French New Wave (Pocket Essentials (Trafalgar))

Rating:
Summary: The Best First Introduction to the French New Wave
Review: Movie lovers approaching the French New Wave for the first time and wanting a guide as well as more experienced cinephiles wishing to broaden their experience need look no further than this very short but very informative book. The book consists of a brief general commentary on the French New Wave illustrated by short synopses and analyses of 23 key films and an appendix with shorter reviews of a further 50 important films. The writing is clear and to the point, and the evaluations (not always very high) are right on the money. This is not a book that aims for great depth or erudition, not that these are totally absent, but one which tells us what is important and, above all, what to watch. This writer hopes that Mr. Wiegand will someday favor us with sequels of a similar format on the French New New Wave and on the classic French cinema from 1930 to 1960.

Chris Wiegand is the author also of a glossy but very informative book on Federico Fellini (Taschen 2003), unfortunately, not available yet in this country.