in 1963. The narrative of the movie
focuses on money and how it shapes what people do and who they are. This
then explores the questions of materialism and consumerism, which is always
happening around us and always will do as times go on.
To describe the plot of the movie would be to look into the way that
relationships are formed. The audience form relationship and form knowledge
with a married couple, a moviemaker who wants to achieve the role and
placement of always being in charge. He comes across rude and arrogant
throughout the whole movie and does not have a nice appearance within his
personality or attitude that is betrayed against him. Another key character to
focus on is the assistant of the director – who is a woman. The two women
are both exploited against sexism and ethnical issues are raised when
watching the film. However traditionally, this is how women were looked upon
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and how they were portrayed in their role. The married woman, Camille, who
is married to Paul, has a very strong and instinctive personality for a woman
of her time. She has her point driven across very strongly towards Paul and
this causes arguments and fallouts between the two of them. However Paul
acts like he doesn’t care where Camille ends up with the director in the film.
He lets Camille go on boat rides and car journeys with him, just so he can
stand for his job.
Differences and similarities with how the narrative is placed within both
movies are obvious. Both movies have romance and tragedies within them. A
technique that I noticed within both movies was the scenes that have been cut
out for the audience to figure things out for themselves. For example, sex
scenes. We see the couples lying in a bedroom naked with covers over them
or even covers not over them. The audience are exposed with the naked
bodies but with no sexual interaction going on. Prior to using this technique, it
completely shows the fact that the audience don’t need to be shown when
sexual activities are occurring; they are again, figuring things out for
themselves. By having before and after the interaction happening, it
completely has the satisfaction from the audience because they know what
has happened! Jean Luc Godard has played around with different techniques
and has really achieved in doing so. It has shown the power and the
difference between having every episode of footage, against the not so
important parts of footage. It asks questions for the audience such as; do we
need to see everything, when we can figure out the events for ourselves?
Another similarity of the two movies is that they end within the same way.
Someone dies tragically. The character in Le Mepris who plays the director,
ends up with Camille at the end of the movie. However this ends in disaster
when they both end up getting in a mess of a car crash against a heavy
vehicle collision. Whereas Michael dies on his own by getting caught and shot
by the French police.
Continuing on, the cinematography in both movies is also the same. A
Bout De Soufflé and Le Mepris both have the same cinematographer within
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them. Raoul Coutard. Therefore both of the cinematography in the two are
going to be extremely similar, with the same techniques and methods used to
that personalised cinematographer.
Techniques of cinematography being used vary from objects and
items, to the way that the narrative has revolved around the theme. Objects
can include the way that the characters are dressed, their mannerisms and
the way that they influence themselves around certain people. Another most
obvious object that would come into comparison with the facilities and
technologies of today is a typewriter that a character is using in an element of
the film. This is a simple, yet handy gesture for the director to include in his
work that goes to show where the time is set at. When using camera
techniques and shot techniques, I noticed a distinctive movement between the
camera and the characters. The camera will be doing more work and focusing
more into things to show characters features, whereas the characters would
act much more natural and flow nicer against the camera than if it were all to
be more staged. By using this technique of making the camera have a P.O.V
on characters, it makes the whole film have a different taste towards it when
looking at the cinematography view points of it!
Looking back, the beginning of the film stands out to the audience’s
eye incredibly. They have actually filmed this huge camera that they would
have used at that time, as it was to be filming on stage. Because of the movie
being about a movie, it makes everything seem that little more real and
outstanding for the audience. Within the film making being filmed on Le
Mepris at the beginning, equipment and facilities are being used that we
would not use today, or of those that would be used today, they would be oldfashioned versions. Such as the dolly track, a cameraman, a director, an
actress, the essentials to movie making.
An eye catcher throughout the film involves a lot of argumentative and
dissatisfied behaviour going on between the couple (Camille & Paul) and the
director, as well as his assistant. There is very strong language involved
throughout the movie and the absurd behaviour that the men have on women
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is unbelievable. Basically they come across as dogs on a lead! However
Camille stands her ground throughout the whole movie and saying wait a
second, I am my own independent driven personality and a man will not tell
me what to do. Whereas the assistant of the director is much more lenient and
lets him walk all over her. This could be because of the relationship that she
has with the director and has now just become to grow fond of him within the
way that he is treating her! By having these scenes in and the way that they
treat the women, makes the audience understand the traditional and
intellectual roles that may have been arisen in 1950-1963.
