Cahiers du Cinéma
Related: André Bazin - French cinema - film criticism - film theory - French New Wave
It has been said that Cahiers du cinéma is the most influential French film magazine. While I do not wish to contradict this, Jahsonic readers may find the equally French film magazine Midi- Minuit Fantastique more entertaining. [Jul 2006]
Cahiers du Cinéma, cover of issue 130
Profile
Cahiers du cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Lo Duca. It was a development from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma and the members of two Paris film clubs - Objectif 49 (Bresson, Cocteau and Alexandre Astruc, etc.) and Ciné-Club du Quartier Latin. Initially edited by Eric Rohmer (Maurice Scherer) it included amongst its writers Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Claude Chabrol and François Truffaut.
The critical writing of Cahiers re-invented the basic tenets of film criticism (auteurs, mise-en-scène, la critique des beautés etc.) and film scholarship - establishing the 'value' of the Hollywood films of Alfred Hitchcock and Howard Hawks then directors including Robert Aldrich, Nicholas Ray, Fritz Lang, and Anthony Mann, as well as Jean Renoir, Roberto Rossellini, Kenji Mizoguchi, Max Ophuls, and Jean Cocteau. While also attacking the existing French directors (La qualité francaise - novelization, over-elaboration etc.). The magazine also created the Nouvelle Vague or New Wave of French cinema, which was largely directed by ex-writers of the magazine.
After being reactionary and isolated in the 1950s the replacement of Rohmer by Jacques Rivette in 1963 meant that the magazine staff were more sensitive to political and social trends as well as responding more to non-Hollywood films. The style moved through literary modernism in the early 1960s to radicalism and "dialectical materialism" by 1970 and through the mid-70s the magazine was run by a Maoist collective. A return to more commercial perspectives in the late 1970s, marked by a review of Jaws, and a more organised turnover of editors (Serge Daney, Serge Toubiana, Thierry Jousse, Antoine de Baecque, and Charles Tesson) meant the rehabilitation of some of the old Cahiers favourites as well as some new names (like de Oliveira, Raúl Ruíz, Hsiao-hsien, Chahine, and Pialat). More recent writers have included Serge Daney, Serge Toubiana, Thierry Jousse, Antoine de Baecque, Charles Tesson and Franck Nouchi, Andre Techine, Leos Carax, Olivier Assayas, Danièle Dubroux, and Serge Le Peron.
In 1998, the Editions de l'Etoile (the company publishing Cahiers) was acquired by the press group Le Monde. --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cahiers_du_Cinema [Oct 2004]
See also: 1951 - critic - theorist - André Bazin - cinema - Jacques Rivette - François Truffaut - Jean Luc Godard - Claude Chabrol - Henri Langlois's - Renoir - Cocteau - Tati - Bresson
Film critics vs film reviewers
Film critics should be distinguished from film reviewers. Most people who call themselves film critics and publish commentary on films in periodicals are actually film reviewers. A film criticism is actually more closely aligned with philosophy than it is commentary. The film critic tries to come to understand why film works, how it works, and what effects it has on people. --http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Film_criticism, Sept 2003, see also Film TheoryFilm Culture Magazine [...]
In 1954, Jonas Mekas published the first issue of Film Culture, America's iconoclastic answer to Cahiers du Cinéma.Top Ten Lists 1951-1997
(Most of the following lists were compiled by Steve Erickson: "Lists from the '50s and '60s are taken from the anthologies edited by Jim Hillier. The rest of the lists are taken from the magazine itself. Between 1969 and 1981, it didn't publish Top 10 lists. When available, I've used American titles for the films.")
