Publisher Description

An in-depth look at some of the best and most influential French films of all time, The Cinema of France contains 24 essays, each on an individual film. The book features works from the silent period and poetic realism, through the stylistic developments of the New Wave, and up to more contemporary challenging films, from directors such as Abel Gance, Jean Renoir, Marcel Carné, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Alain Resnais, Agnès Varda and Luc Besson. Set in chronological order, The Cinema of France provides an illuminating history of this essential national cinema and includes in-depth studies of films such as Un Chien Andalou (1929), Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953), Le Samouraï (1967), Shoah (1985), Jean de Florette (1986), Les Visiteurs (1993) and La Haine (1995).

Author Biography

Phil Powrie is Professor of French Cultural Studies at the University of Newcastle upon Tyne. He has published widely on French film, notably French Cinema in the 1980s: Nostalgia and the Crisis of Masculinity (1997), Contemporary French Cinema: Continuity and Difference (1999) and French Cinema: A Student's Guide (2002).

Table of Contents

Notes On Contributors Acknowledgements Preface bv Michel Marie Introduction by Phil Powrie 01 Napoleon Maureen Turim 02Un chien Andalou / An Andalusian Dog Ramona Fotiade 03 Le crime de monsieur Lange / The Crime of Monsieur Lange Alan Williams 04La regle du jeu / The Rules of the Game Martin O'Shaughnessy 05Les enfants du paradis / Children of Paradise Ben McCann 06 Les vacances de monsieur Hulot / Monsieur Hulot's Holiday Jean-Louis Pautrot 07 Du rififi chez les hommes / Rififi Graeme Hayes 08 Les 400 coups / The Four Hundred Blows T. Jefferson Kline 09A bout de souffle / Breathless Douglas Morrey 10 L'annee derniere a Marienbad / Last Year in Marienbad Laura Rascaroli 11 Cleo de 5 a 7 / Cleo from 5 to 7 Florence Martin 12Le samourai / The Godson Tim Palmer 13 La maman et la putain / The Mother and the Whore Martine Pierquin 14Les valseuses / Going Places Pierre Sorlin 15Diva Will Higbee 16 Shoah Kathryn Robson 17 Trois hommes et un couffin / Three Men and a Cradle Brigitte Humbert 18 Jean de Florette Russell Cousins 19Nikita Phil Powrie 20 Les amants du Pont-Neuf / The Lovers of Pont-Neuf Wendy Everett 21Les visiteurs / The Visitors Isabelle Vanderschelden 22 La reine Margot / Queen Margot Alison Smith 23 La haine / Hate Dayna Oscherwitz 24Y aura-t-il de la neige a Noel / Will it Snow for Christmas? Martine Beugnet Filmography Bibliography Index

Review

'The value of this book lies in its range and diversity, not just in terms of films but of approaches (aesthetic, literary, political, sociological, gender). The individual chapters are differently rewarding, but the volume as a whole will appeal to anyone interested in French cinema.' - Ginette Vincendeau, Sight and Sound

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