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Unit: FTV209 Screen History
Assessment: 1500-word essay on The French New Wave, Assessment 1
Assessment Description: For this assessment task you will write a 1500 word essay
examining the impact of the French New Wave OR Italian Neo-Realist OR German
Expressionist filmmakers on current film and television (or any relevant screen
production) today.
This thesis discusses one of the greatest influential eras in film history, The French New
Wave. The following subject matter will be discussed: the origins of the term The
French New Wave, and how this revolutionary period which was made up of former
French film critics became globally known by film directors today through their use of
groundbreaking cinematography styles and techniques for storytelling. The French film
critics helped advance cinema in powerful ways by employing the use of invisible editing
techniques, camera methods, and shooting at actual locations. In addition, this essay
will delve into further discussion about two leading directors who not only made history
by exploring this style of approach, but also how they rebelled against the rules of
editing, and their attitude and passion towards filmmaking in their widely held films.
Additionally, ways in which these historical film events, associated with the more
advanced methods of filmmaking helped influenced famous directors in the current film
industry by developing their own methods of storytelling and as a result impacted film
will be discussed.

The development of The French New Wave era came upon in the late 1950s to the mid
1960s and originated in France. The term New Wave came from a journalist named
Francois Giroud who wrote a series of articles on cinema. Girouds aim was to describe
the development of cinema at the time. The French New Wave became well-known on a
global scale because of the French directors during that period. They were influenced by
the Italian Neorealist movement. The Neorealist movement was another revolutionary
era before The French New Wave, an era that developed from distinctive storytelling
that surrounded the poor and working class. They filmed at actual locations and used
inexperienced actors/actresses; it was a time during World War II when most films
formed through difficulties with economical and moral conditions (Italian Neorealist,
Divadaniela 2014). The directors who performed these editing techniques and camera
methods of New Wave were Jean-Luc Godard, Francios Truffaunt, Eric Rohmer,
Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol, Alain Resnals, Chris Marker and Agnes Varda. The
association of youth with New Wave cinema was sealed by the triumph at the 1958
Cannes Film Festival of Les Quatre cents coups (Four Hundred Blows), the dbut
feature film by the 27-year-old former film critic Francois Truffaut (Darke 2003). In
addition, they became famous for carrying out these techniques and methods in
European films such as Breathless, Four Hundred Blows and The Weekend (Darke
2003). One particular editing technique was Jump Cuts, which is discontinuity editing.
Other techniques used are long tracking shots combined with hand held camera shots,
the directionality of screen and the method of filming at actual locations as opposed to
shooting on a set. All these factors contributed to documentary style cinematography in
The French New Wave. Furthermore, using sound they would play over certain sections
infilm, such as dialogue. Another feature is merging sound and moving images together
to create emotional effect, also particularly to give audiences a characteristic aspect
(Breathless: A Study of the French New Wave 2013).

One of the great influential directors of the French New Wave period, Jean-Luc Godard,
devoted himself to particular studies of film. He had tremendous value and knowledge,
delivering and putting his ideas and prospective into practice in a meticulous ways. As a
director he had the attitude to think completely free and consequently was accountable
and responsible for what he had made. One of the great examples of his work is his
French black and white classic Breathless. His first feature film, released in 1960, was
considered one of the leading examples of the French New Wave filmmaking style.
Throughout the film Breathless Godard used prime attributes of techniques, along with
various Jump Cuts and mid-dialogue; these particular techniques are used all
throughout the film. The original cut of the film did not contain these Jump Cuts,
however, Jean-Pierre Melville also a French film director contributed to the film by
incorporating these editing techniques into it because there were particular sequences
too slow for the film (Breathless: A Study of the French New Wave 2013). Jean-Pierre
Melville influenced some of the most talented current directors, such as Scorsese, John
Woo and Tarantino. Regarded as the father of the nouvelle vague (Gunn 2012), he
greatly impacted the French New Wave movement. Melville was a self-determined
filmmaker who started his own cinematheques meaning small cinema. Moreover, with
passion towards filmmaking, as a director Melville re-established the gangster genre,
getting his inspiration from 30s and 40s gangster films. He developed a distinguishing
character approach using tools such as weapons, trench coats and fedora hats (Gunn
2012). Both directors, Godard and Melville, intermediated and articulated their own
perspective and feelings into their own films.

