Casque d’or. 1952. France. Directed by Jacques Becker
These notes accompany screenings of Jacques Becker’s Casque d’or on February 6, 7, and 8 in Theater 3.
Jacques Becker (1906–1960), for those of you into kismet or astrology, was born on Jean Renoir’s 12th birthday Read more
French Cancan. 1955. France. Directed by Jean Renoir
These notes accompany screenings of Jean Renoir’s French Cancan on October 31 and November 1 and 2 in Theater 3.
As regular followers of this series know, I can’t get enough of Jean Renoir. I feel a stronger emotional kinship with him than with any other filmmaker, except possibly Charles Chaplin or John Ford. Read more
The Golden Coach. 1953. France/Italy. Directed by Jean Renoir
These notes accompany screenings of Jean Renoir’s The Golden Coach on August 15, 16, and 17 in Theater 3.
Critic J. Hoberman was on to something when he linked Jean Renoir’s The Golden Coach with Vincente Minnelli’s The Band Wagon Read more
These notes accompany the screenings of Jean Renoir’s The River on April 11, 12, and 13 in Theater 3.
The River is the eighth Jean Renoir film I have shown in this series—more than any other director. Read more
The Southerner. 1945. USA. Directed by Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir (1894–1979) made six films during his American exile—all of them worthy projects—but the consensus is that The Southerner is the best. Read more
The Rules of the Game. 1939. France. Directed by Jean Renoir
These notes accompany the screenings of Jean Renoir’s The Rules of the Game on March 30, 31, and April 1 in Theater 2.
Saying something new and interesting about La Regle du ju (The Rules of the Game) by Jean Renoir (1894–1979) is more than a challenge. Perhaps no film (with the possible exception of Citizen Kane) has been so universally acclaimed by critics of all stripes and persuasions. Read more
These notes accompany the screening of Jean Renoir’s La Marseillaise on January 19 and 20 in Theater 3, and January 21 in Theater 2.
We were scheduled to screen La Grande Illusion this week. Instead, we have substituted the film Jean Renoir (1894–1979) made next, La Marseillaise. Although unintended, this change may have a beneficial effect in that we are able to include a far less familiar movie, one that reveals some interesting things about the director, his aspirations, and his limitations. Read more
Boudu Saved from Drowning. 1932. France. Directed by Jean Renoir
These notes accompany the Jean Renoir Birthday Celebration screenings on September 14, 15, and 16 in Theater 3.
Jean Renoir (1894–1979) would have been 116 years old tomorrow (September 15). One is hard pressed to name a twentieth-century artist in any medium whose work reflects a richer diversity of feelings and ideas. Renoir’s broad and serious concern with the social state of mankind is combined with a warmly romantic sense of humor, and the whole is given expression through an almost effortless command of the complex tools of his métier. He was a self-proclaimed realist, an improviser, and the infinitely loving apostle of egalitarian humanism. Read more
Entr’acte. 1924. France. Directed by René Clair
These notes accompany the French Avant-Garde of the 1920s program, screening April 14, 15, and 16 in Theater 3.
Charles Sheeler comes to mind as one of the few American artists who dabbled in film in the 1920s. Whereas in Germany the mainstream Expressionist cinema was itself avant-garde, and in Italy the society became surreal following Mussolini’s rise to power in 1922, France presented a unique instance of a free interplay of filmmakers with other visual artists. This program is an attempt to capture some of this interaction and to suggest how it might have benefited French culture. It also suggests that a society where the movies were totally dominated neither by commerce nor by the state provided an appealing model. It was certainly beneficial to Iris Barry, the founder of The Museum of Modern Art Film Library, to be able to cite names like Man Ray, Duchamp, Léger, and Dalí in establishing the high aspirations and legitimacy of film when appealing for funds from patrons who might look askance at Douglas Fairbanks, Charles Chaplin, or Walt Disney. (It was left for us future generations to make cogent arguments for Otto Preminger, Clint Eastwood, and John Waters.) Read more
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