Robert Bresson; the director of such cinematic master-pieces as Pickpocket; A Man Escaped Mouchette; and Lrsquo;Argent; was one of the most influential directors in the history of French film; as well as one of the most stubbornly individual: He insisted on the use of nonprofessional actors; he shunned the ldquo;advancesrdquo; of Cinerama and Cinema-Scope (and the work of most of his predecessors and peers); and he minced no words about the damaging influence of capitalism and the studio system on the still-developingmdash;in his viewmdash;art of film. Bresson on Bresson collects the most significant interviews that Bresson gave (carefully editing them before they were released) over the course of his forty-year career to reveal both the internal consistency and the consistently exploratory character of his body of work. Successive chapters are dedicated to each of his fourteen films; as well as to the question of literary adaptation; the nature of the sound track; and to Bressonrsquo;s one book; the great aphoristic treatise Notes on the Cinematograph. Throughout; his close and careful consideration of his own films and of the art of film is punctuated by such telling mantras as ldquo;Sound...invented silence in cinema;rdquo; ldquo;Itrsquo;s the film that...gives life to the charactersmdash;not the characters that give life to the film;rdquo; and (echoing the Bible) ldquo;Every idle word shall be counted.rdquo; Bressonrsquo;s integrity and originality earned him the admiration of younger directors from Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette to Olivier Assayas. And though Bressonrsquo;s movies are marked everywhere by an air of intense deliberation; these interviews show that they were no less inspired by a near-religious belief in the value of intuition; not only that of the creator but that of the audience; which he claims to deeply respect: ldquo;Itrsquo;s always ready to feel before it understands. And thatrsquo;s how it should be.
#2654967 in eBooks 2016-02-12 2016-02-12File Name: B01BP9S7W2
Review
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Right on the MoneyBy Book WomanI bought this book as a gift for my husband; who grew up in "Viz Valley." He couldnt put it down! Part of a series that explores small-town America; this particular volume visits one of San Franciscos many self-contained districts; each one with its own unique identity. Chock-a-block with both historical narrative and lots of photos; a reader like my husband can trace how the area came into being and then; delightfully; take a stroll down memory lane. I sat with him as he looked at the pictures; and he had his own personal story to tell about many of them. Definitely a nostalgia gift; either for oneself or a significant other . . .1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. This book is great. bought back a lot of memoriesBy Rudy LoraThis book is great. bought back a lot of memories. Received it in good condition; and a timely manner. Thank you and writers of the book. I shall return.4 of 4 people found the following review helpful. Memories....By zaks27What a charming surprise! A glimpse back to my childhood; pictures of old friends; little memories made clear again. I (and my family) lived in the valley from 1956-1975. The picture of a classroom I used to be a student in; a photo of the barber who cut my dad and brothers hair; the St. James Presbyterian Church across from the elementary school where I attended Scout meetings; the history of the land. My parents where both natives of San Francisco (born in 1913 and 1916) and what fun to see in photos the land and buildings they used to tell us about. My dad spoke of going to the valley to visit the Schwerins (one of the early settling families); and I can still hear my mother telling us of the ride on the streetcar and the sound it made "clickety-clack; clickety-clack"! In the small section on churches mentioned in the area; I was sad to see All Saints Lutheran Church (located next to McLaren park on the end of Leland Ave.) not mentioned. It was built in the 1950s to rehouse a Swedish Lutheran congregation from the Cortland Ave. area. Lots of family history tied to that church with its neat steeple by the park...but unfortunately; I suppose not everything could be mentioned. A fun little book--a necessity for those nostalgic for the area.
