Robert Bresson (French IPA: [ʁɔ'bɛʁ bʁɛ'sɔ̃]) (September 25, 1901 – December 18, 1999) was a French film director known for his spiritual, ascetic style. Image File history File links Bresson. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Building of the Conseil Général of the Puy-de-Dôme département, in Clermont-Ferrand Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Puy-de-Dôme Puy-de-Dôme is a département. ... (Region flag) (Region logo) Location Administration Capital Clermont-Ferrand Regional President René Souchon (PS) (since 2006) Departments Allier Cantal Haute-Loire Puy-de-Dôme Arrondissements 14 Cantons 158 Communes 1,310 Statistics Land area1 26,013 km² Population (Ranked 19th)  - January 1, 2006 est. ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... This article is about the capital of France. ... Articles with similar titles include the NATO phonetic alphabet, which has also informally been called the “International Phonetic Alphabet”. For information on how to read IPA transcriptions of English words, see IPA chart for English. ... is the 268th day of the year (269th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1901 (MCMI) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will display calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday [1] of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ... is the 352nd day of the year (353rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... The film director, on the right, gives last minute direction to the cast and crew, whilst filming a costume drama on location in London. ...

Biography

Initially a painter and photographer, Bresson made his first short film, Les affaires publiques (Public Affairs) in 1934. During World War II, he spent over a year in a prisoner-of-war camp--an experience which informs Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (A Man Escaped). Year 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display full 1934 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is the English title of the 1956 French film Un condamné à mort sest échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut, directed by Robert Bresson. ...

In a career that spanned fifty years, Bresson made only 13 feature-length films. This reflects his meticulous approach to the filmmaking process and his non-commercial preoccupations. Difficulty finding funding for his projects was also a factor.

Style and themes

Bresson's early artistic focus was to separate the language of cinema from the theatre, which often heavily involves the actor's performance to drive the work. With his 'actor-model' technique, Bresson's actors were required to repeat multiple takes of each scene until all semblances of 'performance' were stripped away, leaving a stark effect that registers as both subtle and raw, and one that can only be found in the cinema. Serge Sudeikins poster for the Bat Theatre (1922). ...

Some feel that Bresson's Catholic upbringing and Jansenist belief-system lie behind the thematic structure of most of his films. Recurring themes under this interpretation include salvation, redemption, defining and revealing the human soul, and metaphysical transcendence of a limiting and materialistic world. An example is his 1956 feature A Man Escaped, where a seemingly simple plot of a prisoner of war's escape can be read as a metaphor for the mysterious process of salvation. Jansenism was a branch of Catholic thought tracing itself back to Cornelius Otto Jansen (1585 – 1638), a Flemish theologian. ... For other uses, see Salvation (disambiguation). ... For other uses of the word, see Redemption Redemption is a religious concept referring to forgiveness or absolution for past sins and protection from eternal damnation. ... For other uses, see Soul (disambiguation). ... A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is the English title of the 1956 French film Un condamné à mort sest échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut, directed by Robert Bresson. ... This article is about metaphor in literature and rhetoric. ...

Bresson's films can also be understood as critiques of French society and the wider world, with each revealing the director's sympathetic if unsentimental view on its victims. That the main characters of Bresson's most contemporary films, L'Argent and The Devil, Probably (1977), reach similarly unsettling conclusions about life indicates to some the director's feelings towards the culpability of modern society in the dissolution of individuals. Indeed, of an earlier protagonist he said, "Mouchette offers evidence of misery and cruelty. She is found everywhere: wars, concentration camps, tortures, assassinations." LArgent (Money), inspired by the Leo Tolstoy short story The Forged Coupon, is the final film by French film director Robert Bresson. ... Also: 1977 (album) by Ash. ...

In 1975, Bresson published Notes sur le Cinématographe (most commonly translated as "notes on cinematography"), in which he argues for a unique sense of the term, "cinematography". For Bresson, cinematography is the higher function of cinema. Whereas a movie is in essence "only" filmed theatre, cinematography is an attempt to create a new language of moving images and sounds. Year 1975 (MCMLXXV) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... ‹ The template below is being considered for deletion. ...

Legacy

Bresson is often referred to as a 'patron saint' of cinema, not only for the strong Catholic themes found throughout his oeuvre, but also for his notable contributions to the art of film. His original directorial language can be detected through his use of sound, associating selected sounds with images or characters; paring dramatic form to its essentials by the spare use of music; and through his infamous 'actor-model' methods of directing his almost exclusively non-professional actors. Saint Quentin is the patron saint of locksmiths and is also invoked against coughs and sneezes. ...

He has influenced a number of other filmmakers, including Andrei Tarkovsky, Jim Jarmusch and Paul Schrader, whose book Transcendental Style in Film: Ozu, Bresson, Dreyer (ISBN 0-306-80335-6) includes a detailed critical analysis. “Tarkovsky” redirects here. ... Jim Jarmusch Jim Jarmusch (born January 22, 1953 in Akron, Ohio) is a noted American independent film director. ... Paul Joseph Schrader (born July 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a screenwriter and film director, renowned for his characters that fall into desperation while their world crumbles around them. ... Yasujiro Ozu (小津 安二郎 Ozu Yasujirō) (December 12, 1903 - December 12, 1963) was an influential Japanese film director. ... Carl Theodor Dreyer (February 3, 1889 - March 20, 1968) was a Danish film director. ...

Quotes

"Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is the German music" — Jean-Luc Godard, French film director (Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2), edited by James Quandt).

Awards and nominations

Robert Bresson was given the Career Golden Lion in 1989 by the Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival ( ) is the oldest film festival in the world. ...

