Robert Bresson: A Spiritual Style in FilmA&C Black, 2004 M04 19 - 199 pages Although Robert Bresson is widely regarded by movie critics and students of the cinema as one of the greatest directors of the twentieth century, his films are largely unknown and are rarely shown in the English-speaking world. Nonetheless, Susan Sontag has called Bresson "the master of the reflective mode in film."Martin Scorsese suggested that a young filmmaker should ask: "Is it as tough as Bresson?... Is [meaning] as ruthlessly pared down, as direct, as unflinching in its gaze at aspects of life I might feel more comfortable ignoring?" Questions that every reader of this book and every viewer of Bresson's films will also ask.Joseph Cunneen's book, now in paperback, introduces Bresson's movies to a broader audience, assesses thirteen of his most significant films in the context of detailed plot summaries, vivid descriptions of characters and settings, and perceptive, jargon-free insights into the director's execution, intention, and technique. Each of these films in its own way illustrates what Joseph Cunneen calls Bresson's "spiritual style." Though not necessarily focused on the explicitly religious, they illustrate two complementary principles: on the negative side, the rejection of what the director called "photographed theater" with its artificiality and dependence on celebrity performers. On the more positive side, as Bresson himself expressed it, the conviction that, "The supernatural is only the real rendered more precise; real things seen close up."> |
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS | 9 |
A Demanding Artist Who Respects His Audience | 11 |
Angels of Sin and The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne | 25 |
All Is GraceThe Diary of a Country Priest | 44 |
A Man Escaped | 58 |
Pickpocket | 71 |
The Trial of Joan of Arc | 84 |
Au hasard Balthasar | 97 |
Four Nights of a Dreamer | 135 |
Lancelot of the Lake | 145 |
The Devil Probably | 156 |
LArgent | 167 |
Images in a Certain Order | 178 |
FILMOGRAPHY | 190 |
BIBLIOGRAPHY | 196 |
BRESSON FILMS IN AMERICA 200 | |
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Common terms and phrases
actors Agnès Anne-Marie Anne-Marie's Arsène asks audience Bernanos Bois de Boulogne Bresson ou l'acte Bresson's films café Cahiers du cinéma camera Cauchon cell characters Charles Cinematheque Ontario cinematography Country Priest curé death Devil Probably Diary director donkey door Dostoevsky Escaped father film's Florence Delay Fontaine Fontaine's François Truffaut Gawain Gentle Woman Gérard girl goes Guinevere hand hasard Balthasar hear Hélène husband images insists Interview Jacques Jacques's James Quandt Jean Sémolué Jean-Luc Godard Jeanne Joan of Arc l'acte pur L'Argent L'Avant-scène cinéma Lancelot leaves look Louis Malle Madame D Marie Marie's Marthe Marthe's Métamorphoses Paris Michel Estève Mordred mother Mouchette Mouchette's movie novel Philippe Arnaud Pickpocket police prioress prison pur des Métamorphoses reminds René Prédal Robert Bresson Robert Bresson Paris says scene screen sense shot shows sounds spiritual story takes Télé-ciné tells Thérèse tion Torcy Trial of Joan voice wife young woman Yvon