Bresson left us with a concise number of important films, as well as a rather simple and beautiful book of aphorisms ostensibly about the act of shooting a film, but perhaps about more than just that. Although the movement is likely a swiss eta valjoux 7750, the watch still reads fabrique en france, as the country of assembly. Robert bresson article about robert bresson by the free. Abcd ig on jaegerlecoultre master control date, master. Jeanluc godard, no slouch himself in the french directors department, once observed that, robert bresson is french cinema, as dostoevsky is the russian novel and mozart is the german music. Dubbed the eye of the century, cartierbresson is known. To many, rather snooty, film critics, there are really only two or three great directors, one of whom is certainly robert bresson. Kogonada, sometimes styled kogonada, is a south koreanborn american filmmaker known. Hands of bresson 2014 0617 2014 us documentary 4m user score. A visual essay on the tactile world of robert bresson created for the criterion collection.
He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment. He directed only films over the course of 40 years, but these films were in a category all their own, minimalist works that tended towards radical and sometimes controversial reinterpretations of such classical sources as diderot, dostoyevsky, and tolstoy. In his forty years of filmmaking, robert bresson would make only thirteen films, yet his impact on cinema as an art form leaves us with a masterful and unique demonstration of what the medium can do. Often described as a painter of films, french director robert bresson was one of cinemas greatest anomalies. Between genres and styles in the films of robert bresson. Known for his ascetic approach, bresson contributed notably to the art of cinema. Accent film entertainment is the first australian company to release the works of robert bresson on dvd. Even on acid, i was never one to enjoy snow white and the seven dwarfs. Robert bresson is french cinema, as dostoevsky is the russian novel and mozart is the german music. Robert bresson a work of archival criticism that forgoes the language of rigour for. Remembering henri cartierbresson henri cartierbresson, one of the great photographers of the 20th century, has died at the age of 95.
He helped develop the street photography or life reportage style that has influenced generations of photographers who followed. A man escaped is a beautifully rendered work of cinema, and it will appeal to everyone who wishes to do more than while away the time seeing a simple movie. A small, powerful book of significant thoughts on filmmaking. Join facebook to connect with david bresson and others you may know. Pickpocket 1959 was the first one i saw, at the old orson welles theater in cambridge, massachusetts, in my late teens. Some sources list 1907 as the year of birth one as 1909, but my research suggests that 1901 is correct. Hands of bresson edited by kogonada a meditative supercut illustrating how in the films of french new wave master robert bresson, every gesture has a meaning, no matter how small.
June 7 to june every now and again we at metrograph feel compelled to go back to bresson. The watches are proudly made in france which is becoming en vogue for watchmakers of the region. Indistinctly numbered in an unidentified hand in pencil in the margin, titled, dated and annotated in unidentified hands in. It had been a damn long time since id seen it, and maybe i expected to find out that the movie was more bressonian that i. Henri cartierbresson behind the gare saintlazare, paris, 1932. It also brings to mind july 2014, when hf may have read the summer issue of his favorite magazine, lettre international. May 14, 2012 henri cartierbresson august 22, 1908 august 3, 2004 was a french photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism. The image most associated with the french film director robert bresson, who has died aged 92, was that of an austere, pessimistic critic, a jansenist at odds with the. Robert bresson was master of understatement interviews. One immediately recognizes the handiwork of kogonada in this beautifully crafted video essay he created for the criterion collection. If there is a patron saint of french cinema, surely it must be robert bresson, considered, after renoir, the greatest of 20th century gallic filmmakers. With powerful individual vision, magnum photographers chronicle the world and interpret its peoples, events, issues and personalities. Robert bresson biography, movie highlights and photos. August 22, 1908 august 3, 2004 was a french humanist photographer considered a master of candid photography, and an early user of 35 mm film.
Robert bresson 101 the films of robert bresson are daunting, no doubt. Henri cartierbresson photographer of henri cartierbresson. Henri cartierbresson was a french photographer considered to be the father of modern photojournalism, an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography. Henri cartierbresson by daniel patrick satola on prezi. He pioneered the genre of street photography, and viewed photography as capturing a decisive moment cartierbresson was one of the founding members of magnum photos in. Hands of bresson the current the criterion collection. This new collection pays homage to its namesake photographer henri cartierbresson.
Because doing so clears out the cobwebs, reminds us of what is necessary and beautiful in films. All are dvds of exceptional quality and provide the opportunity. His standing as one of cinemas patron saints marks his work as genuinely intimidating. Magnum photos is a photographic cooperative of great diversity and distinction owned by its photographer members. I love bresson, the music is perfect too, very fitting schuberts piano sonata. The hands of bresson sundry observations on the art of. Having seen the paltry american disc which is overpriced and intermitently available, i greatly anticipated this release from artificial eye, and i am quite pleased. Ihave an unusually easy way of remembering when i first became fascinated by robert bresson s films. Bresson definition at, a free online dictionary with pronunciation, synonyms and translation. Took many candid shots and street photography most of his photographs were not. A forged 500franc note is cynically passed from person to person and shop to shop, until it falls into the hands of a genuine innocent who doesnt see it for what it is which will have devastating consequences on his life, causing him to turn to crime and murder. A reconstruction of the trial of joan of arc based entirely on the transcripts of the reallife trial, concerning joans imprisonment, interrogation and final execution at the hands of the english, filmed in a spare, lowkey fashion.
Because while reputations ebb and flow, his films remain imperturbable, beholden to nothing save their creators unshakable. Though he only made films in a fifty year career, bressons influence. He helped develop the street photography or real life reportage style that has influenced generations of photographers that followed. He was an early adopter of 35 mm format, and the master of candid photography. Bressons films tend to be austere, unadorned, and concerned more with. A work of archival criticism that forgoes the language of rigour for that of rapture. But bresson is the most difficult and least approachable of film masters, his films are full of pessimism, austerity, remoteness. By capturing elements from the lens of a camera, weve molded the bresson with embossed minute markers and a stitchless leather band to develop a timeless look.
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