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André Bazin’s Followers (141)

André Bazin

Born

in Angers, France

April 18, 1918

Died

November 11, 1958

Genre

Film, Media Criticism

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An influential film critic and theorist, André Bazin was the founder of the reknowned and pioneering film journal, Cahiers du cinéma.

Bazin was a major force in post-World War II film studies and criticism. In addition to editing Cahiers until his death, a four-volume collection of his writings was published posthumously from 1958 to 1962 and titled Qu'est-ce que le cinéma? (What is Cinema?). Two of these volumes were translated into English in the late 1960s and 1970s and became mainstays of film courses in the US and England.

Bazin argued for films that depicted what he saw as "objective reality" (such as documentaries and films of the Italian neorealism school) and directors who made themselves "invisible" (such as Howard Hawks). He advoca An influential film critic and theorist, André Bazin was the founder of the reknowned and pioneering film journal, Cahiers du cinéma.

Bazin was a major force in post-World War II film studies and criticism. In addition to editing Cahiers until his death, a four-volume collection of his writings was published posthumously from 1958 to 1962 and titled Qu'est-ce que le cinéma? (What is Cinema?). Two of these volumes were translated into English in the late 1960s and 1970s and became mainstays of film courses in the US and England.

Bazin argued for films that depicted what he saw as "objective reality" (such as documentaries and films of the Italian neorealism school) and directors who made themselves "invisible" (such as Howard Hawks). He advocated the use of deep focus (Orson Welles), wide shots (Jean Renoir) and the "shot-in-depth", and preferred what he referred to as "true continuity" through mise en scène over experiments in editing and visual effects. This placed him in opposition to film theory of the 1920s and 1930s which emphasized how the cinema can manipulate reality. The concentration on objective reality, deep focus, and lack of montage are linked to Bazin's belief that the interpretation of a film or scene should be left to the spectator.

Bazin believed that a film should represent a director's personal vision, rooted in the spiritual beliefs known as personalism. These ideas would have a pivotal importance on the development of the auteur theory, the manifesto for which was François Truffaut's 1954 Cahiers article "A Certain Tendency of the French Cinema". Bazin also is known as a proponent of "appreciative criticism," wherein only critics who like a film can write a review of it, thus encouraging constructive criticism.

In 2009, in response to widespread dissatisfaction with existing English translations of Bazin's writings, the Montreal publisher caboose brought out a new translation of selected essays from What is Cinema?. This was also the first and to date only corrected edition of Bazin's writings in any language. ...more

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André Bazin’s books

Average rating: 4.13 · 3,237 ratings · 139 reviews · 101 distinct works • Similar authors

	What is Cinema?: Volume I by André Bazin, Hugh Gray (Translator), Jean Renoir (Foreword) 4.15 avg rating — 1,726 ratings — published 1967 — 18 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Qu'est ce que le cinéma? 4.11 avg rating — 546 ratings — published 1958 — 27 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	What is Cinema?: Volume 2 by André Bazin, Dudley Andrew (Foreword), François Truffaut (Foreword) 4.19 avg rating — 499 ratings — published 1971 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Orson Welles: A Critical View by André Bazin, Jonathan Rosenbaum (Goodreads Author) (Translator), François Truffaut (Foreword by) 3.92 avg rating — 142 ratings — published 1972 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Charlie Chaplin 3.96 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 1985 — 15 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Jean Renoir: Períodos, filmes y documentos (Paidos Coumunicacion / Paidos Communication) by André Bazin, François Truffaut (Introduction), Àngel Quintana (Preface by) 3.88 avg rating — 49 ratings — published 1973 — 16 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bazin at Work 4.53 avg rating — 17 ratings — published 1997 — 7 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	French Cinema of the Occupation & Resistance: The Birth of a Critical Esthetic 4.13 avg rating — 15 ratings — published 1981 — 6 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	André Bazin and Italian Neorealism by André Bazin, Bert Cardullo 4.11 avg rating — 9 ratings — published 2011 — 10 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	The Evolution of the Language of Cinema 3.50 avg rating — 10 ratings	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

More books by André Bazin…

Series by André Bazin

What is Cinema? (2 books)
by

André Bazin,

Dudley Andrew (Foreword),

François Truffaut (Foreword),

Hugh Gray (Translator)

4.16 avg rating — 2,225 ratings

Quotes by André Bazin (?)

“The cinema substitutes for our gaze a world more in harmony with our desires.”
― André Bazin

tags: cinema

44 likes

“it was montage that gave birth to film as an art, setting it apart from mere animated photography, in short, creating a language.”
― André Bazin, What is Cinema?: Volume 1

7 likes

“The preoccupation of Rossellini when dealing with the face of the child in Allemania Anno Zero is the exact opposite of that of Kuleshov with the close-up of Mozhukhin. Rossellini is concerned to preserve its mystery.”
― André Bazin, What is Cinema?: Volume 1

4 likes

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André Bazin’s Followers (141)

André Bazin

Combine EditionsAndré Bazin’s books

Series by André Bazin

Combine Editions
André Bazin’s books