Week 15: French New Wave History of ... amazonaws com

Week 15: French New Wave History of auteurism 1945 –> post-WWII influx of American Hollywood films screened at Cinématheque Française 1948 - Alexandre Astruc, “The Birth of a New Avant-Garde: la caméra-stylo” Film director writes with camera as writer writes with pen 1951 - Cahiers du cinema, co-founded by André Bazin 1954 - François Truffaut, “A Certain Tendency in French Cinema” attack on „cinema of quality” as too indebted to literature & theatre said „cinema of quality” directors, in adapting literature to screen, merely transferred writer‟s vision: “metteur-en-scène” said the true auteur transforms material through personal expression personal expression comes from visual style, not source story/script 1957 - André Bazin, “De la politique des auteurs.” worries that auteurism‟s celebration of „genius‟ removes director from social, historical circumstances “the individual transcends society, but society is also and above all within him”[sic] 1962 - Andrew Sarris, “Notes of the Auteur Theory in 1962" extreme formulation of auteurism values directors‟ “distinguishable personality” & creates “pantheon” classifying directors‟ greatness “wrenches” directors from “historical environment” film history = only history of auteurs

Week 15: French New Wave Romantic vs Classical

Romantic v Classical New v Tradition Expression v Realism [Art as Imitation (Mimesis)] Individual v Culture Innovation v Convention Authenticity v Deliberateness Boldness v Subtlety Speed v Precision