1951 1. The River (Jean Renoir)
2. Diary Of A Country Priest (Robert Bresson)
3. Miracle In Milan (Vittorio DeSica)
4. Los Olvidados (Luis Bunuel)
5. All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
6. Miss Julie (Alf Sjoberg)
7. Cronica Di Un Amore (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
8. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder)
9. Edouard et Caroline (Jacques Becker)
10. Francesco Giullare Di Dio (Roberto Rossellini)
1955 1. Voyage To Italy (Roberto Rossellini)
2. Ordet (Carl Dreyer)
3. The Big Knife (Robert Aldrich)
4. Lola Montes (Max Ophuls)
5. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock)
6. Les Mauvais Recontres (Alexandre Astruc)
7. La Strada (Federico Fellini)
8. The Barefoot Contessa (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
9. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray)
10. Kiss Me Deadly (Robert Aldrich)
1956 1. A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson)
2. Elena And Her Men (Jean Renoir)
3. Rebel Without A Cause (Nicholas Ray)
4. Confidential Report (Orson Welles)
5. Senso (Luchino Visconti)
6. Smiles Of A Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman)
7. Il Bidone (Federico Fellini)
8. L'Amore (Roberto Rossellini)
9. Picnic (Joshua Logan)
10. La Paura (Roberto Rossellini)
1957 1. A King In New York (Charlie Chaplin)
2. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin)
3. Nights Of Cabiria (Federico Fellini)
4. The Wrong Man (Alfred Hitchcock)
5. The Criminal Life Of Archibaldo De La Cruz (Luis Bunuel)
6. Sawdust And Tinsel (Ingmar Bergman)
7. Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray)
8. The Girl Can't Help It (Frank Tashlin)
9. Beyond A Reasonable Doubt (Fritz Lang)
10. Twelve Angry Men (Sidney Lumet)
1958 1. Touch Of Evil (Orson Welles)
2. The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman)
3. White Nights (Luchino Visconti)
4. Il Grido (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
5. Bonjour Tristesse (Otto Preminger)
6. Journey Into Autumn (Ingmar Bergman)
7. Une Vie (Alexandre Astruc)
8. Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati)
9. The Quiet American (Joseph L. Mankiewicz)
10. Summer Interlude (Ingmar Bergman)
1959 1. Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi)
2. Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais)
3. Ivan The Terrible (Sergei Eisenstein)
4. Pickpocket (Robert Bresson)
5. The 400 Blows (Francois Truffaut)
6. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks)
7. Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman)
8. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock)
9. Princess Yang Kwei Fei (Kenji Mizoguchi)
10. The Tiger Of Eschnapur (Fritz Lang)
1960 1. Sansho The Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi)
2. L'avventura (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
3. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard)
4. Shoot The Piano Player (Francois Truffaut)
5. Poem Of The Sea (Alexander Dovzhenko/Julia Solntesva)
6a. Les Bonnes Femmes (Claude Chabrol)
6b. Nazarin (Luis Bunuel)
8. Moonfleet (Fritz Lang)
9. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock)
10. Le Trou (Jacques Becker)
1961 1. Lola (Jacques Demy)
2. A Woman Is A Woman (Jean-Luc Godard)
3. Paris Belongs To Us (Jacques Rivette)
4. Rocco And His Brothers (Luchino Visconti)
5. Shin Heike Monogotari (Kenji Mizoguchi)
6. At Great Cost (Mark Donskoi)
7. La Notte (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
8. Last Year At Marienbad (Alain Resnais)
9. Elmer Gantry (Richard Brooks)
10. Two Rode Together (John Ford)
1962 1. My Life To Live (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Jules and Jim (Francois Truffaut)
3. Hatari! (Howard Hawks)
4. Viridiana (Luis Bunuel)
5. Le Signe Du Lion (Eric Rohmer)
6. Wild River (Elia Kazan)
7. The Trial (Orson Welles)
8. Through A Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman)
9. The Elusive Corporal (Jean Renoir)
10. Vanina Vanini (Roberto Rossellini)
1963 1. Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock)
3. The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel)
4. Adieu Philippine (Jacques Rozier)
5. The Trial Of Joan Of Arc (Robert Bresson)
