What do you think?
Rate this book
A History of the French New Wave Cinema
The French New Wave cinema is arguably the most fascinating of all film movements, famous for its exuberance, daring, and avant-garde techniques. A History of the French New Wave Cinema offers a fresh look at the social, economic, and aesthetic mechanisms that shaped French film in the 1950s, as well as detailed studies of the most important New Wave movies of the late 1950s and early 1960s.
Richard Neupert first tracks the precursors to New Wave cinema, showing how they provided blueprints for those who would follow. He then demonstrates that it was a core group of critics-turned-directors from the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma—especially François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Jean-Luc Godard—who really revealed that filmmaking was changing forever. Later, their cohorts Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Pierre Kast continued in their own unique ways to expand the range and depth of the New Wave.
In an exciting new chapter, Neupert explores the subgroup of French film practice known as the Left Bank Group, which included directors such as Alain Resnais and Agnès Varda. With the addition of this new material and an updated conclusion, Neupert presents a comprehensive review of the stunning variety of movies to come out of this important era in filmmaking.
Richard Neupert first tracks the precursors to New Wave cinema, showing how they provided blueprints for those who would follow. He then demonstrates that it was a core group of critics-turned-directors from the magazine Cahiers du Cinéma—especially François Truffaut, Claude Chabrol, and Jean-Luc Godard—who really revealed that filmmaking was changing forever. Later, their cohorts Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Pierre Kast continued in their own unique ways to expand the range and depth of the New Wave.
In an exciting new chapter, Neupert explores the subgroup of French film practice known as the Left Bank Group, which included directors such as Alain Resnais and Agnès Varda. With the addition of this new material and an updated conclusion, Neupert presents a comprehensive review of the stunning variety of movies to come out of this important era in filmmaking.
440 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2002
26 people are currently reading
485 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 2, 2009
Given my druthers, I would rather watch a film by Louie Malle, François Truffaut or Jean-Luc Godard than one by just about any of the current crop of directors. I avoid the films of Steven Spielberg, Ron Howard, and their ilk as if they were contagia. I find the tired formulaic style of most present-day cinematic offerings tedious beyond endurance. Even much of so-called indie cinema I find uninspired. The French New Wave seems fresh and original by comparison. My rule is this: show me something I haven't seen before. If the plot, setting and characters are obvious and predictable you have wasted my time.
A history of the French new wave cinema by Richard Neupert is a good resource for someone with a preference for the genre. The line separating New Wave from other mid-century French films depends on how you define the category. My loose definition begins with Louis Malle's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud and extends at least through the end of the sixties with the films of François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer, among others. Richard Neupert tightens the definition somewhat by marking the beginning with the release of films by Chabrol (Le beau Serge, Les cousins) and Truffaut (The 400 Blows) in 1959 and the ending in 1964. For me defining a film as New Wave is less important than the films themselves. Fortunately Neupert's main focus in this study is the directors and their films. And thank goodness for Netflix; most of these films, including shorts, are available on DVD. So in addition to providing an engaging cultural history of the cinema (there are many references to other European and American directors) Neupert introduces the reader to a large catalog of fascinating films, many of which the casual New Wave fan may be unaware. What is most surprising is that today, fifty years on, many of these directors are still making films. My Netflix queue may have doubled in length. So many films, so little time.
A history of the French new wave cinema by Richard Neupert is a good resource for someone with a preference for the genre. The line separating New Wave from other mid-century French films depends on how you define the category. My loose definition begins with Louis Malle's Ascenseur pour l'échafaud and extends at least through the end of the sixties with the films of François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and Eric Rohmer, among others. Richard Neupert tightens the definition somewhat by marking the beginning with the release of films by Chabrol (Le beau Serge, Les cousins) and Truffaut (The 400 Blows) in 1959 and the ending in 1964. For me defining a film as New Wave is less important than the films themselves. Fortunately Neupert's main focus in this study is the directors and their films. And thank goodness for Netflix; most of these films, including shorts, are available on DVD. So in addition to providing an engaging cultural history of the cinema (there are many references to other European and American directors) Neupert introduces the reader to a large catalog of fascinating films, many of which the casual New Wave fan may be unaware. What is most surprising is that today, fifty years on, many of these directors are still making films. My Netflix queue may have doubled in length. So many films, so little time.
October 29, 2014
An excellent, concise, and informative book for both cinéastes and for people looking for a primer on the French New Wave. Neupert does a great job contextualizing the French New Wave within post-war France and within technological advancements in film and photography. I particularly liked the section on journals like Cahiers du Cinema and their contributions to film theory and practice, and the sections on Agnès Varda and Louis Malle. Good for skimmers who want to get the bird's eye view on where the French New Wave is situated in the history of cinema and for divers who want to nerd out on Elevator to the Gallows, shot-by-shot.
