Cahiers du Cinéma: The 1950s: Neo-Realism, Hollywood, New Wave (Harvard Film Studies) (v. 1) (Paperback)

~ Jim Hillier (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Review

A good case can be mode for the 1950s as the most stimulating decode in the annals of film criticism. Credit for this goes largely to the French journal "Cahiers du Cinema," which nurtured and published a small band of iconoclasts who later moved into active filmmaking and became the core of the influential New Wave group. Jean-Luc Godard and the late Francois Truffaut were probably its most important members, with Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer, and Claude Chobrol right at their heels...Jim Hillier's collection...concentrates on the 1950s, assessing the pre-New Wove cinema of France, as well as classical Hollywood film and Italy's neo-realist school. It also treats such technical issues as the essence of "mise en scene" and the advent of CinemaScope...This is a fascinating and provocative book that casts a keen light on the ideas (and by extension, the films) of such astonishing "cineastes" as Godard and Rivette, while also showing their affinities with the incisive thought of Andre Bazin, the group's mentor...This collection deserves a wide readership among casual and committed filmgoers alike. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Review

A good case can be mode for the 1950s as the most stimulating decode in the annals of film criticism. Credit for this goes largely to the French journal Cahiers du Cinéma, which nurtured and published a small band of iconoclasts who later moved into active filmmaking and became the core of the influential New Wave group. Jean-Luc Godard and the late François Truffaut were probably its most important members, with Jacques Rivette, Eric Rohmer, and Claude Chobrol right at their heels...Jim Hillier's collection...concentrates on the 1950s, assessing the pre-New Wove cinema of France, as well as classical Hollywood film and Italy's neo-realist school. It also treats such technical issues as the essence of mise en scène and the advent of CinemaScope...This is a fascinating and provocative book that casts a keen light on the ideas (and by extension, the films) of such astonishing cinéastes as Godard and Rivette, while also showing their affinities with the incisive thought of André Bazin, the group's mentor...This collection deserves a wide readership among casual and committed filmgoers alike. (Christian Science Monitor )

This isn't simply an anthology of interesting film criticism; it's something much more rare and intriguing--the documentary history of an important intellectual shift...By treating movies as movies, not as poor relations to books or plays, the Cahiers critics helped introduce a new art form to the century that produced it. (New York Times Book Review )

Wonderfully intellectual and anti-academic at the same time, the articles are, more than anything else, supremely personal...These are immensely serious people, self-consciously bent on nothing less than changing the history of cinema. In important ways they first taught us how to look at movies, especially our own. (American Film )

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Product Details

• Paperback: 328 pages
• Publisher: Harvard University Press (January 1, 1985)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0674090616
• ISBN-13: 978-0674090613
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #695,670 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Must for Real Film Buffs., May 14, 2003

By	Cubie King Jr. (New York City) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

What a wonderful collection of essays written by one of the most intelligent groups ever to write (and some direct) about film. This book includes the staff of Cahiers du Cinema polemically discussing aesthetics, what creates an auteur, and debating the best directors of their time. (Each writer has their personal favorites of course, Bazin-Anthony Mann's westerns) All the essays are incredibly intellectual and strong knowledge of films of the 50s is necessary to even comprehend what they are speaking about. If you are familiar with the works of Renoir, Nicholas Ray, Robert Aldrich, Joseph Mankiwicz, Vittorio De Sica, Vincente Minnelli, Alan Resnais, Hawks, and Hitchcock, here is the place to find trenchant analysis into their works.
Some of the most brilliant essays, of course, comes from Andre Bazin, whom in certain circles is contested as the father of film theory (my favorites from Bazin in this collection are 'On the politique des auteurs' and his defense of Kurosawa's Living, following Luc Molluet's thorough trashing of the now considered classic).
Also this volume can contribute to your 'movies to see' lists for those real film buffs out there (if you can find them). The back of the book contains the Cahiers annual Best Films Listing from 1955-59.
For all the French-film lovin', director wannabees, artsy fartsy, snobbish, 'they don't make 'em like they use to' people like me this is a great book to pick up anytime. Just to read sober, intelligent essays on the art of filmmaking, and what these directors where trying to achieve decades ago. I personally read these essays with a smile, getting simple pleasures out of the high-brow ideologies these young writers/directors once had, and how they went on to change the face of cinema, forever.
This is truly a historical collection of essays. 5 out of 5.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important Collection, June 11, 2006

By	Mr. Steiner (New York) - See all my reviews

Cahiers Du Cinema most far and away the most important film magazine during the 50's and 60's. It contained the film theories of Bazin, Truffaut, Godard, Rivette, and all the other pioneers who forged the New Wave. This collection contains excellent and extensive intellectual essays on Rossellini, Mizoguchi, Mann, Hitchcock, and many other directors who made the 50's such an extraordinary and rich period of cinematic creativity. Jacques Rivette has a magnificent essay on the dimensions of cinemascope, and Godard has such an enthusiastic piece on Nicholas Ray, it probably contributed to his belated stardom as an auteur.

This is an important collection for any serious film student.