6. Muriel (Alain Resnais)
7. The Nutty Professor (Jerry Lewis)
8. Les Carabiniers (Jean-Luc Godard)
9. Salvatore Giuliano (Francesco Rosi)
10. 8 1/2 (Federico Fellini)
1964 1. Band Of Outsiders (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Getrud (Carl Dreyer)
3. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock)
4. A Married Woman (Jean-Luc Godard)
5. Man's Favorite Sport? (Howard Hawks)
6. Red Desert (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
7. America, America (Elia Kazan)
8. The Silence (Ingmar Bergman)
9. Now About These Women (Ingmar Bergman)
10. The Servant (Joseph Losey)
1965 1. Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Sandra (Luchino Visconti)
3. Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman)
4. Paris Vu Par... (Jean Rouch episode)
5. Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard)
6. Lilith (Robert Rossen)
7. Shock Corridor (Sam Fuller)
8. The Family Jewels (Jerry Lewis)
9. The Gospel According To St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini)
10. Le Bonheur (Agnes Varda)
1966 1. Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson)
2. Walkover (Jerzy Skolimowski)
3. Not Reconciled (Jean-Marie Straub)
4. Masculin Feminin (Jean-Luc Godard)
5. The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (Andre Delvaux)
6. Seven Women (John Ford)
7. The Rise To Power Of Louis XIV (Roberto Rossellini)
8. Torn Curtain (Alfred Hitchcock)
9. Red Line 7000 (Howard Hawks)
10. Fist In The Pocket (Marco Bellochio)
1967 1. Persona (Ingmar Bergman)
2. Belle De Jour (Luis Bunuel)
3. Weekend (Jean-Luc Godard)
4. La Chasse Au Lion D'Arc (Jean Rouch)
5. Playtime (Jacques Tati)
6. The Big Mouth (Jerry Lewis)
7a. Daisies (Vera Chytilova)
7b. The Nun (Jacques Rivette)
9. 2 Or 3 Things I Know About Her (Jean-Luc Godard)
10. Le Chinoise (Jean-Luc Godard)
1968 1. Chronicle Of Anna-Magdalena Bach (Jean-Marie Straub)
2. Before The Revolution (Bernardo Bertolucci)
3. The Edge (Robert Kramer)
4. Toby Damnit (Federico Fellini)
5. Don't Let It Kill You (Jean-Pierre Lefebvre)
6. Le Regne De Jour (Pierre Perrault)
7. Barrier (Jerzy Skolimowski)
8. Stolen Kisses (Francois Truffaut)
9. Ride In The Whirlwind (Monte Hellman)
10a. The Bride Wore Black (Francois Truffaut)
10b. Les Contrebandiers (Luc Moullet)
1969-1980
No lists.
1981 1a. Francisca (Manoel De Oliveira)
1b. The Aviator's Wife (Eric Rohmer)
3a. Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (Bernardo Bertolucci)
3b. Hotel Des Ameriques (Andre Techine)
5a. Germany, Pale Mother (Helke Sanders)
5b. The Woman Next Door (Francois Truffaut)
7. Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky)
8a. The Music Room (Satyajit Ray)
8b. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese)
10a. Palermo (Werner Schroeter)
10b. Girum Imus Nocte et Consuminur Igni (Guy Debord)
10c. Gloria (John Cassavetes)
10d. Les Ailes de la Colombe (Benoit Jacquot)
1982 1. A Room In Town (Jacques Demy)
2a. Moonlighting (Jerzy Skolimowski)
2b. Passion (Jean-Luc Godard)
4. White Dog (Sam Fuller)
5a. Identification of a Woman (Michaelangelo Antonioni)
5b. North Bridge (Jacques Rivette)
5c. The Color of Pomegranates (Sergei Paradjanov)
8a. Parsifal (Hans-Jurgen Syberberg)
8b. Three Crowns of the Sailor (Raoul Ruiz)
10. Le Beau Mariage (Eric Rohmer)
1983 1a. L'Argent (Robert Bresson)
1b. A Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat)
3a. Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence (Nagisa Oshima)
3b. Un Jeu Brutal (Jean-Claude Brisseau)
5a. Pauline At The Beach (Eric Rohmer)
5b. The King Of Comedy (Martin Scorsese)
7a. Three Crowns Of The Sailor (Raoul Ruiz) (again)
7b. Faux-Fuyants (Alain Bergala/Jean-Pierre Limosin)
7c. L'Enfant Secret (Philippe Garrel)
10a. Fanny And Alexander (Ingmar Bergman)
10b. Cracking Up (Jerry Lewis)
1984 1. Full Moon In Paris (Eric Rohmer)
2. Class Relations (Jean-Marie Straub/Daneille Huillet)
3a. Liberte La Nuit (Philippe Garrel)
3b. First Name: Carmen (Jean-Luc Godard)
3c. Biquefarre (Georges Rouquier)
6. Rumble Fish (Francis Ford Coppola)
7a. And The Ship Sails On (Federico Fellini)
7b. The Right Stuff (Phillip Kaufman)
7c. Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders)
