Éric Rohmer
Encyclopedia
Éric Rohmer was a French
film director
, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter
and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema
, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma
.
Rohmer was the last of the French New Wave
directors to become established. He worked as the editor of the Cahiers du cinéma
periodical from 1957 to 1963, while most of his Cahiers colleagues – among them Jean-Luc Godard
and François Truffaut
– were beginning their careers and gaining international attention. René Schérer, a philosopher, is his brother and René Monzat, a journalist, is his son.
Rohmer came to international attention around 1969 when his film Ma nuit chez Maud (My Night at Maud's) was nominated at the Academy Awards
. He won the San Sebastián International Film Festival
with Claire's Knee
in 1971. In 2001, Rohmer received the Golden Lion
at the Venice Film Festival
. His works were viewed by audiences around the world. He died of unspecified causes on 11 January 2010. In his obituary in The Daily Telegraph
he was described as "the most durable film-maker of the French New Wave", outlasting his peers and "still making movies the public wanted to see" late in his career.
in south central France
, the son of Mathilde (née Bucher) and Lucien Scherer. Rohmer was a Roman Catholic. He fashioned his pseudonym from the names of two famous artists: actor and director Erich von Stroheim
and writer Sax Rohmer
, author of the Fu Manchu
series.
With Claude Chabrol
, Rohmer co-wrote a study of Alfred Hitchcock
, Hitchcock (Paris: Éditions Universitaires, 1957), which focused on Hitchcock's Roman Catholic background and is described as "one of the most influential film books since the Second World War, casting new light on a film-maker hitherto considered a mere entertainer".
In 1957, Rohmer was married to Thérèse Barbet. The couple had two sons.
Chabrol produced Rohmer's directorial debut, Le signe du lion
in 1959 to little notice. In 1963 Barbet Schroeder
founded the production company Les Films du Losange which produced all of Rohmer's work (except his last three features produced by La Compagnie Eric Rohmer). Rohmer's career began to gain momentum with his cycle of films Six Moral Tales. Each tale follows the same story, inspired by F. W. Murnau's Sunrise
(1927) — a man, married or otherwise committed to a woman is tempted by a second woman but resists. The first La boulangère de Monceau lasts 23 minutes, the second La Carrière de Suzanne 55 minutes, the remainder are feature-length. The third (Ma nuit chez Maud) and the fifth (Le Genou de Claire) films in the series brought him international recognition. The third (the fourth to be shot), Ma nuit chez Maud (1969), received Oscar nominations for best screenplay and best foreign film, while the following film Le Genou de Claire
(Claire's Knee, 1971) won the San Sebastián International Film Festival
.
and Perceval le Gallois (1978), based on a 12th century manuscript by Chrétien de Troyes
. Rohmer was a highly literary man. His films frequently refer to ideas and themes in plays and novels, such as references to Jules Verne
(in The Green Ray), William Shakespeare
(in A Winter's Tale) and Pascal's Wager
(in Ma nuit chez Maud).
Rohmer embarked on a second series, the Comedies and Proverbs, each based on a proverb. He followed these with a third series in the 1990s: Tales of the Four Seasons. Conte d’Automne or Autumn Tale was a critically acclaimed release in 1999 when Rohmer was 79.
Beginning in the 2000s, Rohmer, in his eighties returned to period drama with The Lady and the Duke
and Triple Agent
. The Lady and the Duke caused considerable controversy in France, where its negative portrayal of the French Revolution
led some critics to label it monarchist propaganda. Its innovative cinematic style and strong acting performances led it to be well-received elsewhere.
In 2001, his life's work was recognised when he received the Golden Lion
at the Venice Film Festival
.
In 2007, Rohmer's final film, The Romance of Astrea and Celadon, was shown during the Venice Film Festival, at which he spoke of retiring.
The former Culture Minister Jack Lang
said he was "one of the masters of French cinema". Director Thierry Fremaux described his work as "unique".
The grave of Eric Rohmer (Maurice Scherer) is located at the 13 district of Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.