A difference of the language is given off half way through the movie.
This is when the movie is English all the way through with no sub-titles,
however half way through, the subtitles are shown and the French language is
being spoken. It’s almost of a technique for the audience to remember that it
is a French film and the way that they speak and talk is very different in the
way that they pronounce and overcome their structural sentences and words
as they talk. It may also be because of the fact there is no French within it and
it’s to remind us where the real source comes from. Another difference is the
coloured screen. Whereas A Bout De Soufflé was all black and white. By
having Le Mepris in colour, shows off the beautiful nature and the different
scenes that may need colour within them. Such as the scenes in the beautiful
gardens in sun, or the boat journey on one of the last scenes, the colour
benefits the type of movie that it is greatly. While A Bout De Soufflé was all
based within a city and bedrooms, no colour was necessary for the types of
locations where they were set!
From starting off at the beginning of the movie, it can be believed that
the Mise-en-scene is all rough French buildings and concrete being shown on
the screen. We don’t see much more than that to begin with which could set
off wrong impressions to the audience as they begin to watch it because you
aren’t sure where it’s going to lead or where it’s going to go next. This is
another a great technique used by Jean-Luc Godard because the audience
are driven into a random area that is unknown and philosophical. After the first
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few scenes, the mise-en-scene is changed within a moment of minutes of the
location that they are all set at the beginning. This is where the beautiful
scenery of the gardens and the colourful scenes are introduced. Making most
of the scenery is how they have achieved to turn around the setting within an
instant.
Continuing on to another key pointer within Le Mepris, is the use of
sound, dialogue and voice overs in the movie. There are much more relaxing
and soothing natural sounds in Le Mepris than A Bout De Soufflé. The
audience of the natural sounds being the outdoor nature interprets this, the
nice soothing sounds of the footsteps and natural occurrences or change of
wind being shown. Whereas in A Bout De Soufflé, the sounds are a lot more
rushed, ostentatious, busy, noisy, and not to a relaxing state that it is in Le
Mepris. This effect is used because they are both set in completely different
environments and you get a calm feeling off one film, whereas the other is a
buzzing, viral feeling! Again like said above, the use of instruments and
orchestra has been used within the film as events occur or as something
comes along and changes the mood or feeling for the characters, out of the
audience. Jean-Luc Godard used a fantastic technique that makes the film
that little bit more special, he has used monologues from Camille and Paul as
voice-overs. As these heart-warming monologues are being shown, the
footage over the voice-overs are flashbacks and footage of Camille and Paul
as when they were happy and the distinctive features of Camillles naked body
that is also shown at the beginning of the film. Therefore the audience have
an emotional attachment to the movie as the characters have the same
emotional attachment against one another! It’s a really clean, professional and
well shown technique used by Jean-Luc Godard.
To conclude the comparisons between each movie, I believe that both
movies have their similarities and their differences in their own personalised
way. All techniques used have been to suit that certain film and to shape the
characters in a form that they have been made out to be. They both have
extremely distinctive tastes within them. Forming the good and the bad out of
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each individual, which makes each of the films so extraordinary. Because of
these reasons, I agree with the Auteur Theory.
The table below shows the main casting crew. Some involve the same
person; therefore this explains why some schemes of the movies may
be similar or different.
POSITION
LE MEPRIS
A BOUT DE SOUFLEE
Produced by:
Georges de Beauregard
Georges de Beauregard
Carlo Ponti
Joseph E. Levine
Music by:
Marital Solal
Georges Delerue
Piero Piccioni
Cinematography by:
Raoul Coutard
Raoul Coutard
Film editing by:
Cecile Decugis
Agnes Guillemot
Lila Lashmanan
Makeup department:
Phuong Maittret
Odette Berroyer
Sound Department:
Jacques Maumont
William Robert Sivel
Camera & electrical
Claude Beausoleil &
Joe D’Amato
Dep:
Rayomd Cauchetier
Editorial Department:
Lila Herman
Lila Herman
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