Jean Renoir

When Andre Bazin's life was tragically cut short by death at the age of 40 in 1958, he had already established himself as one of the best and most influential film critic-aestheticians in the world. He was, perhaps, the cinema's first scholar-critic and the cherished mentor of that group of French film directors who came to be called the "New Wave" and inspired the auteur theory - many of them contributors to this book. Among them are Francois Truffaut (who relying on Bazin's unfinished manuscripts and notes is responsible for the editing as well as the introduction and several essays in this book), Jean-Luc Godard, and Eric Rohmer. The veneration felt for Bazin by many Europeans parallels the feelings many Americans harbor for James Agee; and if the former was more disciplined in his approach to film, his writing certainly lacked the artistry of the latter. In Truffaut's introduction which admittedly eschews disinterestedness, he calls Jean Renoir "the best book on cinema, written by the best critic, about the best director." That one is inclined to demur from this compound hyperbole is less significant than the fact that this book is unquestionably one of the best books on cinema, written by one of its most respected critics, about one of its best directors. Bazin's book is certainly indispensable for anyone who is serious about film. Even if we occasionally disagree with his particular valuations, we cannot but be sensitized to flesh insights, exposed to new details, and, in general, come away from the experience more knowledgeable about the art of film. (Kirkus Reviews)