During the 2010 César Awards
, actor Fabrice Luchini
presented a special tribute to him:
On February 8, 2010 the Cinémathèque Française
held a special tribute to Rohmer which included a screening of Claire's Knee
and a short video tribute
to Rohmer by Jean-Luc Godard
.
Rohmer saw the full-face closeup as a device which does not reflect how we see each other and avoided its use. He avoids extradiegetic music (not coming from onscreen sound sources), seeing it as a violation of the fourth wall
. He has on occasion departed from this rule, inserting soundtrack music in places in The Green Ray (1986) (released as Summer in the United States). Rohmer also tends to spend considerable time in his films showing his characters going from place to place, walking, driving, bicycling or commuting on a train, engaging the viewer in the idea that part of the day of each individual involves quotidian travel. This was most evident in (1982), which had the female protagonist constantly traveling, particularly between Paris and Le Mans.
Rohmer typically populates his movies with people in their twenties and the settings are often on beautiful beaches and resorts, notably in La Collectionneuse (1967), Pauline at the Beach (1983), The Green Ray (1986) and A Summer's Tale (1996). These films are immersed in an environment of bright sunlight, blue skies, green grass, sandy beaches, and clear waters.
The director's characters engage in long conversations—mostly talking about man-woman relationships but also on mundane issues like trying to find a vacation spot. There are also occasional digressions by the characters on literature and philosophy as most of Rohmer's characters are middle class and university educated.
A Summer's Tale (1996) has most of the elements of a typical Rohmer film: no soundtrack music, no closeups, a seaside resort, long conversations between beautiful young people (who are middle class and educated) and discussions involving the characters' interests from songwriting to ethnology.
He described his work as follows:
Rohmer said he wanted to look at "thoughts rather than actions", dealing "less with what people do than what is going on in their minds while they are doing it."
His style was famously criticised by Gene Hackman
's character in the 1975 film Night Moves
who describes viewing Rohmer's films as "kind of like watching paint dry".
awarded Éric Rohmer the Career Golden Lion in 2001.
1964 Les cabinets de physique, la vie de société au XVIIIe siècle
1964 Les métamorphoses du paysage, l'ère industrielle
1964 Les salons de Diderot
1964 Perceval ou le conte du Graal
1965 Don Quichotte de Cervantes
1965 Les histoires extraordinaires d'Edgar Poe
1965 Les caractères de La Bruyère
1965 Entretien sur Pascal
1966 Victor Hugo, les contemplations
1968 Entretien avec Mallarmé
1968 Nancy au XVIIIe siècle
1969 Victor Hugo architecte
1969 La sorcière de Michelet
1969 Le béton dans la ville
1970 Le français langue vivante?
Episodes for Cinéastes de notre temps
Episodes for Aller au cinéma 1968 Louis Lumière
1968 Post-face à Boudu sauvé des eaux
Ville nouvelle (1975, four-part miniseries)
Épisode 2: La diversité du paysage urbain
Épisode 3: La forme de la ville
Épisode 4: Le logement à la demande
Episode for Histoire de la vie privée
non-series
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
, film critic, journalist, novelist, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and teacher. A figure in the post-war New Wave cinema
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
, he was a former editor of Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
.
Rohmer was the last of the French New Wave
French New Wave
The New Wave was a blanket term coined by critics for a group of French filmmakers of the late 1950s and 1960s, influenced by Italian Neorealism and classical Hollywood cinema. Although never a formally organized movement, the New Wave filmmakers were linked by their self-conscious rejection of...
directors to become established. He worked as the editor of the Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
periodical from 1957 to 1963, while most of his Cahiers colleagues – among them Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
and François Truffaut
François Truffaut
François Roland Truffaut was an influential film critic and filmmaker and one of the founders of the French New Wave. In a film career lasting over a quarter of a century, he remains an icon of the French film industry. He was also a screenwriter, producer, and actor working on over twenty-five...
– were beginning their careers and gaining international attention. René Schérer, a philosopher, is his brother and René Monzat, a journalist, is his son.
