Chris Marker : Early Film Writings

Formative writings by French avant-garde filmmaker Chris Marker It is hard to imagine French cinema without La Jet? (1962), the time-travel short feature by the reclusive French filmmaker Christian Fran?is Bouche-Villeneuve, better known as Chris Marker. He not only influenced artists ranging from David Bowie to J. G. Ballard but also inspired the cult film 12 Monkeys. Marker's influence expanded beyond his own films through his writings for the French monthly Esprit as well as anthologies and newly founded film publications. This first English translation of Marker's early writings on film brings together reviews and essays, published between 1948 and 1955, that span the topics of film style, adaptation, and ideology, as well as animation and the debates surrounding 3-D and wide-screen technologies, ranging from late silent-era films to postwar Hollywood's efforts to contend with the rise of television. Readers will find commentary on Laurence Olivier's 1944 screen adaptation of Henry V, a scathing review of Robert Montgomery's Lady in the Lake (1947), critiques of Walt Disney productions, a discussion of the pitfalls of prioritizing commercial success over aesthetic values, and more. An indispensable resource for cinephiles and scholars alike, these texts document the emergence of Marker's critical voice and situate him alongside such contemporaries as Andr?Bazin and Eric Rohmer, as well as the future French New Wave figures Jean-Luc Godard and Fran?is Truffaut. They show how his remarks on individual films open onto his engagement with films as social and cultural phenomena.

Author: CHRIS. MARKER

Publisher: University of Minnesota Press

Publication Date: Aug 13, 2024

Number of Pages: NA pages

Language: English

Binding: Paperback

ISBN-10: 1517913195

ISBN-13: 9781517913199