• Journal d'un curé de campagne (1951)
  • Venice Film Festival International Award Winner
  • Venice Film Festival Italian Film Critics Award Winner
  • Venice Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
• Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1956)
  • Cannes Film Festival Prix de la mise en scène Winner
• Pickpocket (1959)
  • Berlin Film Festival Golden Bear Winner
• Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962)
  • Cannes Film Festival Special Prix du Jury Winner
  • Cannes Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
• Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
  • Venice Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
  • Venice Film Festival Jury Hommage
• Mouchette (1967)
  • Cannes Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
  • Venice Film Festival Pasinetti Award Winner
• Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971)
  • Berlin Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
• Lancelot du Lac (1974)
  • Cannes Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize Winner (Bresson refused this award)
• Le diable probablement (1977)
  • Berlin Film Festival Silver Bear Winner
  • Berlin Film Festival Interfilm Award Winner
  • Berlin Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
• L'argent (1983)
  • Cannes Film Festival Prix de la mise en scène Winner

Diary of a Country Priest (original French title: Journal dun curé de campagne) is a 1951 French film directed by Robert Bresson, and starring Claude Laydu. ... The Venice Film Festival ( ) is the oldest film festival in the world. ... A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is the English title of the 1956 French film Un condamné à mort sest échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut, directed by Robert Bresson. ... The Cannes Film Festival (French: le Festival de Cannes), founded in 1939, is one of the worlds oldest, most influential and prestigious film festivals. ... Pickpocket is a 1959 film by the French director Robert Bresson. ... The Berlin International Film Festival, also called the Berlinale, is one of the most important film festivals in Europe and the world. ... The Trial of Joan of Arc is a 1962 film by the French director Robert Bresson. ... The Jury Prize (French: Prix du Jury) is an award presented at the Cannes Film Festival. ... Balthazar ... Mouchette is a 1967 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Nadine Nortier, and Jean-Claude Guilbert. ... Lancelot du Lac is a stylistic 1974 French film of the fall of Camelot directed and written by Robert Bresson. ... LArgent (Money), inspired by the Leo Tolstoy short story The Forged Coupon, is the final film by French film director Robert Bresson. ...

Filmography

Feature films

• Les Anges du péché (1943)
  • Angels of the Streets
• Les dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945)
  • The Ladies of the Bois de Boulogne
• Journal d'un curé de campagne (1951)
  • Diary of a Country Priest
• Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut (1956)
  • A Man Escaped
• Pickpocket (1959)
• Procès de Jeanne d'Arc (1962)
  • The Trial of Joan of Arc
• Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
  • Balthazar
• Mouchette (1967)
• Une femme douce (1969)
  • A Gentle Woman
• Quatre nuits d'un rêveur (1971)
  • Four Nights of a Dreamer
• Lancelot du Lac (1974)
  • Lancelot of the Lake
• Le diable probablement (1977)
  • The Devil Probably
• L'argent (1983)
  • Money

Les dames du Bois de Boulogne is a 1945 film directed by Robert Bresson (his second feature). ... Diary of a Country Priest (original French title: Journal dun curé de campagne) is a 1951 French film directed by Robert Bresson, and starring Claude Laydu. ... A Man Escaped or: The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth is the English title of the 1956 French film Un condamné à mort sest échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut, directed by Robert Bresson. ... Pickpocket is a 1959 film by the French director Robert Bresson. ... The Trial of Joan of Arc is a 1962 film by the French director Robert Bresson. ... Balthazar ... Mouchette is a 1967 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Nadine Nortier, and Jean-Claude Guilbert. ... Une femme douce (English title: A Gentle Woman) is a 1969 French drama film directed by Robert Bresson. ... Lancelot du Lac is a stylistic 1974 French film of the fall of Camelot directed and written by Robert Bresson. ... LArgent (Money), inspired by the Leo Tolstoy short story The Forged Coupon, is the final film by French film director Robert Bresson. ...

Short films

• Les affaires publiques (1934)
  • Public Affairs

Bibliography

By Robert Bresson

• Notes sur le Cinématographe — translated as notes on cinematography and notes on the cinematographer in different English editions.

About Robert Bresson

• La politique des auteurs, edited by Andre Bazin.
• Robert Bresson (Cinematheque Ontario Monographs, No. 2), edited by James Quandt
• Transcendental Style in Film: Bresson, Ozu, Dreyer by Paul Schrader
• Robert Bresson: A Spiritual Style in Film, by Joseph Cunneen
• Robert Bresson, by Philippe Arnauld, Cahiers du cinema, 1986
• The Films of Robert Bresson, Ian Cameron (ed.), New York: Praeger Publishers, 1969.
• Robert Bresson, by Keith Reader, Manchester University Press, 2000.

Andr Bazin (April 18, 1918–November 11, 1958) was a famous and influential French film critic and film theorist. ... Paul Joseph Schrader (born July 22, 1946 in Grand Rapids, Michigan) is a screenwriter and film director, renowned for his characters that fall into desperation while their world crumbles around them. ...

External links

• Robert-Bresson.com: A comprehensive, fairly up-to-date internet resource dedicated to Bresson's films
• Robert Bresson at the Internet Movie Database
• In-depth interview with Bresson from 1970
• Essay on the legacy of Bresson
• Robert Bresson at SensesOfCinema.com
• They Shoot Pictures, Don't They?
• Article about the cinema of Robert Bresson
• Rare interview footage with Bresson from French TV in 1960
• Inside Bresson's L'Argent: Interview with Crew-member Jonathan Hourigan, by Colin Burnett