Chris Marker
Early Film Writings
Published on 13. August 2024
Book
Paperback/Softback
248 pages
978-1-5179-1319-9 (ISBN)
Description
Formative writings by French avant-garde filmmaker Chris Marker
It is hard to imagine French cinema without La JetEe (1962), the time-travel short feature by the reclusive French filmmaker Christian FranCois Bouche-Villeneuve, better known as Chris Marker. He not only influenced artists ranging from David Bowie to J. G. Ballard but also inspired the cult film 12 Monkeys. Marker's influence expanded beyond his own films through his writings for the French monthly Esprit as well as anthologies and newly founded film publications.
This first English translation of Marker's early writings on film brings together reviews and essays, published between 1948 and 1955, that span the topics of film style, adaptation, and ideology, as well as animation and the debates surrounding 3-D and wide-screen technologies, ranging from late silent-era films to postwar Hollywood's efforts to contend with the rise of television. Readers will find commentary on Laurence Olivier's 1944 screen adaptation of Henry V, a scathing review of Robert Montgomery's Lady in the Lake (1947), critiques of Walt Disney productions, a discussion of the pitfalls of prioritizing commercial success over aesthetic values, and more.
An indispensable resource for cinephiles and scholars alike, these texts document the emergence of Marker's critical voice and situate him alongside such contemporaries as AndrE Bazin and Eric Rohmer, as well as the future French New Wave figures Jean-Luc Godard and FranCois Truffaut. They show how his remarks on individual films open onto his engagement with films as social and cultural phenomena.
It is hard to imagine French cinema without La JetEe (1962), the time-travel short feature by the reclusive French filmmaker Christian FranCois Bouche-Villeneuve, better known as Chris Marker. He not only influenced artists ranging from David Bowie to J. G. Ballard but also inspired the cult film 12 Monkeys. Marker's influence expanded beyond his own films through his writings for the French monthly Esprit as well as anthologies and newly founded film publications.
This first English translation of Marker's early writings on film brings together reviews and essays, published between 1948 and 1955, that span the topics of film style, adaptation, and ideology, as well as animation and the debates surrounding 3-D and wide-screen technologies, ranging from late silent-era films to postwar Hollywood's efforts to contend with the rise of television. Readers will find commentary on Laurence Olivier's 1944 screen adaptation of Henry V, a scathing review of Robert Montgomery's Lady in the Lake (1947), critiques of Walt Disney productions, a discussion of the pitfalls of prioritizing commercial success over aesthetic values, and more.
An indispensable resource for cinephiles and scholars alike, these texts document the emergence of Marker's critical voice and situate him alongside such contemporaries as AndrE Bazin and Eric Rohmer, as well as the future French New Wave figures Jean-Luc Godard and FranCois Truffaut. They show how his remarks on individual films open onto his engagement with films as social and cultural phenomena.
Reviews / Votes
"One of the pleasures of Chris Marker's films is the singular literary voice of his inimitable commentaries, in all its wit and quicksilver intelligence. That voice is present here, being honed through contact with others' images and before Marker moved from the page to the screen himself. This groundbreaking collection introduces aficionados old and new to work likely unknown to them and allows us all to discover another dimension of this prodigious artist: Marker the film critic."-Chris Darke, author of La JetEe (BFI Film Classics)"There is much to recommend in Early Film Writings."-Film Comment
"[The pieces] are engagingly presented and argued, and Marker has a keen eye, offering interesting observations."-The Complete Review
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Minnesota
United States
Target group
College/higher education
Illustrations
38 black and white illustrations
Dimensions
Height: 216 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 17 mm
Weight
349 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-5179-1319-9 (9781517913199)
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Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Chris Marker (1921-2012) was a French filmmaker and writer. Often associated with the directors AgnEs Varda and Alain Resnais, he experimented with filmmaking as early as 1947. Marker is best known for his films La JetEe, A Grin Without a Cat, and Sans Soleil.
Steven Ungar is professor emeritus of cinematic arts, French, and comparative literature at the University of Iowa. He is author of Critical Mass: Social Documentary in France from the Silent Era to the New Wave (Minnesota, 2018).
Sally Shafto is assistant professor of English at Framingham State University. She is editor and translator of Writings by Jean-Marie Straub and DaniEle Huillet.
Steven Ungar is professor emeritus of cinematic arts, French, and comparative literature at the University of Iowa. He is author of Critical Mass: Social Documentary in France from the Silent Era to the New Wave (Minnesota, 2018).
Sally Shafto is assistant professor of English at Framingham State University. She is editor and translator of Writings by Jean-Marie Straub and DaniEle Huillet.