The Night Watchman: Rivette and Daney

Serge Daney In English blog which, as it title suggests, is dedicated to the preservation of Daney's memory and tracing the English translation of his work has blogged this two-part video of Clair Denis' film about Jacques Rivette, made for French TV's invaluable Cinéma de notres temps program. For anyone interested in Rivette, Daney or Denis, this real gem deserves a watch.

Production of  Cinéma de notres temps, originally named Cinéastes de notre temps started in 1964 and each one hour long episodes was delivering a portrait of a contemporary, or occasionally past filmmaker, in a cinematic style close to what that particular filmmaker had done in his or her films. I recently learned that 18 of these films are available on DVD, here.

(Iranian national TV, back in the 1990s, brought some of the episodes of  Cinéma de notres temps, Bresson, Scorsese and Renoir among them.  For me, watching them was like watching all those director's oeuvres in one hour. I'm not completely sure, but I think Rivette film was broadcasted too, the only problem was that I probably didn't know who Rivette was!)

The Pirate Isn't Just Decor [repost]

"In what kind of setting is the little image of the great Pirate (1948) lodged, with the signature luxury of its MGM sets that dazzled when their reds glowed, unrivaled, within the huge images being projected in a darkened theater?

And here comes the answer: What difference does it make, since The Pirate and its sets hold up splendidly? Because what they've lost in store-window impact they’ve gained in pure logic. Because, quite simply, this is not a “decorative” film. That’s the decisive point. For if there is a type of film that loses its aura by being deported to the small screen, it’s the decorative film, one that risks being less accomplished in matters of decor than the “interior” is seen. That confrontation, while unconscious, can be quite cruel.

Cinema Recycled

"Enough of that democratism that leads to the junk. You [have] to rebuild an elitist culture for yourself, a film culture." - Serge Daney (Courtesy of Courtisane Festival)

P.S.: "Resnais is not an intellectual, he is a little chemist." - S.D.