Julien Duvivier (French Film Directors Series)

This book is the first ever English-language study of Julien Duvivier (1896-1967), once considered one of the world’s great film filmmakers. It provides new contextual and analytical readings of his films that identify his key themes and techniques, trace patterns of continuity and change, and explore critical assessments of his work over time. Throughout a five-decade career, Duvivier zigzagged between multiple genres – __film noir__, comedy, literary adaptation – and made over sixty films. His career intersects with important historical moments in French cinema, like the arrival of sound film, the development of the ‘poetic realism’, the exodus to America during the German Occupation, the working within the Hollywood studio system in the 1940s, and the return to France and to a much-changed film landscape in the 1950s. Often dismissed as a marginal figure in French film history, this groundbreaking book illustrates Duvivier’s eclecticism, technical efficiency and visual fluency in films such as __Panique__ (1946) and __Voici le temps des assassins__ (1956) alongside more familiar works like __La Belle Equipe__ (1936) and __Pépé le Moko__ (1937). It will particularly appeal to scholars and students of French cinema looking for examples of a director who could comfortably straddle the realms of the popular __and__ the auteur. Cover Half-title Series Information Title page Copyright information Dedication Table of contents List of Figures Series editors' foreword Acknowledgements Introduction: we need to talk about Julien References 1 The 'impure' auteur Beginnings Restoring a reputation Adaptateur or auteur? Themes and patterns Men's stories ... ... but not women's stories 'Black realism' The outsider coming in The group Style and technique Setting 'Colour' Cinematography Song and music References 2 Duvivier's silent films From Haceldama to L'Homme à l'Hispano: a style is born. Experimenting with form1929: towards a new aesthetic Duvivier and religion Conclusion References 3 Sound, image, Gabin: Duvivier and the 1930s Experiments in sound Interlude: (re-.)making Poil de carotte (1925, 1932) Five little pieces Fixing a style: Duvivier, Gabin, and poetic realism Un Carnet de bal (1937) Towards the 'end of the day' Conclusion References 4 'Piloting with concentration': Julien goes to Hollywood To America and back ... ... and back again Lydia (1941) Tales of Manhattan (1942) and Flesh and Fantasy (1943) The Impostor (1944) From Bosley to Bazin: the critical receptionConclusion References 5 1946-.56: darkness and light Panique (1946): the homecoming Interlude: Duvivier the film critic Anna Karenina (1948) Au royaume des cieux (1949) and Black Jack (1950) Narrative experiments: Sous le ciel de Paris (1951) and La Fête à Henriette (1952) Box-.office successes: Le Petit monde de Don Camillo (1952) and Le Retour de Don Camillo (1953) Tonal swerves: L'Affaire Maurizius (1954) and Marianne de ma jeunesse (1955) 'Surrounded by monsters': Voici le temps des assassins (1956) Conclusion References. 6 Late styleDuvivier, the tradition of quality, and François Truffaut Working with stars: L'Homme à l'imperméable (1957), Pot-. Bouille (1957), and La Femme et le pantin (1959) Marie-. Octobre (1959) Embracing the New Wave? The case of La Grande vie (1960) and Boulevard (1960) Le Diable et les dix commandements (1962) 'But leave it to Mr. Duvivier': a trio of noir Conclusion References Conclusion References Filmography Select bibliography Index. 'This book is the first ever English-language study of Julien Duvivier (1896-1967), once considered one of the world's great filmmakers. Jean Renoir declared that 'If I were an architect and I had to build a monument to the cinema, I would place a statue of Julien Duvivier at the entrance'. He was beloved by Orson Welles and John Ford, while Ingmar Bergman once admitted that of all the careers that he would have liked to have had, it would be Duvivier's. The book offers contextual and analytical readings of Duvivier's films that identify his key themes and techniques, trace patterns of continuity, and explore critical assessments of his work over time. Throughout a five-decade career, Duvivier zigzagged between multiple genres and#x2013; film noir , comedy, literary adaptation and#x2013; and made over sixty films. His career intersects with important historical moments in French cinema, like the arrival of sound film, and the development of 'poetic realism'. He worked within the Hollywood studio system in the 1940s, and returned to a much-changed France in the 1950s. Often dismissed as a marginal figure in French film history, this groundbreaking book illustrates Duvivier's eclecticism, technical efficiency and visual fluency in films such as Panique (1946) and Voici le temps des assassins (1956), alongside more familiar works like La Belle Equipe (1936) and Pépé le Moko (1937). It will appeal particularly to scholars and students of French cinema looking for examples of a director who could comfortably straddle the realms of the popular and the auteur ' --Back cover This book is the first ever English-language study of Julien Duvivier (1896-1967), once considered one of the world's great film filmmakers. It provides new contextual and analytical readings of his films that identify his key themes and techniques, trace patterns of continuity and change, and explore critical assessments of his work over time. His career began in the silent era and ended as the French New Wave was winding down. In between, Duvivier made over sixty films in a long and at times difficult career. He was adept at literary adaptation, biblical epic, and film noir, and this groundbreaking volume illustrates in great detail Duvivier's eclecticism, technical efficiency and visual fluency in works such as Panique (1946) and Voici le temps des assassins (1956). It will particularly appeal to scholars and students of French cinema looking for examples of a director who could straddle the realms of the popular and the auteur. This book is the first ever English-language study of Julien Duvivier (1896-1967), once considered one of the world's great filmmakers. It provides new contextual and analytical readings of his films that identify his key themes and techniques, trace patterns of continuity and change, and explore critical assessments of his work over time. His career began in the silent era and ended as the French New Wave was winding down. In between, Duvivier made over sixty films in a long and at times difficult career. He was adept at literary adaptation, biblical epic, and film noir , and this groundbreaking volume illustrates in great detail Duvivier's eclecticism, technical efficiency and visual fluency in works such as Panique (1946) and Voici le temps des assassins (1956). It will particularly appeal to scholars and students of French cinema looking for examples of a director who could straddle the realms of the popular and the auteur . Cover; Half-title; Series Information; Title page; Copyright information; Dedication; Table of contents; List of Figures; Series editors' foreword; Acknowledgements; Introduction: we need to talk about Julien; References; 1 The 'impure' auteur; Beginnings; Restoring a reputation; Adaptateur or auteur?; Themes and patterns; Men's stories ... ; ... but not women's stories; 'Black realism'; The outsider coming in; The group; Style and technique; Setting; 'Colour'; Cinematography; Song and music; References; 2 Duvivier's silent films; From Haceldama to L'Homme à l'Hispano: a style is born.;Duvivier was a giant of classic French cinema with a career spanning key moments of French film history. This analysis goes beyond its historical range to engage with key debates in film studies: notably auteurism, stardom and questions of the national. Duvivier was a giant of classic French cinema with a career spanning key moments of French film history. This analysis goes beyond its historical range to engage with key debates in film studies: notably auteurism, stardom and questions of the national. -- . Ben Mccann. Includes Bibliographical References, Filmography (pages 230-247) And Index.