read more about it:
French New Wave - Wikipedia
what films have you seen?
I particularly like Godard’s films, like Breathless (see other topic). The French New Wave had an enormous impact on world cinema. Particularly the 60s new hollywood was influenced by the way these new french filmmakers made movies.
‘The 400 Blows’ and ‘Jules Et Jim’ by Truffaut are pretty good too. And don’t forget his book on Alfred Hitchcock. Old editions of Cahiers Du Cinema are on-line too. New Wave cinema wasn’t just happening in France. Don’t forget the Free Cinema movement of Great Britain and movies like ‘Saturday Night Sunday Morning’, ‘Room At The Top’, ‘The L Shaped Room’, ‘Darling’ and ‘if…’. America had its New Wave with people like John Cassavettes and Andy Warhol. Italy had people like Roberto Rossellini and Piers Paolo Pasolini and Germany had Fassbinder. Exciting as the Nouvelle Vague was it wasn’t the only game in town. Also it slagged off 30s French cinema something rotten which is a bit unfair.
Its one of my favourite periods. I like Godard’s work and almost worship, the so called inventor, Melville for the work he made.
Have you seen some Truffaut ? Or Pierro Le Fou by Godard ? There are great.
I am getting it all on dvd lately, been a while and I totally dig it now. Really my favourite kind of cinema.
‘the cranes are flying’ could be called a kind of soviet nouvelle vague.
Jean-Luc Godard was a great director: I love his Breathless, Alphaville, Pierrot le Fou, Vivre sa Vie and Contempt
I know only two films of Jean-Pierre Melville, but both are really cool: Le Doulos and Le Samourai
Francois Truffaut: 400 Blows, Jules et Jim, Fahrenheit 451, Bride Wore Black <---- cool, cool, cool!
and don’t forget bout Elevator to the Gallows of Louis Malle
French New Wave was very interesting, I’m looking forward to see the other films of this cinema
yeah, godard was great (but then he decided to turn into a weirdo)… i love the movies he did with anna karina… (pierrot le fou, vivre sa vie, alphaville, made in usa, a bande à part,…)…
oooh,… le samourai by jean pierre melville is so fuckin amazing… love this movie… i have to dig more into truffauts stuff… les quatre cents coups looks amazing but i haven’t seen it yet…
the 400 blows is in my top 10 films of all time. a fucking masterpiece!
Stolen kiss by Truffaut and Le Petit Soldat by Godard are among my favorite films. and Melville is my movie god…! claude chabrol’s on another hand didn’t age very well (except Les Biches, not very good but very sexy and the women in it are gorgeous)