French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema (Oxford Music/Media Series)

The transition from silent to synchronized sound film was one of the most dramatic transformations in cinema's history, as it radically changed the technology, practices, and aesthetics of filmmaking within a few short years. In France, debates about sound cinema were fierce and widespread. In French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema , author Hannah Lewis argues that the debates about sound film resonated deeply within French musical culture of the early 1930s, and conversely, that discourses surrounding a range of French musical styles and genres shaped audiovisual cinematic experiments during the transition to sound. Lewis' book focuses on many of the most prominent directors and screenwriters of the period, from Luis Buñuel to Jean Vigo, as well as experiments found in lesser-known films. Additionally, Lewis examines how early sound film portrayed the diverse soundscape of early 1930s France, as filmmakers drew from the music hall, popular chanson, modernist composition, opera and operetta, and explored the importance of musical machines to depict and to shape French audiovisual culture. In this light, the author discusses the contributions of well-known composers for film alongside more popular music hall styles, all of which had a voice within the heterogeneous soundtrack of French sound cinema. By delving into this fascinating developmental period of French cinematic history, Lewis encourages readers to challenge commonly-held assumptions about how genres, media, and artistic forms relate to one another, and how these relationships are renegotiated during moments of technological change. Title Pages Hannah Lewis Title Pages Hannah Lewis (p.i) French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema (p.ii) The Oxford Music/Media Series (p.iii) French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema (p.xv) French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema (p.xvi) Title Pages Title Pages Title Pages (p.vii) Figures Hannah Lewis (p.vii) Figures Hannah Lewis (p.vii) Figures (p.ix) Examples Hannah Lewis (p.ix) Examples Hannah Lewis (p.xi) Acknowledgments Hannah Lewis (p.xi) Acknowledgments Hannah Lewis (p.xi) Acknowledgments (p.xi) Acknowledgments (p.xiii) Abbreviations Hannah Lewis (p.xiii) Abbreviations Hannah Lewis Introduction Hannah Lewis Introduction Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords Introduction Introduction The Transition to Sound Introduction French Filmmaking before the Transition Era Introduction Introduction Introduction Music and the Transition to Sound in France Introduction Introduction Introduction Competing Conceptions of Sound Film Introduction Introduction From Theory to Practice Introduction Introduction Introduction Notes: Introduction Introduction Imagining Sound Film Hannah Lewis Imagining Sound Film Debates in the Press Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Sound Film Comes to France: Struggle, Ambivalence, Debate Imagining Sound Film Critical Concerns: Realism, Theater, and the Spoken Word Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film The Musical Analogy Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Musique mécanique: Musicians and Composers Speak Syndicat des Musiciens Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Compositional Possibilities Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Conclusion Imagining Sound Film Notes: Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Imagining Sound Film Surrealist Sounds Hannah Lewis Surrealist Sounds Film Music and the Avant-Garde Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealism, Cinema, and Music Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Funding Sound Film: The Noailles Surrealist Sounds L’Age d’or Surrealist Sounds L’Age d’or’s Scandal Surrealist Sounds L’Age d’or and Synchronized Sound Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds L’Age d’or’s Musical Soundtrack: Music as a (De-)structuring Device Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds L’Age d’or’s Musical Soundtrack: Music as a (De-)familiarizing Device Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Le Sang d’un poète Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Le Sang d’un poète and Synchronized Sound Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Le Sang d’un poète’s Musical Soundtrack: “Accidental” Synchronization and Music as a Device of Structural Prolongation Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds (p.69) Conclusion Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Notes: Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds Surrealist Sounds “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Hannah Lewis “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Songs, Stages, Cameras, and the Opérette filmée Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Solving the “Language Problem”: International Filmmaking “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” The Film Operetta “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Chacun sa chance: The Joint Production “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Le Chemin du paradis: The Multiple-Language Version “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Il est charmant: Paramount in Paris “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Conclusion “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Notes: “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” “An achievement that reflects its native soil” Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Hannah Lewis Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry The Clair/Pagnol Debate Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Marcel Pagnol: Sound Cinema as Recorded Theater Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Marius (1931), Fanny (1932), and Music in Théâtre