In the early 1950’s a new style of film, new wave (nouvelle vague), had begun to develop. This style shifted away from the conventional pattern of cinema and branched into a politically aware, technologically advanced form. French new wave was effectively an innovative form of cinema that has revolutionised world cinema. This essay will detail the director’s role and how it differed from previous styles, political influences on the narrative of the era, how French new wave has influenced later film styles in general and what the producer’s role was in the ultimate demise of new wave.
Some of the main differences attributed to French new wave were its innovative narration, which was “entirely freed from conventional Hollywood-style storytelling” (Lanzoni, 2004:196), its revolutionary camera techniques, and the directing style. The directors played a major part in the progression of this new era. One of the first filmmakers “to delineate from the new approach was Jean-Pierre Melville” (Lanzoni, 2004:201). Although his first film was released in 1947, eleven years before the official new wave era, he was the forerunner of independent cinema. The characteristics of his film, The silence of the Sea (1947) (Lanzoni, 2004:201), were un-known actors, small budget, limited crew and innovative narration. The official launch of the new wave movement was in June, 1958. The first ‘new wave’ film, of the official period was Claude Chabrol’s Feature, Le Beau Serge (1958) (Le Beau Serge). The film was “not a popular success” (Austin, 1996:14), however in 1959 three more new wave films came out that gave nouvelle vague a “commercial as well as an aesthetic impact”(Austin, 1996:14). They were released by three of the director’s who were to become some of the most prominent and influential directors of the era. Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol released Les 400 Coups (1959) (Les 400 Coups), A Bout Soufflé (1960) (A Bout Souffle) and Les Cousins (1959) (Les Cousins) respectively.
One of the interesting and defining points of new wave was the director’s role. For a starters, the majority of the French new wave directors were in their twenty’s and thirty’s. This was a shift from the post-war style of the film that preceded new wave where most of the director’s were middle aged and older. This was one of the reason’s that new wave was so revolutionary and innovative; new ideas, narratives, filming techniques, acting styles, and the shift from high budget, action packed films to low budget, aesthetic meaningful films all attributed to the shift. The director’s of the new wave also were the inaugural users of ‘auteur theory’ directing where, “the director is considered the primary creative force in a motion picture” (Auteur Theory). So effectively, rather than having a huge crew, producer, scriptwriter, etc. as had previously happened, the new wave director’s used their friends as actors, wrote the script, were the camera crew, sometimes acted in their films and used any means necessary to create an aesthetically meaningful film.
Contrary to a mainstream belief, French new wave was not the only form of cinema during the period of 1958-1962 and onwards. Rather, there were ‘three types of cinema that coexisted within the period of 1958-1968’ (Hayward, 1993:232). The “tripartisan consisted of an avant-garde, a new wave and mainstream commercial cinemas” (Hayward, 1993:232). However, during the four year period of 1958-1962, new wave dominated the cinemas because of large producer investment, and subsequently, explicit cinema coverage. The demise of the new wave era can be attributed largely to producers and the greediness of their investment. They believed that the “financial risk was far less” (Hayward, 1993:235) and thus they backed almost any new wave film that was released during the period. This attributed to a massive figure of 170 directors making their first feature films between 1959 and 1963 (Hayward, 1993:135). So because of this overkill, what had once been seen as a novel and intriguing form of cinema to the public, became something that was “rebarbative by 1962” (Hayward, 1993:135). This was due to a few contributing elements, however the major ones were overkill, repetitive narratives and an unpolished cinematic incompetence. As well as this, because the producers thought that new wave was such a hit, their investment subsequently made it seem bigger and more important than what it was.
When influence on later cinema styles are considered, new wave had a fairly major impact, especially on the immediate styles. According to the critics, this cinema had two deleterious effects on the immediate future of cinema in that first, it discouraged television film-makers from coming into films, and second, it prevented a ‘real’ underground cinema (Jeancolas, 1979:127-9). So, according to Hayward, on “the one hand they were saying that this cinema did too little, and on the other, that it did too much – all of which endows the new wave with too much importance (Hayward, 1993:236).