January 25, 2021
Aproveitando a Mostra Truffaut que passava pelo MIS e a retrospectiva Godard que estava por terminar no CCBB, decidi focar naquele período na Nouvelle Vague, o movimento que revolucionou o cinema francês entre os anos de 1958-1964 e que teve Godard e Truffaut como seus maiores nomes. Para entender a fundo o movimento, li o livro 'A History of the French New Wave Cinema' que detalha o ambiente cultural e político da época, a insatisfação da juventude francesa com a geração anterior e o reflexo desse sentimento nas artes, especificamente no cinema. Partindo dos precursores do cinema novo (Astruc, Vadim, Melville, Malle), passando pelos renomados críticos do Cahiers du Cinema (Chabrol, Truffaut, Godard, Rivette, Rohmer, Doniol-Valcroze) até o chamado Left Bank Group (Varda e Resnais), o livro é uma referência completa pra qualquer um que tenha interesse no movimento. Recomendo!
January 10, 2020
This book is an ample survey of that era in film history in the late 1950s and early 1960s when a group of young upstarts challenged the staid French moviemaking industry and won international acclaim: Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, François Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, Jacques Rivette, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Pierre Kast. Additionally, the elder figures Alexandre Astruc, Jean-Pierre Melville, Roger Vadim, and Louis Malle are explored as forerunners of the New Wave.
The second edition adds a chapter on the “Left Bank group” of filmmakers working at the same time, namely Alain Resnais and Agnès Varda as the author wants to focus on those figures most closely tied to New Wave (so don’t expect much about e.g. Chris Marker).
Discussions of the French New Wave tent to focus on the directors’ aesthetic aspirations themselves and their vast knowledge of film. A strong point of Neupert’s book is that he gives the overall context for how films were made and funded in France, and also some of the innovations in film cameras during this era. Readers will better understand just how these young upstarts managed to get ahold of equipment and pay staff. He goes through each of these creators’ films during the New Wave era proper, before the movement fractured or evolved out of recognition in the mid 1960s, and describes the plots and filmmaking approaches and why they were so innovative.
I did notice a couple of chronological gaffes, i.e. Neupert that Rivette’s Paris nous appartient evokes the atmosphere of the Soviet invasion of the Prague (this should be Budapest, considering we’re talking about the late 1950s), and he mixes up the order in which Godard shot Le Mépris and Bande à part.
Still, I found this an enormously useful book. I had seen all of Godard and Truffaut’s films, but Neupert’s book was a convenient map on where to go next.
The second edition adds a chapter on the “Left Bank group” of filmmakers working at the same time, namely Alain Resnais and Agnès Varda as the author wants to focus on those figures most closely tied to New Wave (so don’t expect much about e.g. Chris Marker).
Discussions of the French New Wave tent to focus on the directors’ aesthetic aspirations themselves and their vast knowledge of film. A strong point of Neupert’s book is that he gives the overall context for how films were made and funded in France, and also some of the innovations in film cameras during this era. Readers will better understand just how these young upstarts managed to get ahold of equipment and pay staff. He goes through each of these creators’ films during the New Wave era proper, before the movement fractured or evolved out of recognition in the mid 1960s, and describes the plots and filmmaking approaches and why they were so innovative.
I did notice a couple of chronological gaffes, i.e. Neupert that Rivette’s Paris nous appartient evokes the atmosphere of the Soviet invasion of the Prague (this should be Budapest, considering we’re talking about the late 1950s), and he mixes up the order in which Godard shot Le Mépris and Bande à part.
Still, I found this an enormously useful book. I had seen all of Godard and Truffaut’s films, but Neupert’s book was a convenient map on where to go next.
December 20, 2025
It definitely is the entire history of the French New Wave and there’s nothing else out there that comprehensively summarizes the entire movement like this book does. Every essay I wrote basically only needed to reference this book so shoutout Richard Neupert for getting me that B+ (if this book was worthy of 5 stars maybe I’d have bumped that up to an A+…)
May 26, 2024
Staple for any Nouvelle Vague film lover
February 18, 2008
Fairly detailed history of the French New Wave movement, centered mainly on Chabrol, Godard, and Truffaut and usually on films up until about '62/'63. Very nice chapters on the proto-New Wave directors Louis Malle (Elevator to the Gallows) and Roger Vadim (And God Created Woman) especially as Vadim goes incredibly overlooked and an introduction as to how the film movement was related to similiar movements in French literature and culture in general in the decade after WWII. I was hoping for a bit more on Eric Rohmer and, especially, Jacques Rivette (as I never get to see any of his older stuff) though. We do get some shorter sections on the underrated Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Pierre Kast as part of the general history section as well.
****1/4 overall. More Rivette is the only major complaint.
****1/4 overall. More Rivette is the only major complaint.
October 9, 2016
focuses the social conditions for the inception of modernism. good on chabrol
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews