But, faced with Marienbad, their interpretations were attempts simply to describe the events that take place in the film’s story.

Francophiles, in general, know a lot about Cahiers du cinéma (and the whole artistic-intellectual culture that goes with it) and almost nothing about Positif (ditto). An invitation to discovery on every page, and perhaps the best title for any film book yet published. By using the Web site, you confirm that you have read, understood, and agreed to be bound by the Terms and Conditions. Because of this you’ll often find a lot of talent in movie art books featuring concept art, vis dev art, and custom sets/props.

Which ought to rule out The Invention of Morel, the inspiration for Resnais’ Last Year at Marienbad. For a reference book, am I allowed to put forward The Oxford History of World Cinema, despite being its editor (OUP, 1996)? Grafe (1934-2002), in particular, combined a crisp, evocative, Barthesian style with a rigorous eye and brilliant mind. If the first edition of Robin Wood’s study hadn’t been so seminal for me, I would now choose Hitchcock’s Films Revisited, because it shows how critical engagement is a lifetime’s process, always evolving as we mature. Sometimes, especially after you’ve just stumbled out of the remake of Clash of the Titans, that seems an intellectually responsible position.

For example, most books didn’t use frame enlargements to illustrate the films but relied instead upon production stills. full sizeThis ought to have been the most controversial book I produced, but although many have dismissed what they take to be its conclusions, I’m aware of only one sustained critique (by V.The main reason, incidentally, why I haven’t selected any collections in French by André Bazin or Serge Daney is the absence of any fully satisfying volume in the first case and too many possible candidates in the second. Affordable, deeply serious, clearly written, it gave us our first filmographies, 15 frame blow-ups from Battleship Potemkin and a cinematic canon that we eagerly accepted and then rebelled against.