Rohmer came to international attention around 1969 when his film Ma nuit chez Maud (My Night at Maud's) was nominated at the Academy Awards
Academy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. He won the San Sebastián International Film Festival
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
with Claire's Knee
Claire's Knee
Claire's Knee is a 1970 film by Éric Rohmer. It is the fifth movie in the series of the Six Moral Tales.-Plot:...
in 1971. In 2001, Rohmer received the Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
. His works were viewed by audiences around the world. He died of unspecified causes on 11 January 2010. In his obituary in The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
he was described as "the most durable film-maker of the French New Wave", outlasting his peers and "still making movies the public wanted to see" late in his career.
Early life
Rohmer was born Maurice Henri Joseph Schérer (or Jean-Marie Maurice Schérer) in TulleTulle
Tulle is a commune and capital of the Corrèze department in the Limousin region in central France. It is also the episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tulle...
in south central France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, the son of Mathilde (née Bucher) and Lucien Scherer. Rohmer was a Roman Catholic. He fashioned his pseudonym from the names of two famous artists: actor and director Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim
Erich von Stroheim was an Austrian-born film star of the silent era, subsequently noted as an auteur for his directorial work.-Background:...
and writer Sax Rohmer
Sax Rohmer
Arthur Henry Sarsfield Ward , better known as Sax Rohmer, was a prolific English novelist. He is best remembered for his series of novels featuring the master criminal Dr...
, author of the Fu Manchu
Fu Manchu
Dr. Fu Manchu is a fictional character introduced in a series of novels by British author Sax Rohmer during the first half of the 20th century...
series.
Career
Working initially as a teacher, Rohmer worked as a newspaper journalist also. Under the pseudonym Gilbert Cordier, Elisabeth a novel, was published in 1946. In 1950, he co-founded La Gazette du Cinéma with three French directors and was editor of Cahiers du Cinéma.With Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol
Claude Chabrol was a French film director, a member of the French New Wave group of filmmakers who first came to prominence at the end of the 1950s...
, Rohmer co-wrote a study of Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Hitchcock (Paris: Éditions Universitaires, 1957), which focused on Hitchcock's Roman Catholic background and is described as "one of the most influential film books since the Second World War, casting new light on a film-maker hitherto considered a mere entertainer".
In 1957, Rohmer was married to Thérèse Barbet. The couple had two sons.
Chabrol produced Rohmer's directorial debut, Le signe du lion
The Sign of Leo
Le Signe du lion is a 1959 French film directed by Éric Rohmer, his feature debut. Along with Le Beau Serge, directed by Claude Chabrol , it was one of the first films of the French New Wave. The title refers to the Zodiac sign Leo, under which the protagonist says he was born...
in 1959 to little notice. In 1963 Barbet Schroeder
Barbet Schroeder
Barbet Schroeder is a Franco-Swiss movie director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working together with directors such as Jean-Luc Godard and Jacques Rivette.-Life and career:...
founded the production company Les Films du Losange which produced all of Rohmer's work (except his last three features produced by La Compagnie Eric Rohmer). Rohmer's career began to gain momentum with his cycle of films Six Moral Tales. Each tale follows the same story, inspired by F. W. Murnau's Sunrise
Sunrise (film)
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, also known as Sunrise, is a 1927 American silent film directed by German film director F. W. Murnau. The story was adapted by Carl Mayer from the short story "Die Reise nach Tilsit" by Hermann Sudermann.Sunrise won an Academy Award for Unique and Artistic Production...
(1927) — a man, married or otherwise committed to a woman is tempted by a second woman but resists. The first La boulangère de Monceau lasts 23 minutes, the second La Carrière de Suzanne 55 minutes, the remainder are feature-length. The third (Ma nuit chez Maud) and the fifth (Le Genou de Claire) films in the series brought him international recognition. The third (the fourth to be shot), Ma nuit chez Maud (1969), received Oscar nominations for best screenplay and best foreign film, while the following film Le Genou de Claire
Claire's Knee
Claire's Knee is a 1970 film by Éric Rohmer. It is the fifth movie in the series of the Six Moral Tales.-Plot:...