10. Once Upon A Time In America (Sergio Leone)
1985 1. Hail Mary (Jean-Luc Godard)
2. Detective (Jean-Luc Godard)
3. Year Of The Dragon (Michael Cimino)
4. After The Rehearsal (Ingmar Bergman)
5. Love Streams (John Cassavetes)
6. The Home And The World (Satyajit Ray)
7. Les Amants Terribles (Daniele Dubroux)
8. Les Enfants (Marguerite Duras)
9. Ran (Akira Kurosawa)
10a. Rendezvous (Andre Techine)
10b. Favorites Of The Moon (Otar Iasselani)
1986 1. The Green Ray (Eric Rohmer)
2a. Legend Of Suram Fortreess (Sergei Paradjanov)
2b. The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky)
4. Double Messieurs (Jean-Francois Stevenin)
5a. Bad Blood (Leos Carax)
5b. Maine-Ocean (Jacques Rozier)
7. Therese (Alain Cavalier)
8. Scene Of The Crime (Andre Techine)
9a. Disorder (Olivier Assayas)
9b. Garden De La Nuit (Jean-Pierre Limosin)
9c. L'Ame-Soeur (Fredi Murer)
9d. After Hours (Martin Scorsese)
9e. Rise And Fall Of A Small Cinema Company (Jean-Luc Godard)
1987 1. Under The Sun Of Satan (Maurice Pialat)
2a. Wings Of Desire (Wim Wenders)
2b. Intervista (Federico Fellini)
2c. The Death Of Empedocles (Jean-Marie Straub/Daniele Huillet)
5. The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci)
6a. Yeelen (Souleymane Cisse)
6b. Four Adventures Of Reinette And Mirabelle (Eric Rohmer)
6c. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick)
9. The Mass Is Over (Nanni Moretti)
10a. Wedding In Galilee (Michel Khleifi)
10b. Un Adieu Portugais (Joao Botelho)
10c. The Color Of Money (Martin Scorsese)
10d. Blue Velvet (David Lynch)
10e. King Lear (Jean-Luc Godard)
1988 1. A Short Film About Killing (Krzysztof Kieslowski)
2. The Unbearable Lightness Of Being (Phillip Kaufman)
3. The Dead (John Huston)
4. Urgences (Raymond Depardon)
5. Bird (Clint Eastwood)
6. Landscape In The Mist (Theo Angelopolous)
7. De Bruit Et De Fureur (Jean-Claude Brisseau)
8. The Last Temptation Of Christ (Martin Scorsese)
9. Les Innocents (Andre Techine)
10. The Story Of Women (Claude Chabrol)
1989 1a. Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee)
1b. Palombella Rossa (Nanni Moretti)
3a. Gang Of Four (Jacques Rivette)
3b. Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg)
5a. Les Cannibales (Manoel De Oliveira)
5b. Yaaba (Idrissa Ouedraogo)
7a. Black Rain (Shohei Imamura)
7b. Peaux De Vaches (Patricia Mazuy)
7c. Little Vera (Vassili Pitchoul)
10a. I Want To Go Home (Alain Resnais)
10b. Time Of The Gypsies (Emir Kusturica)
10c. The Accidental Tourist (Lawrence Kasdan)
1990 1a. The Little Criminal (Jacques Doillon)
1b. Freeze, Die, Come To Life (Vitali Kanevski)
3a. Nouvelle Vauge (Jean-Luc Godard)
3b. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese)
5a. Alexanndria Encore Et Tojours (Youssef Chahine)
5b. No, Or The Vain Glory Of Command (Manoel De Oliveira)
5c. Hidden Star (Ritwik Ghatak)
8a. Dreams (Akira Kurosawa)
8b. La Desenchantee (Benoit Jacquot)
8c. Crimes And Misdemeanors (Woody Allen)
1991
list courtesy of Alain Stimamiglio 1. Van Gogh (Maurice Pialat)
2. Miller's Crossing (Ethan and Joel Coen)
3. Barton Fink (Ethan and Joel Coen)
4. The Godfather Part 3 (Francis Ford Coppola)
5. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
6. J' entends plus la guitare (Philippe Garrel)
7. Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)
8. Rhapsody in August (Akira Kurosawa)
9. Les amants du Pont-Neuf (Leos Carax)
10. Paris s'eveille (Olivier Assayas)
1992
list courtesy of Alain Stimamiglio 1. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
2. Agantuk ( Satyajit Ray)
3. And Life Goes On... (Abbas Kiarostami)
4. Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen)
5a. Savage Nights (Cyril Collard)
5b. Border Line (Danihle Dubroux)
5c. La sentinelle (Arnaud Desplechin)
8a. Conte d'hiver (Eric Rohmer)
8b. La chasse aux papillons (Otar Iosseliani)
10a. A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang)
10b. Le chene (Lucian Pintille)
10c. Le mirage (Jean-Claude Guiguet)
10d. La maison du sourire (Marco Ferreri)
1993 1. A Perfect World (Clint Eastwood)
2. Valley of Abraham (Manoel De Oliveira)
3. The Tree, The Mayor And The Mediatheque (Eric Rohmer)
4. Smoking/No Smoking (Alain Resnais)
5. In The Land Of The Deaf (Nicolas Philbert)
