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POSTWAR CINEMA. THE FRENCH NEW WAVE (“la nouvelle vague”). THE “TRADITION OF 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 & TATI.
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POSTWAR CINEMA THE FRENCH NEW WAVE (“la nouvelle vague”)
THE “TRADITION OF 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 & 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 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 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
JACQUES 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 TATI • We 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)
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”
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” • 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” • 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,1959-68 • 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
FRENCH NEW WAVE:FORM & STYLE • NARRATIVE FORM relatively DISCONTINUOUS • Lack GOAL-ORIENTED PROTAGONISTS • CAUSAL CONNECTIONS are loose • Less CLOSURE than the CHC
FRENCH NEW WAVE:FORM & 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 CINEMA & THE OPEN TEXT • 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 THEFRENCH NEW WAVE • Came to an end around 1968 • ABSORPTION 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 THEFRENCH 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 THEFRENCH 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