(Claire's Knee, 1971) won the San Sebastián International Film Festival
San Sebastián International Film Festival
The San Sebastián International Film Festival is an annual FIAPF A category film festival held in the Spanish city of San Sebastián .-History:The festival was founded in 1953...
.
Later professional life
Following the Moral Tales Rohmer made two period films — La Marquise d'O... (1976) from a novella by Heinrich von KleistHeinrich von Kleist
Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist was a poet, dramatist, novelist and short story writer. The Kleist Prize, a prestigious prize for German literature, is named after him.- Life :...
and Perceval le Gallois (1978), based on a 12th century manuscript by Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes
Chrétien de Troyes was a French poet and trouvère who flourished in the late 12th century. Perhaps he named himself Christian of Troyes in contrast to the illustrious Rashi, also of Troyes...
. Rohmer was a highly literary man. His films frequently refer to ideas and themes in plays and novels, such as references to Jules Verne
Jules Verne
Jules Gabriel Verne was a French author who pioneered the science fiction genre. He is best known for his novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea , A Journey to the Center of the Earth , and Around the World in Eighty Days...
(in The Green Ray), William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare
William Shakespeare was an English poet and playwright, widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's national poet and the "Bard of Avon"...
(in A Winter's Tale) and Pascal's Wager
Pascal's Wager
Pascal's Wager, also known as Pascal's Gambit, is a suggestion posed by the French philosopher, mathematician, and physicist Blaise Pascal that even if the existence of God could not be determined through reason, a rational person should wager as though God exists, because one living life...
(in Ma nuit chez Maud).
Rohmer embarked on a second series, the Comedies and Proverbs, each based on a proverb. He followed these with a third series in the 1990s: Tales of the Four Seasons. Conte d’Automne or Autumn Tale was a critically acclaimed release in 1999 when Rohmer was 79.
Beginning in the 2000s, Rohmer, in his eighties returned to period drama with The Lady and the Duke
The Lady And The Duke
The Lady and the Duke is a 2001 feature film by French director Éric Rohmer.The film was inspired by Ma vie sous la révolution, the colourful memoirs of Grace Elliott, an Edinburgh-born royalist caught up in the political intrigue following the French Revolution...
and Triple Agent
Triple agent (film)
-Plot:The Popular Front wins the French general elections of 1936. In Spain the Civil War begins. Meanwhile, in a Paris apartment, Fiodor Voronin, a retired general of the Tsarist army lives an apparently quiet life with his Greek wife Arsinoé...
. The Lady and the Duke caused considerable controversy in France, where its negative portrayal of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
led some critics to label it monarchist propaganda. Its innovative cinematic style and strong acting performances led it to be well-received elsewhere.
In 2001, his life's work was recognised when he received the Golden Lion
Golden Lion
Il Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
at the Venice Film Festival
Venice Film Festival
The Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
.
In 2007, Rohmer's final film, The Romance of Astrea and Celadon, was shown during the Venice Film Festival, at which he spoke of retiring.
Death
Rohmer died on the morning of 11 January 2010 at the age of 89. His cause of death is unknown. He had been admitted to hospital the previous week.The former Culture Minister Jack Lang
Jack Lang (French politician)
Jack Mathieu Émile Lang is a French politician. A member of the Socialist Party, he served as France's Minister of Culture from 1981 to 1986 and 1988 to 1992, and as Minister of Education from 1992 to 1993 and 2000 to 2002. He was also the Mayor of Blois from 1989 to 2000...
said he was "one of the masters of French cinema". Director Thierry Fremaux described his work as "unique".
The grave of Eric Rohmer (Maurice Scherer) is located at the 13 district of Montparnasse Cemetery in Paris.