A main influence on the French new wave films were the French political changes that were occurring in the latter 1950’s and 1960’s. There was just as much upheaval and change occurring in the outside world as in film, most notably with the institution of a new presidential constitution and the French occupation of 143 years in Algeria coming to a horrific end with the death of close to a million French-Algerians. Subsequently, all of these political events were perfect for the auteurs of French new wave film to base aesthetic and meaningful narrations on. There were many parts of the Algerian war the auteurs created films about but some of the most significant were, the use of torture by the French army, the draft that involved more than two million young Frenchmen in Algeria, the condemning of death that occurred in French prisons and the actions of the OAS, or Secret Army Organisation (translated). Jean Luc Godard shot The Little Soldier (1960) in 1960 and expected it to be released in the autumn of 1960, “but French censors prohibited its release because of its numerous indirect allusions to the events in Algeria, especially the reference’s to torture” (Lanzoni, 199). It wasn’t screened until 1963. Another film that was shot during the French new wave era directly related to the Algerian war was The Battle of Algiers (1965), it was “prohibited for obvious political reasons” (Lanzoni, 2004:199) and wasn’t released until 1972, seven years after it was meant to be released and “ten years after the independence of Algeria” (Lanzoni, 2004:199).
This essay has analysed, researched and deconstructed the directors role in new wave, the political influences on the narratives of new wave and the control of it, the producers influence and role in the demise of new wave, the influences that new wave had on later cinematic styles, and the general characteristics of new wave as a cinematic movement.
Bibliography
Books
Austin, Guy (1996) Contemporary French Cinema; Manchester University Press, Manchester
Hayward, Susan (1993) French National Cinema; Routledge, London
Jeancolas, J (1979) Le Cinema des Français: La Ve République; Stock, Paris
Lanzoni, Remi Fournier (2004) French Cinema: from its Beginnings to the Present; Continuum International Publishing Group, New York
Internet Resources
Wikipedia, Le Beau Serge; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Beau_Serge
Wikipedia, Auteur Theory; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theory
The Internet Movie Database :
Les 400 Coups ; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053198/
A Bout Souffle ; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053472/
Les Cousins ; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052708/
Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, Auteur Theory Definition; http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
Some of the main differences attributed to French new wave were its innovative narration, which was “entirely freed from conventional Hollywood-style storytelling” (Lanzoni, 2004:196), its revolutionary camera techniques, and the directing style. The directors played a major part in the progression of this new era. One of the first filmmakers “to delineate from the new approach was Jean-Pierre Melville” (Lanzoni, 2004:201). Although his first film was released in 1947, eleven years before the official new wave era, he was the forerunner of independent cinema. The characteristics of his film, The silence of the Sea (1947) (Lanzoni, 2004:201), were un-known actors, small budget, limited crew and innovative narration. The official launch of the new wave movement was in June, 1958. The first ‘new wave’ film, of the official period was Claude Chabrol’s Feature, Le Beau Serge (1958) (Le Beau Serge). The film was “not a popular success” (Austin, 1996:14), however in 1959 three more new wave films came out that gave nouvelle vague a “commercial as well as an aesthetic impact”(Austin, 1996:14). They were released by three of the director’s who were to become some of the most prominent and influential directors of the era. Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol released Les 400 Coups (1959) (Les 400 Coups), A Bout Soufflé (1960) (A Bout Souffle) and Les Cousins (1959) (Les Cousins) respectively.
One of the interesting and defining points of new wave was the director’s role. For a starters, the majority of the French new wave directors were in their twenty’s and thirty’s. This was a shift from the post-war style of the film that preceded new wave where most of the director’s were middle aged and older. This was one of the reason’s that new wave was so revolutionary and innovative; new ideas, narratives, filming techniques, acting styles, and the shift from high budget, action packed films to low budget, aesthetic meaningful films all attributed to the shift. The director’s of the new wave also were the inaugural users of ‘auteur theory’ directing where, “the director is considered the primary creative force in a motion picture” (Auteur Theory). So effectively, rather than having a huge crew, producer, scriptwriter, etc. as had previously happened, the new wave director’s used their friends as actors, wrote the script, were the camera crew, sometimes acted in their films and used any means necessary to create an aesthetically meaningful film.
