Robert BressonBresson on Bresson: Interviews, 1943-1983

Here is evidence of an indomitable spirit. An artist in the fullest sense. I have yet to even watch his films. But his vision presented in these interviews, however repetitive and simplified, rings true. And the truth is unassailable. His economy, aesthetic acuity, willingness to embrace limits and chance, etc. compose a method amenable to every art. As Bresson puts it herein, "Make a grand gesture with nothing—that's the goal."

Una raccolta di interviste a Robert Bresson, soprattutto sui primi film (Il processo di Giovanna d’Arco in particolare, oltre a Pickpocket, al Diario di un curato di campagna e a Au hazard, Balthazar) ma anche su quelli venuti dopo, fino a L’argent, l’ultimo che fece. Si può dire che ogni risposta di Bresson sia illuminata e illuminante, come del resto il suo eccelso lavoro cinematografico. Notevole, fra le tante, una lunga intervista che gli fece Jean-Luc Godard. Edizione inglese - temo proprio che non ce ne sia una italiana, ennesimo scandalo di questo paese sempre più arretrato - curata benissimo, tutto all’insegna della migliore qualità, per un prezzo davvero conveniente. Per me, un libro veramente molto bello e importante.

Eines der besten Bücher überhaupt, über Filme, das Leben, die Kunst...Lesen!!! unbedingt !!!

This is an essential book for all lovers of Robert Bresson's films. All his significant interviews (a few of which are "extras" on DVDs) are included, covering every film, plus separate interviews on the subjects of literary adaptations, soundtracks, and his one book Notes on the Cinematograph. He repeatedly emphasises his basic rules of filmmaking, for example that it is totally different from theatre, that actors are "models" who preferably should have had no acting training whatsoever, that music should only be used in a "transformative" way, not to tell us how we should be reacting, etc. The film given the most space, about 50 pages, is also the middle feature of his career, namely Au Hasard Balthasar, the most critically acclaimed of his films which often appears on critics' "top ten" lists. This birth-to-death tale of a donkey, a Christ-figure who observes a parade of the seven deadly sins in the human beings who cross his path, had been planned for years beforehand. All his other films are subjected to fascinating insights, sometimes by the interviewers who include the likes of Jean-Luc Godard. An important book on a great director.

The book is well-made and the content is varied and uniformly fantastic, assuming, of course, you're a fan of mid-century French film.