During the 2010 César Awards
César Awards 2010
The 35th Annual César Awards ceremony was held by the Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma to honor its selection of the best films of 2009 on February 27, 2010. Marion Cotillard was chosen as the Hononary President of the ceremony...
, actor Fabrice Luchini
Fabrice Luchini
Fabrice Luchini is a French stage and film actor.-Biography:Fabrice Luchini was born in Île-de-France, Paris, into an Italian immigrant family, who were fruit and vegetable vendors. He grew up around the neighbourhood of Goutte d'Or in Paris's 18th arrondissement...
presented a special tribute to him:
I’m gonna read a remarkable text written by Jacques Fieschi: "Writer, director; creator of “the cinematographe”, challenger of "Les cahiers du cinema", which recently published a special edition on Eric Rohmer. Truffaut once said he was one of the greatest directors of the 20th century, Godard was his brother, Chabrol admired him, Wenders couldn’t stop taking photos of him. Rohmer is a tremendous international star. The one and only French director who was in coherence with the money spent on his films and the money that his films made. I remember a phrase by Daniel Toscan Du Plantier the day “Les Visiteurs” opened, which eventually sold 15 million tickets: “Yes but there is this incredible film called "L'arbre, le maire et la médiathèque" that sold 100,000 tickets, which may sound ridiculous in comparison, but no, because but it was only playing in one theater for an entire year." A happy time for cinema when this kind of thing could happen. Rohmer." Here is a tribute from Jacques Fieschi: "We are all connected with the cinema, at least for a short time. The cinema has its economical laws, its artistic laws, a craft that once in a while rewards us or forgets us. Eric Rohmer seems to have escaped from this reality by inventing his own laws, his own rules of the game. One could say his own economy of the cinema that served his own purpose, which could skip the others, or to be more accurate that couldn’t skip the audience with its originality. He had a very unique point of view on the different levels of language and on desire that is at work in the heart of each and every human being, on youth, on seasons, on literature, of course, and one could say on history. Eric Rohmer, this sensual intellectual, with his silhouette of a teacher and a walker. As an outsider he made luminous and candid films in which he deliberately forgot his perfect knowledge of the cinema in a very direct link with the beauty of the world." The text was by Jacques Fieschi and it was a tribute to Eric Rohmer, Thank You.
On February 8, 2010 the Cinémathèque Française
Cinémathèque Française
The Cinémathèque Française holds one of the largest archives of films, movie documents and film-related objects in the world. Located in Paris, the Cinémathèque holds daily screenings of films from around the world.-History:...
held a special tribute to Rohmer which included a screening of Claire's Knee
Claire's Knee
Claire's Knee is a 1970 film by Éric Rohmer. It is the fifth movie in the series of the Six Moral Tales.-Plot:...
and a short video tribute
Tribute to Eric Rohmer
Tribute to Éric Rohmer is a short 2010 video commissioned by Les Films du Losange as a tribute to Éric Rohmer by his friend and former colleague Jean-Luc Godard, and is the work that directly precedes the release of the 2010 feature Film Socialisme in Godard's filmography...
to Rohmer by Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
.
Rohmer's style
Rohmer's films concentrate on intelligent, articulate protagonists who frequently fail to own up to their desires. The contrast between what they say and what they do fuels much of the drama in his films.Rohmer saw the full-face closeup as a device which does not reflect how we see each other and avoided its use. He avoids extradiegetic music (not coming from onscreen sound sources), seeing it as a violation of the fourth wall
Fourth wall
The fourth wall is the imaginary "wall" at the front of the stage in a traditional three-walled box set in a proscenium theatre, through which the audience sees the action in the world of the play...
. He has on occasion departed from this rule, inserting soundtrack music in places in The Green Ray (1986) (released as Summer in the United States). Rohmer also tends to spend considerable time in his films showing his characters going from place to place, walking, driving, bicycling or commuting on a train, engaging the viewer in the idea that part of the day of each individual involves quotidian travel. This was most evident in (1982), which had the female protagonist constantly traveling, particularly between Paris and Le Mans.