filmé Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Clair: Sound Cinema as Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Le Million (1931), Opera, and Musical Fantasy as Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Le Million as Theatrical Adaptation Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Operetta and Fantasy Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Opera and Artificiality Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Conclusion Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Notes: Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Théâtre filmé, Opera, and Cinematic Poetry Source Music and Cinematic Realism Hannah Lewis Source Music and Cinematic Realism Jean Renoir and the Early Poetic Realists Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Early Poetic Realism and Synchronized Sound Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music for Setting Music for Setting and Atmosphere Source Music and Cinematic Realism The Realist Singer as Commentator Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Anempathetic Music for Irony, Contrast, and Narrative Disruption Source Music and Cinematic Realism Music That Intrudes on the Narrative Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Diegetic Music and Subjectivity Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Jean Renoir and Sound Film Source Music and Cinematic Realism Bourgeois Music, Direct Sound, and La Chienne (1931) Diegetic Music and Cinematic Artifice Source Music and Cinematic Realism Music and the Confinement of Bourgeois Culture Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism La Chienne’s Realist Singer Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Musical Humor, Eroticism, and Boudu sauvé des eaux (1932) Music as a Bourgeois Symbol: Blurred Boundaries, Humor, and Sexual Tension Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Narratively Intrusive Music as a Representation of Sexual Frustration and Fulfillment Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism Music as a Symbol of Liberation Source Music and Cinematic Realism Conclusion Source Music and Cinematic Realism Notes: Source Music and Cinematic Realism Source Music and Cinematic Realism “The Music Has Something to Say” Hannah Lewis “The Music Has Something to Say” The Musical Revisions of L’Atalante (1934) Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” Vigo, Jaubert, and Synchronized Sound “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” L’Atalante’s Musical Devices “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” Le Chaland qui passe “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” Conclusion “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” Notes: “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” “The Music Has Something to Say” Conclusion Hannah Lewis Conclusion Alternative Paths for Sound Film Hannah Lewis Abstract and Keywords Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion Conclusion Notes: (p.189) Notes Hannah Lewis (p.189) Notes Hannah Lewis Introduction (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes Chapter 1 (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes Chapter 2 (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes Chapter 3 (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes Chapter 4 (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes Chapter 5 (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes Chapter 6 (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes (p.189) Notes Conclusion (p.219) Select Filmography Hannah Lewis (p.219) Select Filmography Hannah Lewis Abbreviations 1928 L’Eau du Nil (The Water of the Nile) 1929 Le Collier de la reine (The Queen’s Necklace) Le Requin (The Shark) (p.219) Select Filmography La Route est belle (The Road Is Beautiful) Les Trois Masques (The Three Masks) (p.220) 1930 L’Age d’or (The Golden Age) Chacun sa chance (Each His Own Luck) Le Chemin du paradis (The Road to Paradise) Chiqué (p.219) Select Filmography David Golder L’Enfant de l’amour (Illegitimate Child) Le Mystère de la villa rose (The Mystery of the Villa Rose) L’Opéra de quat’sous (The Threepenny Opera) (p.221) La Petite Lise (Little Lise) Prix de beauté (Beauty Prize) (p.219) Select Filmography Le Roi des resquilleurs (The King of the Gate Crashers) Le Sang d’un poète (The Blood of a Poet) Sous les toits de Paris (Under the Roofs of Paris) 1931 Allô Berlin, Ici Paris (Hello Berlin, This Is Paris) La Chienne (The Bitch) Les Cinq Gentlemen maudits (The Five Cursed Gentlemen) (p.222) Cœur de Lilas (Lilac’s Heart) (p.219) Select Filmography Le Congrès s’amuse (The Congress Dances) Faubourg-Montmartre La Fin du monde (The End of the World) Jean de la Lune (Jean with His Head in the Clouds) Mam’zelle Nitouche (Miss Nitouche) Marius (p.219) Select Filmography Le Million (The Million) À nous la liberté (Freedom for Us) Nuits de Venise (Nights in Venice) On purge bébé (Baby’s Laxative) Paris-Béguin (The Darling of Paris) Princesse, à vos ordres (Her Highness Commands) (p.219) Select Filmography Sola La Tragédie de la mine (The Tragedy in the Mine) 1932 L’Âne de Buridan (Buridan’s Ass) L’Atlantide (Atlantis) Boudu sauvé des eaux (Boudu Saved from Drowning) Chotard et Cie (Chotard and Co.) Fanny (p.219) Select Filmography Les Gaîtés de l’escadron (Fun in the Barracks) Il est charmant (He Is Charming) La Nuit du carrefour (Night at the Crossroads) La Petite Chocolatière (The Chocolate Girl) Le Quatorze Juillet (Bastille Day) 1933 L’Ami Fritz (In Old Alsace) Ciboulette (p.219) Select Filmography Le Coq du regiment (The Rooster of the Regiment) Don Quichotte (Don Quixote) L’Homme à l’Hispano (The Man in the Hispano-Suiza) Jofroi Madame Bovary Ces Messieurs de la santé (Men of Santé Prison) (p.219) Select Filmography Un Soir de réveillon (One New Year’s Eve) (p.226) La Tête d’un homme (A Man’s Head) Théodore et Cie (Theodore and Co.) Zéro de conduite (Zero for