http://www.lemonde.fr/carnet/article...0329_3382.html

I'll post an English link when I find one.


French New Wave film pioneer Eric Rohmer dies
PARIS
Mon Jan 11, 2010 1:07pm EST
REUTERS/STR New

PARIS (Reuters) - Eric Rohmer, a pioneer of the French "New Wave" which transformed cinema in the 1960s, has died, his production house said on Monday. He was 89.

In a movie career spanning half a century, Rohmer made about 50 films, first gaining international acclaim for "Ma nuit chez Maud" ("My Night at Maud's") which was nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay in 1969.

"Le genou de Claire" ("Claire's Knee") won top honors at the San Sebastian film festival in 1970 and "L'amour l'apres-midi" ("Love in the Afternoon") two years later secured Rohmer's position as a master of the intense portrayal of the cerebral and the sensual.

Rohmer was born Jean-Marie Maurice Scherer in Nancy, eastern France, in April, 1920. After a brief spell as a teacher, he turned to writing about movies, founding La Gazette du Cinema with future "New Wave" directors Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut and Jacques Rivette in 1950.

He later became editor of Cahiers du Cinema, the high-brow bible of the French "New Wave" movement, which sought to break away from the constraints of classical cinema to create a more edgy, improvised style.

Rohmer made his first feature film, "Le signe du lion" ("The Sign of Leo"), in 1959. His last movie as director, "Les amours d'Astree et de Celadon" ("The Romance of Astree and Celadon"), came out in 2007.

He had a great career. Sorry to see him go, but atleast he left us with a great legacy.

Very sad but he did live a nice long life. A great director, my favorite film being Summer.

I was never a big fan since "cinéma vérité" mostly made me cringe, but he was indeed an important and influential director with a unique style.

Damn that's sad, eventhough I don't think I've ever seen one of his films.

Didn't think there were any fans here except 2 people, I've posted about his films countless times and never received any responses.

One of my all-time favorites, his films are endlessly re-watchable with Claire's Knee being my favorite.

Who's that hot long haired girl in Claire's Knee?

Altman, Bergman, Antonioni, and now Rohmer. That's a pretty impressive list of world class directors lost in the last few years. Sadly we'll probably see more in the next few years as many are getting up there in age - especially from the French New Wave bunch.

Great director, great films.

Cinema verite is/was a movement in documentary filmmaking. Are you joking?

Harry Moseby will be pleased.

Not to mention great critic.

No. Rohmer's realist esthetics were heavily influenced by the "cinéma vérité" of anthropological filmmaker Jean Rouch. And "cinéma vérité" has been constantly used in articles referring to Rohmer's work, including in Les Cahiers du Cinéma, for decades.

I've never seen one of his movies. Does that make me a bad person?

What exactly about cinema verite makes you cringe? Rohmer might use some of that documentary style in his work, but his dialogue is usually far from realistic, it's very stylized. His films are very interesting to me because of the philosophical musings, and the always interesting character choices. Plus I do have a soft spot for people doing mundane things as well.

RIP. Will be watching one of his films today. I guess Rohmer is not one the easier directors to get into....

You should check out these 2 box sets to round out your collection, both heavily discounted at the links provided. The transfers are not up to the Criterions, but certainly viewable.

Tale of the Four Seasons
The Eric Rohmer Collection

This is sad to hear, but at least he made it to 89 years of age and continued work to the end. I love his moral tales series. Criterion did an amazing box set out of it (now we need the four seasons films).

I was lucky enough to catch a few of his later pieces in the theaters on 35 mm. I've seen bunches of his movies. They have often been criticized for their talky quality, but there was so much action in those words (Night at Maude's is an amazing example). But my personal favorite is "The Green Ray," whose title was horribly translated to 'Summer' in English.

Why does Wikipedia say he died under mysterious circumstances?

Anyone have any info about that?

I appreciate "philosophical musings" in small doses. For example, the scene in "Maude" where the uptight catholic, the marxist cynic and the woman free-thinker discuss Pascal is brilliant. I guess I appreciate Rhomer more for individual scenes than entire films. Stuff like "Quatre Aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle" however, granted not his best work, I find unbearable.

RIP. I've seen a couple, but not really my bag.

Sad to lose another one of the greats.

I just want to celebrate myself for a moment because I get your joke. Well done.

"I saw a Rohmer film once, it was like watching paint dry".

Very sad. I completely love My Night at Maud's and that Criterion set is a must have.