6. Days And Nights In The Forest (Satyajit Ray)
7. Mad Dog And Glory (John McNaughton)
8. Innocent Blood (John Landis)
9. Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara)
10. Helas Pour Moi (Jean-Luc Godard)
1994 1. Caro Diario (Nanni Moretti)
2. I Can't Sleep (Claire Denis)
3. Carlito's Way (Brian DePalma)
4. Wild Reeds (Andre Techine)
5. Tim Burton's Nightmare Before Christmas (Henry Selick)
6. Travolta And Me (Patricia Mazuy)
7. L'Enfer (Claude Chabrol)
8. Jeanne La Pucelle (Jacques Rivette)
9. U.S. Go Home (Claire Denis)
10a. Coming To Terms With The Dead (Pascale Ferran)
10b. M Butterfly (David Cronenberg)
1995 1. La Ceremonie (Claude Chabrol)
2. Le Garcu (Maurice Pialat)
3. Waati (Souleymane Cisse)
4. The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood)
5. Oublie-Moi (Noemie Lvovsky)
6. The Flower Of My Secret (Pedro Almodovar)
7. Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano)
8. Ed Wood (Tim Burton)
9. Through The Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami)
10. In The Mouth Of Madness (John Carpenter)
1996 1. Crash (David Cronenberg)
2. For Ever Mozart (Jean-Luc Godard)
3. Casino (Martin Scorsese)
4. Comment je me suis dispute... (Arnaud Desplechin)
5. La comedie de dieu (Joao Cesar Monteiro)
6. Dead Man (Jim Jarmusch)
7. Les voleurs (Andre Techine)
8. Mission: Impossible (Brian DePalma)
9a. Encore (Pascal Bonitzer)
9b. Parfait amour (Catherine Breillat)
10. N'oublie pas que tu vas mourir (Xavier Beauvois)
1997 1. Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano)
2. Goodbye South, Goodbye (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
3. Lost Highway (David Lynch)
4. The Eel (Shohei Imamura)
The River (Tsai Ming-liang)
6. The Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami)
On connait la chanson (Alain Resnais)
Le Septieme Ciel (Benoit Jacquot)
9. Face/Off (John Woo)
Scream (Wes Craven)
Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai)
1998 1. Flowers of Shanghai (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
2. Dr. Akagi (Shohei Imamura)
3. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil (Clint Eastwood)
Conte d'automne (Eric Rohmer)
5. Inquiétude (Manoel de Oliveira)
Sue (Amos Kollek)
7. L'Ennui (Cédric Kahn)
Velvet Goldmine (Todd Haynes)
9. Snake Eyes (Brian De Palma)
10. Ossos (Pedro Costa)
Titanic (James Cameron)
Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino)
L'Arrière Pays (Jacques Nolot)
1999 1. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
2. The Wind Will Carry Us (Abbas Kiarostami)
3. Sicilia! (Jean-Marie Straub/Daniele Huillet)
4. eXistenZ (David Cronenberg)
5. Night Wind (Philippe Garrel)
6. True Crime (Clint Eastwood)
7. The Letter (Manoel de Oliveira)
8. The Straight Story (David Lynch)
9. Ghost Dog (Jim Jarmusch)
10. Les Noces de Dieu (Joao César Monteiro)
Best Films of the 1990s 1. Carlito's Way (Brian De Palma)
Goodbye South, Goodbye (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood)
4. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick)
Twin Peaks (David Lynch)
Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami)
Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood)
8. Crash (David Cronenberg)
Edward Scissorhands (Tim Burton)
The River (Tsai Ming-liang)
2000 1. Esther Kahn (Arnaud Desplechin)
2. La Captive (Chantal Akerman)
3. Man On The Moon (Milos Forman)
4. Mission To Mars (Brian de Palma)
5. In The Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai)
6. M/other (Nobuhiro Suwa)
7. Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola)
Yi Yi (Edward Yang)
9. Space Cowboys (Clint Eastwood)
10. Les Savates de Bon Dieu (Jean-Claude Brisseau)
2001 1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch)
2. The Lady and the Duke (Eric Rohmer)
3. Millennium Mambo (Hou Hsiao-hsien)
4. Time and Tide (Tsui Hark)
5. I'm Going Home (Manoel de Oliveira)
6. Platform (Jia Zhang-ke)
Wild Innocence (Philippe Garrel)
8. Sobibor, 14 Octobre 1943, 16 Heures (Claude Lanzmann)
9. The Son's Room (Nanni Moretti)
10. ‘R Xmas (Abel Ferrara)
--http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/critics/cahiers.html [Aug 2005]
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