Rohmer typically populates his movies with people in their twenties and the settings are often on beautiful beaches and resorts, notably in La Collectionneuse (1967), Pauline at the Beach (1983), The Green Ray (1986) and A Summer's Tale (1996). These films are immersed in an environment of bright sunlight, blue skies, green grass, sandy beaches, and clear waters.
The director's characters engage in long conversations—mostly talking about man-woman relationships but also on mundane issues like trying to find a vacation spot. There are also occasional digressions by the characters on literature and philosophy as most of Rohmer's characters are middle class and university educated.
A Summer's Tale (1996) has most of the elements of a typical Rohmer film: no soundtrack music, no closeups, a seaside resort, long conversations between beautiful young people (who are middle class and educated) and discussions involving the characters' interests from songwriting to ethnology.
He described his work as follows:
Rohmer said he wanted to look at "thoughts rather than actions", dealing "less with what people do than what is going on in their minds while they are doing it."
His style was famously criticised by Gene Hackman
Gene Hackman
Eugene Allen "Gene" Hackman is an American actor and novelist.Nominated for five Academy Awards, winning two, Hackman has also won three Golden Globes and two BAFTAs in a career that spanned five decades. He first came to fame in 1967 with his performance as Buck Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde...
's character in the 1975 film Night Moves
Night Moves (1975 film)
Night Moves is a 1975 detective film directed by Arthur Penn. The film stars Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren and Susan Clark, and features very early career appearances by Melanie Griffith and James Woods....
who describes viewing Rohmer's films as "kind of like watching paint dry".
Awards and nominations
The Venice Film Festival58th Venice International Film Festival
The 58th Venice International Film Festival was held on 29 August – 8 September, 2001.-Jury:* Nanni Moretti * Amitav Ghosh * Jerzy Skolimowski* Jeanne Balibar* Taylor Hackford* Cecilia Roth* Vibeke Windeløv...
awarded Éric Rohmer the Career Golden Lion in 2001.
- La CollectionneuseLa CollectionneuseLa Collectionneuse is a 1967 film by Éric Rohmer. It is the fourth movie in the series of the Six Moral Tales. In 2001 the Guardian critic Philip Norman included it his list of 100 top movies of the 20th century...
(1967)- Berlin Film Festival17th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 17th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 23 to July 4, 1967.-Jury:* Thorold Dickinson * Rüdiger von Hirschberg* Knud Leif Thomsen* Michel Aubriant* Sashadhar Mukerjee* Aleksandar Petrović* Willard Van Dyke...
Silver Bear Winner - Special Prize of the Jury - Berlin Film Festival Youth Award Film Winner
- Berlin Film Festival
- Ma nuit chez MaudMy Night at Maud'sMy Night at Maud's is a 1969 French drama film by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in the series of the Six Moral Tales.- Plot :The Catholic Jean-Louis, , runs into an old friend, the Marxist Vidal , in Clermont-Ferrand around Christmas...
(1969)- Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
Official Selection - 42nd Academy Awards42nd Academy AwardsThe 42nd Academy Awards were presented April 7, 1970 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. There was no host.This is currently the highest rated of the televised Academy Awards ceremonies, according to Nielsen ratings....
Best Foreign Language Film Nominee - 43rd Academy Awards43rd Academy AwardsThe 43rd Academy Awards were presented April 15, 1971 at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles. There was no host.It was during this ceremony that George C...
Best Original Screenplay Nominee
- Cannes Film Festival
- La Marquise d'O...La Marquise d'O...The Marquise of O is a 1976 film directed by Éric Rohmer. Set in 1799, it tells the story of the Marquise von O, a virtuous widow, who finds herself pregnant and protests her innocence while possibly deserving to be exiled. The film was inspired by Heinrich von Kleist's 1808 novel Die Marquise von O...
(1976)- Cannes Film Festival1976 Cannes Film FestivalThe 29th Cannes Film Festival was held on May 13-28, 1976. A new section, 'L'Air du temps', which is non-competitive and focuses on contemporary subjects, is introduced at this festival and discontinued after the next.- Jury :...