Contrary to a mainstream belief, French new wave was not the only form of cinema during the period of 1958-1962 and onwards. Rather, there were ‘three types of cinema that coexisted within the period of 1958-1968’ (Hayward, 1993:232). The “tripartisan consisted of an avant-garde, a new wave and mainstream commercial cinemas” (Hayward, 1993:232). However, during the four year period of 1958-1962, new wave dominated the cinemas because of large producer investment, and subsequently, explicit cinema coverage. The demise of the new wave era can be attributed largely to producers and the greediness of their investment. They believed that the “financial risk was far less” (Hayward, 1993:235) and thus they backed almost any new wave film that was released during the period. This attributed to a massive figure of 170 directors making their first feature films between 1959 and 1963 (Hayward, 1993:135). So because of this overkill, what had once been seen as a novel and intriguing form of cinema to the public, became something that was “rebarbative by 1962” (Hayward, 1993:135). This was due to a few contributing elements, however the major ones were overkill, repetitive narratives and an unpolished cinematic incompetence. As well as this, because the producers thought that new wave was such a hit, their investment subsequently made it seem bigger and more important than what it was.
When influence on later cinema styles are considered, new wave had a fairly major impact, especially on the immediate styles. According to the critics, this cinema had two deleterious effects on the immediate future of cinema in that first, it discouraged television film-makers from coming into films, and second, it prevented a ‘real’ underground cinema (Jeancolas, 1979:127-9). So, according to Hayward, on “the one hand they were saying that this cinema did too little, and on the other, that it did too much – all of which endows the new wave with too much importance (Hayward, 1993:236).
A main influence on the French new wave films were the French political changes that were occurring in the latter 1950’s and 1960’s. There was just as much upheaval and change occurring in the outside world as in film, most notably with the institution of a new presidential constitution and the French occupation of 143 years in Algeria coming to a horrific end with the death of close to a million French-Algerians. Subsequently, all of these political events were perfect for the auteurs of French new wave film to base aesthetic and meaningful narrations on. There were many parts of the Algerian war the auteurs created films about but some of the most significant were, the use of torture by the French army, the draft that involved more than two million young Frenchmen in Algeria, the condemning of death that occurred in French prisons and the actions of the OAS, or Secret Army Organisation (translated). Jean Luc Godard shot The Little Soldier (1960) in 1960 and expected it to be released in the autumn of 1960, “but French censors prohibited its release because of its numerous indirect allusions to the events in Algeria, especially the reference’s to torture” (Lanzoni, 199). It wasn’t screened until 1963. Another film that was shot during the French new wave era directly related to the Algerian war was The Battle of Algiers (1965), it was “prohibited for obvious political reasons” (Lanzoni, 2004:199) and wasn’t released until 1972, seven years after it was meant to be released and “ten years after the independence of Algeria” (Lanzoni, 2004:199).
This essay has analysed, researched and deconstructed the directors role in new wave, the political influences on the narratives of new wave and the control of it, the producers influence and role in the demise of new wave, the influences that new wave had on later cinematic styles, and the general characteristics of new wave as a cinematic movement.
Bibliography
Books
Austin, Guy (1996) Contemporary French Cinema; Manchester University Press, Manchester
Hayward, Susan (1993) French National Cinema; Routledge, London
Jeancolas, J (1979) Le Cinema des Français: La Ve République; Stock, Paris
Lanzoni, Remi Fournier (2004) French Cinema: from its Beginnings to the Present; Continuum International Publishing Group, New York
Internet Resources
Wikipedia, Le Beau Serge; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Le_Beau_Serge
Wikipedia, Auteur Theory; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Auteur_theory
The Internet Movie Database :
Les 400 Coups ; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053198/
A Bout Souffle ; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053472/
Les Cousins ; http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052708/
Merriam–Webster Online Dictionary, Auteur Theory Definition; http://www.m-w.com/cgi-bin/dictionary
