Paris in the Cinema: Beyond the Flneur

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Description

'Paris in the Cinema' offers a new approach to the representation of Paris on screen. Bringing together a wide range of renowned French and Anglophone specialists in film, television, history, architecture and literature, the volume introduces, challenges and extends ideas about the city as the locus of screen modernity. Through a range of concrete and historically-specific case studies, ranging from particular districts such as Saint-Germain-des-Pres and les banlieues (the suburbs) in French cinema, to iconic figures such as the detective Maigret and the lovers, and from locations such as the hotel, the building site and the Eiffel Tower to filmmakers such as Agnes Varda and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, this unique text demonstrates how the cinematic city of Paris now constitutes a major archive of French cultural history and memory.

Reviews

Contributors ... include rich and valuable reflections on a range of issues, such as Parisian amateur film-making, Charles Dickens debt to Paris and contemporary cinemas representation of les banlieues. In addition to the remarkable essays, this book includes Isabelle Vanderscheldens brilliant interview with Jean-Pierre Jeunet (director of Amlie, 2001). * Times Higher Education *
This is a compelling selection of stimulating essays for all lovers of Paris and French cinema ... Vincendeau and Phillips have produced a seminal work which doubles as a leading reference and an accessible entry point for those of us who enjoy learning how to read French cinema as the reflection of a complex and troubling society that, at its best, succeeds in challenging clichs and uncovering taboos. * London Grip *

Author Bio

Alastair Phillips is Associate Professor (Reader) in Film Studies at the University of Warwick. His books on French cinema include City of Darkness, City of Light: migr Filmmakers in Paris 1929-1939 (2004), Rififi (2009), Journeys of Desire, European Actors in Hollywood (co-edited with Ginette Vincendeau, 2006) and A Companion to Jean Renoir (co-edited with Ginette Vincendeau, 2013). He is an editor of Screen and currently working on a book about the films of Jacques Becker. Ginette Vincendeau is Professor in Film Studies at Kings College London and a regular contributor to Sight and Sound. She has published widely on French cinema and was made Chevalier de lOrdre des Arts et des Lettres for services to French Culture. Among her books are Stars and Stardom in French Cinema (2000), Jean-Pierre Melville, An American in Paris (2003), La Haine (2005) and Brigitte Bardot (2013). She co-edited Journeys of Desire: European Actors in Hollywood (2006) and A Companion to Jean Renoir (2013) with Alastair Phillips and The French New Wave: Critical Landmarks (2009) with Peter Graham. Her current research is on the filmmaker Claude Autant-Lara.