The New Wave

by James Monaco

Three decades after its first publication, The New Wave is still considered one of the fundamental texts on the French film movement of the same name. Led by filmmakers as influential as Truffaut and Godard, the New Wave was a seminal moment in cinematic history, and The New Wave has been hailed as the most complete book ever written about it.The New Wave tells the story of the New Wave through examinations of five of the most important directors of the Truffaut, Godard, Chabrol, Rohmer, and Rivette. With detailed notes and over fifty breathtaking stills, the book has appealed both to academics and interested novices alike.The thirtieth anniversary edition includes a new afterword by the author.Praise for the first edition of The New “The most complete book I know on the five most important directors of the New Wave.”—Costa-Gavras“At last a book that intelligently and critically examines that remarkable phenomenon known as the New Wave. Not just a book for film buffs, it is essential reading for anyone interested in the interrelations between art, politics, and life in the second half of the twentieth century. A remarkable achievement.” —Richard Roud, Founder, New York Film Festival“There is a genuine kind of honesty at work in the a sense that the author wishes to describe the subject more clearly, help the reader, and not ‘explain’ (in the pompous sense of the word) or criticize for the sake of being superior. It’s refreshing.”—Ted Perry, Museum of Modern ArtAbout the Monaco is author or editor of more than a dozen books on film and media, published in more than 35 editions, including American Film Now, The New Wave, The Connoisseurs’ Guide to the Movies, The Film Encyclopedia, Media Culture, and Celebrity. He is president of UNET 2 Corporation, a developer of Internet software, and publisher of websites and DVD-Videos. He is also the founder of Baseline, the worldwide information source for the entertainment business. An experienced TV talk show guest and radio commentator, Monaco is also well-known as a pioneer of the electronic publishing industry.

Genres: Film, Nonfiction, Reference, History, France

Paperback

First published September 22, 1977

About the author

James Monaco is a writer and publisher based in Sag Harbor, NY. For more information please see JamesMonaco.com.

Reviews

[Alejandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love the new wave!

[Murat Başaran · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yeni Dalga'dan tek sevdiğim yönetmen Rohmer'e ve sinemasına dair leziz bilgiler sunan bir kitap. Çevirisini de Dokuz Eylül Sinema-TV Bölümünü uzun yıllar Oğuz Adanır ile dirsek direğe yönetmiş Ertan Yılmaz yapmış. Monaco ülkemizde akademisyenlerin öğrencilere sıklıkla tavsiye ettiği bir yazar. Ben okumaktan önce bolca film izlemelerini tekrar salık veriyorum.

[Greg D'Avis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good scholarly and comprehensive look at some of my favorites - the Godard analysis in particular is amazing. It’s given me a lot to watch and a lot to rewatch - I may even revisit “Made in USA” now.

[Andrei-dorian · Rating 4 out of 5]

“The New Wave” from James Monaco is a book about the group of film critics turned film makers at the start of the 60's. Monaco analysis the film work of Truffaut, Godard, Chabrol, Rhomer and Rivette starting with the “beginning”- their first coming together in the projection rooms of the “Cinemateque Francais”.

The fact that Monaco doesn't limit his analysis to the cinematographic vocabulary shows a deeper understanding of the meaning and importance of Nouvelle Vague for the french culture and the history of film. To understand this cinematographic current, one has to take in consideration a multitude of aspects from the technical developments of the era to the sociological and political environment of the middle 20's century in France. For example, the critical attitude towards classical Hollywood film making would not have been possible without the development of smaller cameras and faster film stock which allowed Goddard and co. to capture and share their vision.

The fact that most of these directors started as film critics for “Chahiers du Cinema” as well as their vast cinematographic culture adds an interesting dimension to their opera. The films realized by this group, most of them more or less explicitly critical towards the film history, received their credibility from the easiness with which these directors-critics handle with film genders or film vocabulary.
Specially fertile for understanding the filmography of this group is, in Monaco´s book, the usage of the literary interpretation model of Roland Barthes “who suggests a subtle ...critical theory that places emphasis not on the historical dimension of literature(language) nor on the personal dimension (the style) but...on the product of the two – what Barthes calls ecriture (a mode of writing)”. This is a very good tool for understanding how the famous “auteur theory” developed by Andre Bazin infuses from interior the filmography of the Nouvelle Vague.
As a conclusion:it is a highly informative book about an era and a generation of film directors that influenced in multiple ways what we call today cinema.

[Ian]

Recommended.

[Orin]

This will take a while. Many films required.