Conduct) 1934 Amok Angèle (p.219) Select Filmography L’Atalante Le Dernier Milliardaire (The Last Billionaire) Le Grand Jeu (The Great Game) (p.227) Lac aux Dames (Ladies’ Lake) Prince de minuit (Midnight Prince) Rapt (p.219) Select Filmography Zouzou (p.229) Select Bibliography Hannah Lewis (p.229) Select Bibliography Hannah Lewis Archives Consulted Secondary Works (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.229) Select Bibliography (p.239) Index Hannah Lewis (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index (p.239) Index The transition from silent to synchronized sound film was one of the most dramatic transformations in cinema's history, as it radically changed the technology, practices, and aesthetics of filmmaking within a few short years. In France, debates about sound cinema were fierce and widespread. In French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema, author Hannah Lewis argues that the debates about sound film resonated deeply within French musical culture of the early 1930s, and conversely, that discourses surrounding a range of French musical styles and genres shaped audiovisual cinematic experiments during the transition to sound.Lewis' book focuses on many of the most prominent directors and screenwriters of the period, from Luis Buñuel to Jean Vigo, as well as experiments found in lesser-known films. Additionally, Lewis examines how early sound film portrayed the diverse soundscape of early 1930s France, as filmmakers drew from the music hall, popular chanson, modernist composition, opera and operetta, and explored the importance of musical machines to depict and to shape French audiovisual culture. In this light, the author discusses the contributions of well-known composers for film alongside more popular music hall styles, all of which had a voice within the heterogeneous soundtrack of French sound cinema. By delving into this fascinating developmental period of French cinematic history, Lewis encourages readers to challenge commonly-held assumptions about how genres, media, and artistic forms relate to one another, and how these relationships are renegotiated during moments of technological change. The transition from silent to synchronized sound film was one of the most dramatic transformations in cinema's history, as it radically changed the technology, practices, and aesthetics of filmmaking within a few short years. In France, debates about sound cinema were fierce and widespread. In French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema, author Hannah Lewis argues that the debates about sound film resonated deeply within French musical culture of the early 1930s, and conversely, that discourses surrounding a range of French musical styles and genres shaped audiovisual cinematic experiments during the transition to sound. 0Lewis' book focuses on many of the most prominent directors and screenwriters of the period, from Luis Bunuel to Jean Vigo, as well as experiments found in lesser-known films. Additionally, Lewis examines how early sound film portrayed the diverse soundscape of early 1930s France, as filmmakers drew from the music hall, popular chanson, modernist composition, opera and operetta, and explored the importance of musical machines to depict and to shape French audiovisual culture. In this light, the author discusses the contributions of well-known composers for film alongside more popular music hall styles, all of which had a voice within the heterogeneous soundtrack of French sound cinema. By delving into this fascinating developmental period of French cinematic history, Lewis encourages readers to challenge commonly-held assumptions about how genres, media, and artistic forms relate to one another, and how these relationships are renegotiated during moments of technological change French Musical Culture and the Coming of Sound Cinema examines film music practices in France during a period of widespread artistic and creative experimentation: the transition from silent to synchronized sound film. While this period in Hollywood has been examined from a range of scholarly perspectives, the transition to sound in France--and the unique interactions between French sound cinema and French musical discourses--remains underexplored. In France, debates about sound cinema were fierce and widespread, and many filmmakers addressed theoretical questions about the potential of the new technology head-on, articulating their responses to these questions both in writing and in their films. Music played an integral role in the debate. Lewis argues that debates about sound film had a powerful effect on French musical culture of the early 1930s, and that diverse French musical styles and traditions--from Les Six, to the opera house, to the popular music-hall--played a crucial role in shaping the cinematic soundscape. Filmmakers experimented with music's role in sound cinema within a range of genres, including avant-garde surrealist cinema (Luis Buñuel and Jean Cocteau), recorded theater (Marcel Pagnol), early poetic realism (Jean Renoir, Jean Vigo), and the film musical (René Clair). Lewis's analysis of the experiments undertaken in these few important years in French cinematic history encourages readers to challenge commonly held assumptions of how genres, media, and artistic forms relate to one another, and how these relationships are renegotiated during moments of technological change Dans Chaque Livre, On Découvre Une Histoire Inédite écrite Par Aldebert Qui S'est Inspiré D'une Chanson De Son Répertoire. Dans Le Cd, On Retrouve La Version Audio De Cette Histoire, Qui Est Lue Par Aldebert, Puis La Chanson Dont S'est Inspirée L'artiste. Noël Approche Et Aldebert A Préparé Sa Liste Au Père Noël... Le soir de Noël, un petit garçon vient en aide à un vieux monsieur qui dort dans la rue. Une histoire inspirée d'une chanson de l'auteur. Avec un CD contenant la version audio de l'histoire et la chanson