It has been said that with the French “New Wave,” films were no
longer about life – but instead were about other films.  This course
studies the history of French cinema from 1944 to 1968, beginning
with the “tradition of quality” that flourished after the Allied
liberation of occupied France.  We will trace the emergence of the
New Wave – first in French film culture and criticism, then in
filmmaking – during the 1950s, juxtaposing the work of Godard,
Truffaut, Varda, and others with the films of a previous generation
of French filmmakers that includes Bresson, Clouzot, Melville,
Ophuls, and Renoir.  Ultimately, we will test the New Wave’s apparent
concern with reflexive fiction by examining several of the
documentaries made by filmmakers who comprised the