Jean-Luc Godard and Jean-Pierre Melville influenced a number of directors in todays

filmmaking industry. As mentioned previously, both American filmmakers, Martin
Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino, have been heavily influenced by The French New
Wave. A great example is the 2003 action thriller film titled Kill Bill: Vol.1 directed by
Tarantino. The film features a number of advanced camera methods such as panoramic
travelling, horizontal travelling, tracking backwards, horizontal panning, panoramic
follow-up and forward tracking. These are all camera methods moving in motion with a
character or more than one character, showing the aspect of a character and who they
are in a scene (Kill Bill: Vol.1 Cinematographic Techniques, Camera Movement 2010).
Tarantino described the editing techniques from New Wave as, what they brought to
editing was groundbreaking. Never books saying this is how it had to be done, they burn
them (The Rules in Editing French and American New Wave 2009).

A second substantial example is the crime/vigilante film Taxi Driver, directed by Martin
Scorsese in 1967. Scorsese used many similar editing techniques and camera methods
from the 1960 film Breathless, directed by Jean-Luc Godard previously mentioned. The
primary technique he utilized was the Jump Cut, used several times throughout the film.
The Trailer of the film shows the aspect of the character on screen along with the Voice
Over of Robert De Niro who stars as The Taxi Driver, telling the story from the
characters point of view. Furthermore, in the film cuts are used between the main
character, the taxi driver, and the drivers two passengers in the scene. De Niros
character was shot with a medium close-up from his right-hand side in the drivers seat,
along with the two passengers positioned in the backseat of the vehicle and also shot
with a medium close-up (Taxi Driver (3/8) Movie CLIP - Travis Supports Palantine
(1976) HD 2014). The scene with the taxi driver simulates the opening scene of
Breathless, of a male French character in his vehicle (Breathless - a bout de doffle -
Opening scene.wmv 2010).

One more paradigm of New Wave is the 1990 American crime film Goodfellas, also
directed by Scorsese. It had a similar feel to the gangster genre and a recreated
premise with a unique characteristic approach using comparable tools such as
weapons, trench coats and fedora hats. Likewise, to the black and white French films Le
deuxime souffl (1966) and Le doulos (1962), both directed by Jean-Pierre Melville
(The Criterion Collection 2013). The classic black and white films Le deuxime souffl
and Le doulos both used a number of camera methods and discontinuity editing
throughout. For instance, Melville used Match Cuts with Close-up shots of objects and
items such as bullet shells in Le deuxime souffl, matching and linking particular
objects or items to a crime. This gives the viewers the impression of gun residue, which
gives the crime-feel to the film. Moreover, medium close-up shots are shared with the
180-degree rule, using an invisible axis showing the relationship between two
characters. This reveals the characters aspect and facial expressions and creates an
emotional connection with audiences. In addition, Cut Away is another technique used
to avoid the usage of Jump Cuts. However, Jump Cuts are also used all through both
films. The Cut Away is the disturbance of an unceasing encounter of film by inserting a
view of something else and then cutting back to the first shot of the action. This specific
editing technique does not essentially cause a dramatic effect; it is used to help make a
sequence long in film. These are elements Melville used to develop and craft
storytelling, which influenced numerous movies today.

French New Wave strived to go against all aspects with the Hollywood style of
filmmaking (Breathless: A Study of French New Wave 2013). It featured editing
techniques and documentary style cinematography created by the European French. It
can be said that The French New Wave influenced many directors today, which is
apparent in their use of editing techniques, camera methods and their way of
storytelling. Profoundly, it had great influence on filmmaking by employing the way to tell
a story with the use of moving imagery, which reflected an emotional feel in the final
product. The great directors did things on their own terms and ideas developed into
reality from their own personal experiences with past events. This proves anyone can
start out small and become renowned to the world.