Grand Prize of the JuryGrand Prix (Cannes Film Festival)The Grand Prix is an award of the Cannes Film Festival bestowed by the jury of the festival on one of the competing feature films. It is the second-most prestigious prize of the festival after the Palme d'Or...
Winner
- Cannes Film Festival
- Pauline à la plagePauline à la plagePauline at the Beach is a 1983 French film directed by Éric Rohmer. The film stars Amanda Langlet, Arielle Dombasle, Pascal Greggory and Féodor Atkine.-Plot:The film opens on a shot of a wooden gate, as a car pulls up in front of it...
(1983)- Berlin Film Festival33rd Berlin International Film FestivalThe 33rd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 18 to March 3, 1983.-Jury:* Jeanne Moreau * Alex Bänninger* Franco Brusati* Elem Klimov* Ursula Ludwig* Kurt Maetzig* Joseph L...
Silver Bear for Best DirectorSilver Bear for Best DirectorThe Silver Bear for Best Director is the Berlin International Film Festival's award for best achievement in direction.-Awards:-Repeated winners:*Mario Monicelli *Satyajit Ray *Carlos Saura -External links:*... - Berlin Film Festival OCIC Award Winner - Honorable Mention
- Berlin Film Festival FIPRESCI Prize Winner - Competition
- Berlin Film Festival
- Le Rayon vert (1986)
- Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
Golden LionGolden LionIl Leone d’Oro is the highest prize given to a film at the Venice Film Festival. The prize was introduced in 1949 by the organizing committee and is now regarded as one of the film industry's most distinguished prizes...
Winner - Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
FIPRESCI Prize Winner
- Venice Film Festival
- Conte d'hiverConte d'hiverA Tale of Winter is a 1992 French drama film directed by Éric Rohmer, and starring Charlotte Véry, Frédéric van den Driessche and Michael Voletti. It is the second of Rohmer's Contes des quatre saisons , which also includes A Tale of Springtime , A Summer's Tale and Autumn Tale...
(1992)- Berlin Film Festival42nd Berlin International Film FestivalThe 42nd annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from February 13 to 24, 1992.-Jury:* Annie Girardot * Charles Champlin* Sylvia Chang* Ildikó Enyedi* Irving N...
FIPRESCI Prize Winner - Competition - Berlin Film Festival Prize of the Ecumenical Jury Winner - Special Mention - Competition
- Berlin Film Festival
- Conte d'automneConte d'automneAutumn Tale is a 1998 French film, directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Béatrice Romand, Marie Rivière, Alain Libolt, Didier Sandre, Alexia Portal, and Aurélia Alcaïs...
(1998)- Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
Golden Osella Winner - Best Original Screenplay - Venice Film FestivalVenice Film FestivalThe Venice International Film Festival is the oldest international film festival in the world. Founded by Count Giuseppe Volpi in 1932 as the "Esposizione Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica", the festival has since taken place every year in late August or early September on the island of the...
Sergio Trasatti Award - Special Mention
- Venice Film Festival
- Triple AgentTriple agent (film)-Plot:The Popular Front wins the French general elections of 1936. In Spain the Civil War begins. Meanwhile, in a Paris apartment, Fiodor Voronin, a retired general of the Tsarist army lives an apparently quiet life with his Greek wife Arsinoé...
(2004)- Berlin Film Festival Official Selection
Contes moraux (Six Moral Tales)
- 1963 #1 La Boulangère de MonceauThe Bakery Girl of MonceauThe Bakery Girl of Monceau or The Girl at the Monceau Bakery is a 1963 film by Éric Rohmer. The original French title is La Boulangère de Monceau...
(The Bakery Girl of Monceau) — short, not released theatrically - 1963 #2 La Carrière de SuzanneSuzanne's CareerSuzanne's Career is a 1963 film by Éric Rohmer. The original French title is La Carrière de Suzanne. It is the second movie in the series of the Six Moral Tales.- Plot :...
