Francois Truffaut: Revised and Updated Edition (1978, 1989, 1994)

 

Annette Insdorf's brilliant study of the films of the great French director, François Truffaut is a must read for anyone interested in film analysis.  

As many of you probably know Truffaut (like many members of the French New Wave) started as a critic before becoming a filmmaker himself. As a critic one of the ideas that he championed what he referred to as auteurs. These were filmmakers whose own personal stamp was deeply evident in most (if not all) of their films. He felt that directors should be the author of movies and that their individual films could be analyzed not only by themselves but as a part of the directors' greater work. That there should be themes and visual motifs that ran through their work that would make a great filmmaker's work constantly interesting, even in their weaker films. Though Truffaut was an auteur himself, his own personal stamp can be harder to identify than those of his peer Jean Luc Goddard or his idol Alfred Hitchcock. That is why this book is incredibly important to anyone studying the great French director's films. The point of this book is to study and analyze the various themes and motifs that run through Truffaut's work. Through brilliant writing and insight, simply reading this book can give one a greater understanding of his work as a whole. Digging into not only the filmmaker's films but also his personal life, his influences and his critical writings, we begin to see how through his film's Truffaut has painted a rather complex and articulate self-portrait. After reading this book, I grew an even greater appreciation for someone who was already one of my favorite filmmakers and gave me a strong desire to revisit his movies. I can't wait to rewatch these films and see them in a brand-new light.

The first chapter examines Truffaut's transition from a critic and movie lover to a filmmaker. The second chapter examines the influence of Alfred Hitchcock on his work. The third examines the influence of French director Jean Renoir on his work. The fourth takes a look at the evolving role of women in his films. The fifth involves the role of children in his films (Truffaut has been praised for his honest and understanding depiction of children more than anything else). The sixth chapter takes a look at the autobiographic nature of his movies as well as the use of literary text. The seventh chapter was added to later additions and features a deep delve into his final five films, which were not around when Insdorf wrote the original version of the book. 

This is simply a must read for any Truffaut fan, and anyone interested in well written and though out film analysis.