POSTWAR CINEMA: THE FRENCH NEW WAVE (“la nouvelle vague”)
I.
THE “TRADITION OF QUALITY”
A.
French films of late 1940s & 1950s known as the “Tradition of
Quality”
B.
II.
3 general characteristics:
1.
High PRODUCTION VALUES
2.
THEATRICAL & LITERARY
3.
Made in a STUDIO SYSTEM
THE “AUTEUR THEORY”
A.
THE GROWTH OF FILM CRITICISM IN FRANCE
1.
ALEXANDER ASTRUC
a)
Wrote an article in 1948 on the “CAMERA-STYLO”
b)
Camera should be to the filmmaker what the pen is to
the writer
2.
CAHIERS DU CINÉMA
a)
Founded by ANDRE BAZIN
b)
Championed 2 basic principles:
(1)
Mise-en-scène aesthetics (long take, deep focus,
wide screen, etc.)
(2)
III.
“AUTEUR THEORY”
THE AUTEUR THEORY
A.
CHARACTERISTICS
1.
Film should be a MEDIUM OF SELF-EXPRESSION
2.
The best films bear the director’s PERSONAL SIGNATURE
3.
A director’s OEUVRE more important then any particular film
4.
The worst film of an auteur is better than the best film of a
non-auteur (or “metteur-en-scène”)
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B.
Auteur critics rejected the French Tradition of Quality
1.
Felt that French cinema too concerned with being literary, not
cinematic
2.
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.”
C.
Auteur critics preferred:
1.
Directors of French Poetic Realism
2.
Obscure French directors of 1940s & 1950s (Jacques Tati)
3.
French documentary filmmakers (Alain Resnais, Jacques
Cousteau)
4.
Italian Neorealism
5.
Hollywood directors: John Ford, Alfred Hitchcock, & Orson
Welles
IV.
FRENCH NEW WAVE, 1959-68
A.
B.
Directors of the New Wave were critics 1st
1.
Influenced by films instead of stage & literature
2.
Became critics because they couldn’t get into the industry
3.
Borrowed money & services to finance low-budget productions
THE NEW WAVE ARRIVES IN 1959
1.
FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT made The 400 Blows
2.
JEAN-LUC GODARD made Breathless
3.
ALAIN RESNAIS (not a critic, older) made Hiroshima, mon
amour
C.
FORM & STYLE
2
1.
2.
NARRATIVE FORM relatively DISCONTINUOUS
a)
Lack GOAL-ORIENTED PROTAGONISTS
b)
CAUSAL CONNECTIONS are loose
c)
Less CLOSURE than the CHC
CHARACTERISTICS OF CINEMATIC STYLE
a)
V.
CASUAL LOOK
(1)
LOCATION SHOOTING
(2)
NATURAL LIGHTING
(3)
IMPROVISATION of lines, actions, etc.
b)
THE MOVING CAMERA
c)
DISCONTINUOUS EDITING
(1)
JUMP CUTS are common
(2)
THE LONG TAKE
SELF-REFLEXIVE CINEMA & THE OPEN TEXT
A.
New Wave films tend to be SELF-REFLEXIVE
1.
Remind us that we are watching a film, don’t allow us to get
too involved with the story
2.
AESTHETIC DISTANCING
3.
Self-reflexivity result of style & form in general, but also of 2
specific techniques:
4.
VI.
a)
DIRECT ADDRESS
b)
HOMMAGE
THE OPEN TEXT
DECLINE OF THE FRENCH NEW WAVE
A.
Came to an end around 1968
B.
ABSORPTION INTO STUDIO SYSTEM
1.
Many directors were absorbed into the French studio system
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2.
C.
a)
Low-budget, little financial risk
b)
Popular at the box office
c)
Critically praised internationally
THE “BIG 3” DIRECTORS; What happened to them?
1.
2.
3.
VII.
Directors & films attractive to the studios:
FRANÇOIS TRUFFAUT
a)
Became a mainstream director
b)
Made literary adaptations with high production values
c)
Died in 1984
ALAIN RESNAIS
a)
Made big-budget films for a number of French studios
b)
Critically acclaimed but obscure
JEAN-LUC GODARD
a)
Became increasingly political
b)
Films popular with intellectuals but not audiences
INFLUENCE OF THE FRENCH NEW WAVE
A.
Popularized the open text
B.
Major step in the rise of the European Art Cinema
C.
In style & form, influenced other movements & national cinemas
(American, British, Australian)
D.
Conventions (freeze frames, jump cuts, etc.) absorbed into
mainstream cinema & TV
E.
Auteur theory became common
F.
“Personal expression” approach influenced directors worldwide
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