Henri-Georges Clouzot (French Film Directors Series)

Despite his controversial reputation and international notoriety as a filmmaker, no full-length study of Clouzot has ever been published in English. This book offers a significant revaluation of Clouzot's achievement, situating his career in the wider context of French cinema and society, and providing detailed and clear analysis of his major films (__Le Corbeau, Quai des Orfèvres, Le Salaire de la peur, Les Diaboliques, Le Mystère Picasso__). Annotation Despite his controversial reputation and international notoriety as a film-maker, no full-length study of Clouzot has ever been published in English. This book offers a significant revaluation of Clouzots achievement, situating his career in the wider context of French cinema and society, and providing detailed and clear analysis of his major films (Le Corbeau, Quai des Orfèvres, Le Salaire de la peur, Les Diaboliques, Le Mystère Picasso). Clouzots films combine meticulous technical control with sardonic social commentary and the ability to engage and entertain a broad public. Although his films are characterised by an all-controlling perfectionism, allied to documentary veracity and a disturbing bleakness of vision, Clouzot is well aware that his is an art of illusion. His fondness for anatomising social pretence, the deception, violence and cruelty practised by individuals and institutions, drew him repeatedly to the thriller as a convenient and compelling model for plots and characters, but his source texts and the usual conventions of the genre receive distinctly unconventional treatment MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict MuPDF error: syntax error: invalid key in dict CONTENTS 6 LIST OF PLATES 7 SERIES EDITORS' FORWARD 8 ACKNOWLEDEMENTS 10 1 Clouzot and the cinema 12 2 Occupation and its discontents 40 3 Reconstruction and retribution: Clouzot’s post-war films 74 4 Beyond genre: Le Salaire de la peur 98 5 Suspense and surveillance: Les Diaboliques and Les Espions 122 6 Filming Picasso and Karajan 148 7 The final films 161 Conclusion 183 FILMOGRAPHY 189 SELECT BIBLOGRAPHY 195 INDEX 197 Despite his controversial reputation and international notoriety as a film-maker, no full-length study of Clouzot has ever been published in English. This book offers a significant revaluation of Clouzot's achievement, situating his career in the wider context of French cinema and society, and providing a detailed and clear analysis of his major films, including le Corbeau, Quai des Orfevres, Le Salaire de la peur, Les Diaboliques, Le Mystere Picasso