The Bressonians
by Codruţa Morari
How should we understand film authorship in an era when the idea of the solitary and sovereign auteur has come under attack, with critics proclaiming the death of the author and the end of cinema? The Bressonians provides an answer in the form of a strikingly original study of Bresson and his influence on the work of filmmakers Jean Eustache and Maurice Pialat. Extending the discourse of authorship beyond the idea of a singular visionary, it explores how the imperatives of excellence function within cinema's pluralistic community. Bresson's example offered both an artistic legacy and a creative burden within which filmmakers reckoned in different, often arduous, and altogether compelling ways.
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Author Biography
Codrua Morari is Associate Professor of Cinema and Media Studies at Wellesley College. She holds a doctorate in Film Studies from the University of Paris III – Sorbonne Nouvelle.
Table of Contents
List of Illustrations
AcknowledgementsIntroductionChapter 1. "Il faut un auteur!": Robert Bresson and the Making of the Author
Chapter 2. An Elusive Style
Chapter 3. Kinsmen
Chapter 4. The Ethics of Duplicity
Chapter 5. Working ArtistsConclusionBibliography
Index
Review
"As academic interest in Bresson nally seems to grow, The Bressonians forms an excellent addition to scholarship on the lmmaker, exploring in particular how and why Bresson's lms reinforce the signicance of French auteur cinema, as well as oering a timely contribution more generally to auteur theory and questions of inuence and style." • Studies in European Cinema"The Bressonians is well written and contains many perceptive insights into seminal French films, expanding our understanding of the complex network of competing artistic schools and influences during the post-war period. The book also offers a fascinating account of the evolution of authorship in French cinema, from Bresson in the 1960s to the obsessions with auteurism during the Nouvelle Vague." • H-France"Superbly written in a lucid and elegant style, this is an important intervention in French cinematic and cultural history. The Bressonians offers a series of compelling readings of important filmmakers, and demonstrates an illuminating attentiveness to the aesthetic texture of their films." • Scott Durham, Northwestern University
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