French Cinema: From Its Beginnings to the Present

To a large extent, the story of French filmmaking is the story of moviemaking. From the earliest flickering images of the late nineteenth century through the silent era, Surrealist influence, the Nazi Occupation, the glories of the New Wave, and the present, Rémi Lanzoni examines a considerable number of the world's most beloved films.

In French Cinema, he focuses his lens on outstanding examples from each era to give the cineaste in each of us new insight into our own favorites. Directors such as Robert Bresson, Marcel Carné, Claude Chabrol, René Clair, Jean Cocteau, Abel Gance, Louis Malle, Jean Renoir, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Tati, and François Truffaut are covered in depth, as are stars such as Arletty, Brigitte Bardot, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Maurice Chevalier, Catherine Deneuve, Max Linder, Jean Marais, Yves Montand, Jeanne Moreau, and Simone Signoret.

French Cinema is enhanced by over 100 film stills as well as rare, archival photographs of the personalities who created and informed this superb national tradition.