Escapism: Theme Of The French New Wave Films

During the course of this essay it is my intention to discuss the differences between Classical Hollywood and post-Classical Hollywood. Although these terms refer to theoretical movements of which they are not definitive it is my goal to show that they are applicable in a broad way to a cinema tradition that dominated Hollywood production between 1916 and 1960 and which also pervaded Western Mainstream Cinema (Classical Hollywood or Classic Narrative Cinema) and to the movement and changes that came about following this time period (Post-Classical or New Hollywood). I intend to do this by first analysing and defining aspects of Classical Hollywood and having done that,

Moulin Rouge is one of Baz Luhrmann’s best films. The movie came out in June 2001 and has won many awards and is one of the best movies in the musical genre. The set design, costumes, casting of roles, and music all is so perfectly put together to create this brilliant film. Luhrmann, who also co-wrote the movie with Craig Pearce, traveled to Paris with Pearce and the production designer to conduct historical research and write the synopsis for the movie. “To find ways to depict 19th century Paris and the Moulin Rouge as it may have felt to its audience then - at the cutting edge of sex, music, dance, theater and modern thinking - the filmmakers immersed themselves in the neighborhood, venues and culture of their story” (Luhrmann). Through their research and learning about the culture, they came to understand that the Moulin Rouge was a club that brought all different classes together and Pearce quotes that is the equivalent of “Studio 54 in New York in the late 70’s; a place where the rich and the powerful can mix with the young, the beautiful

Surrealism is a movement that built off of the burgeoning look into art, psychology, and the workings of the mind. Popularly associated with the works of Salvador Dali, Surrealist art takes imagery and ideology and creates correlation where there is none, creating new forms of art. In this essay I will look to explore the inception of the surrealist movement, including the Surrealist Manifesto, to stress the importance of these artists and their work in the 20th century and beyond. I also will look to films from our European Cinema course to express how films incorporate the influence of surrealism both intentionally and unintentionally.

During the French New Wave, many critics became the moviemakers. One of the main qualities of the New Wave were the casual looks of the films. In addition, the New Wave also used a large amount of camera movements. The film Amélie is inspired by the French New Wave and uses its distinct characteristics throughout the movie. In the film Amélie, director Jean-Pierre Jeunet uses skillful directing, lighting, editing, and form to achieve themes such as innocence and happiness.

Breathless is in many ways the antithesis of the classical Hollywood cinema; the changes have a direct effect on the relationship the film has with the viewer. Classical Hollywood cinema includes standards such as continuity editing, highly motivated, character-driven stories and a coherent narrative structure. Breathless defies these elements of traditional filmmaking, instead defining what we know as French New Wave.

In 1959- early 1960 five directors released debut feature length films that are widely regarded as heralding the start of the French nouvelle vague or French New Wave. Claude Chabrols Le Beau Serge (The Good Serge, 1959) and Les Cousins (The Cousins, 1959) were released, along with Francois Truffauts Les Quatre cents coups (The 400 Blows, 1959), Jean-Luc Godards A bout de souffle (Breathless, 1960) and Alain Resnais Hiroshima mon amour (Hiroshima my love, 1959). These films were the beginning of a revolution in French cinema. In the following years these directors were to follow up their debuts, while other young directors made their first features, in fact between 1959-63 over 170 French directors made their debut

Article Three – Author: David Bordwell / Title of Article: The Art Cinema as a Mode of Film

The extraordinary film The 400 Blows (Francois Truffaut, 1959) skillfully uses cinematic devices appropriately within the context of the theme. Part of the underlying theme of this movie as explained by Truffaut himself is, “... to portray a child as honestly as possible...”(Writing About Film, 1982). It is the scenes in this movie that are most helpful in disclosing the overall theme of the film. Within the scenes, the camera angles in this film play an important role in accentuating the emotions behind the scene. The camera angles used in this film will be the primary focus of this paper. The high angle shots utilized in The 400 Blows are effective in helping to develop the overall feel of a scene. This movie

Antonio is inspired by his mother’s words and led him to move forward. It forced Antonio to go to school and achieve his dreams. It also fulfils his mother’s dream, which was Antonio being a priest and helping people in the village. So, mother’s words influenced Antonio and made him to change his career goal to “priest”.

Topic 6: (TOC) “Elaborate on instances where Antonio’s loss of innocence furthered or took away from his development as a character.”

Fahrenheit 451 and Equilibrium Synthesis essay Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, and Equilibrium, directed by Kurt Wimmer, have similarities and differences. Both of these have conflicts throughout the story but they both express them very differently. In Fahrenheit 451 they are not allowed free thought and books while in Equilibrium they are not allowed emotions. Also in Fahrenheit 451 the characters address things more calmly and in Equilibrium they do things with more violence and aggression.

Even though both novels use certain characters to criticize negative aspects of the author’s society, the more direct comparison between certain characters

This film analysis will delineate the diverse directorial decisions of The French New Wave cinema movement, and how they have been utilised and developed to challenge and subvert the typical Hollywood filmmaking conventions and techniques of the 1950s and 60s Hollywood cinema, in François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959). Hollywood produced films of the time used a very limited variation in film techniques such as camera, acting, mise-en-scene, editing and sound. This can be mainly attributed to the low innovative thought of creative and expressive camera movements, angles, etc… due to technological hindrances. In particular, this film analysis will de-construct the filmmaking elements of the revelatory French New Wave movement in Truffaut’s The 400 Blows ending scene (01:34:42 – 01:39:32) portraying the main character Antoine Doinel’s escape from juvie and trek to the bespoken beach.

To fully comprehend why and how this cinematic motion took place, it is valuable here to establish the wider social climate of France at the time, and the active forces which heavily shaped New Wave cinema. Between the years of 1945 and 1975, France would undergo “thirty glorious years” of economic growth, urbanization, and a considerable baby boom, all of which came to expand and radically alter the parameters of French culture (Haine 33). Beneath the surface affluence however, France was in a state of deep self-evaluation and consciousness. Following WW11, the

They knew a lot about film theory and history but not a lot about film production. This allowed them to experiment and try new ways to make films. They also began to break traditional rules in filmmaking.”(Tu) At first audiences were confused by this new style, but now many of the innovative conventions of the French New Wave are normal cinematic devices that we all understand today, like the jump-cut, long take, voice over and handheld location shooting. The 400 Blows, is not a film one is going to understand while watching for the first time, that is where the true beauty lies. As Antoine grows up he will be able to understand his life with a reflective mentality, just as we the viewer will understand the film the more we think about it. The goal of the French New Wave was to have cinema become as worthy of academic study as any other art form. “Existentialism was also a major influence on the French New Wave. French New Wave incorporated working on location as opposed to in the studio. Lightweight hand held cameras were used. Available light was preferred to studio-style lighting and available sound was preferred to extensive audio dubbing. Following characters down streets, cafes and shops were done in the French New Wave just as was in this film 400 Blows. Also long takes like when Antoine was