Overview

Between 1959 and 1984, French film director Francois Truffaut was interviewed over three hundred times. Each interview offers critical insight into the genesis of Truffaut's films as he shares the sources of his inspiration, the choice of his themes, and the development of his screenplays. In addition, Truffaut discusses his relationships with collaborators, actors, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting of each film. These texts, originally assembled by Anne Gillain and published in French in 1988, are presented here in a montage arranged chronologically by film. This compilation includes an impressive array of reflections on cinema as an art form. Truffaut defines the aims and practices of the French New Wave, comparing their efforts to the films made by their predecessors and including comments that encompass the entire history of cinema. Truffaut on Cinema provides commentary on contemporary events, a wealth of biographical information, and Truffaut's own artistic itinerary.

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9780253025753

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Reviews

""Ably edited by Gillain and translated by Alistair Fox, the volume gathers nearly all of Truffaut's writings on his own films, from his breakthrough with The 400 Blows in 1959 to his final film, Confidentially Yours (1983). The writings reveal a Truffaut who was as incisive and direct in assessing his own work as he was in assessing the work of other directors."" -W.W. Dixon, University of Nebraska—Lincoln * CHOICE *

No filmmaker cared more and wrote better about his work than Francois Truffaut.Each of his films provoked interviews that open uppast models, current trends, technological challenges, struggles with actors, the politics of criticism, and the quest for sublimity. Anne Gillain's inspiring introduction readies us for a vibrant, single-minded man, surprisingly timid, yet prepared to expose his values and the difficulties achieving them. Truffaut's films are even more beautiful seen in light of his reflections on them. -Dudley Andrew, author of What Cinema Is!

Ably edited by Gillain and translated by Alistair Fox, the volume gathers nearly all of Truffaut's writings on his own films, from his breakthrough with The 400 Blows in 1959 to his final film, Confidentially Yours (1983). The writings reveal a Truffaut who was as incisive and direct in assessing his own work as he was in assessing the work of other directors. -W.W. Dixon, University of Nebraska-Lincoln * CHOICE *

Author Information

Anne Gillain is Professor Emerita at Wellesley College. She is author of François Truffaut: The Lost Secret and is editor (with Dudley Andrew) of A Companion to François Truffaut. Alistair Fox is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Otago. He is author of Speaking Pictures: Neuropsychoanalysis and Authorship in Film and Literature, and Jane Campion: Authorship and Personal Cinema, and is translator of François Truffaut: The Lost Secret.

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