(Suzanne's Career) — short, not released theatrically - 1967 #4 La CollectionneuseLa CollectionneuseLa Collectionneuse is a 1967 film by Éric Rohmer. It is the fourth movie in the series of the Six Moral Tales. In 2001 the Guardian critic Philip Norman included it his list of 100 top movies of the 20th century...
(The Collector) - 1969 #3 Ma nuit chez MaudMy Night at Maud'sMy Night at Maud's is a 1969 French drama film by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in the series of the Six Moral Tales.- Plot :The Catholic Jean-Louis, , runs into an old friend, the Marxist Vidal , in Clermont-Ferrand around Christmas...
(My Night at Maud's) — although planned as the third moral tale, its production was delayed due to the unavailability of actor Jean-Louis TrintignantJean-Louis TrintignantJean-Louis Trintignant is a French actor who has enjoyed an international acclaim. He won the Best Actor Award at the 1969 Cannes Film Festival.-Career:...
. It was released after the fourth tale. - 1970 #5 Le Genou de ClaireClaire's KneeClaire's Knee is a 1970 film by Éric Rohmer. It is the fifth movie in the series of the Six Moral Tales.-Plot:...
(Claire's Knee) - 1972 #6 L'Amour l'après-midiLove in the Afternoon (1972 film)Love in the Afternoon is a 1972 film by Éric Rohmer. It is the sixth and final movie in Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" series....
(Love in the Afternoon/Chloe in the Afternoon)
Comédies et Proverbes (Comedies and Proverbs)
- 1981 La Femme de l'aviateurLa Femme de l'aviateurThe Aviator's Wife is a 1981 French film written and directed by Éric Rohmer. The film stars Phillippe Marlaud, Marie Rivière and Anne-Laure Meury. Like many of his films, it deals with the ever-evolving love lives of a group of young Parisians....
(The Aviator's Wife) — "It is impossible to think about nothing." - 1982 Le Beau mariageLe Beau MariageLe Beau Mariage is a 1982 French film directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Béatrice Romand, André Dussollier, Féodor Atkine. It is one of Rohmer's "comedies and proverbs" .-Synopsis:...
(A Good Marriage) — "Can anyone refrain from building castles in Spain?" - 1983 Pauline à la plagePauline à la plagePauline at the Beach is a 1983 French film directed by Éric Rohmer. The film stars Amanda Langlet, Arielle Dombasle, Pascal Greggory and Féodor Atkine.-Plot:The film opens on a shot of a wooden gate, as a car pulls up in front of it...
(Pauline at the Beach) — "He who talks too much will hurt himself." - 1984 Les Nuits de la pleine luneLes Nuits de la pleine luneFull Moon in Paris is a 1984 French film directed by Éric Rohmer. The film stars Pascale Ogier, Tchéky Karyo and Fabrice Luchini. The soundtrack is by Elli et Jacno.-Synopsis:...
(Full Moon in Paris) — "He who has two women loses his soul, he who has two houses loses his mind." - 1986 Le Rayon vert (The Green Ray/Summer) — "Ah, for the days/that set our hearts ablaze,"
- 1987 L'Ami de mon amieL'Ami de mon amieBoyfriends and Girlfriends is a 1987 comedy film directed by Éric Rohmer. The film stars Emmanuelle Chaulet, Sophie Renoir, Anne-Laure Meury.-Plot:...
(My Girlfriend's Boyfriend/Boyfriends and Girlfriends) — "My friends' friends are my friends."
Contes des quatre saisons (Tales of the Four Seasons)
- 1990 Conte de printempsConte de printempsConte de printemps is a 1990 French film directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Anne Teyssèdre, Hugues Quester and Florence Darel. It is the first of Rohmer's Contes des quatre saisons , which also includes A Tale of Winter , A Summer's Tale and Autumn Tale ....
(A Tale of Springtime) - 1992 Conte d'hiverConte d'hiverA Tale of Winter is a 1992 French drama film directed by Éric Rohmer, and starring Charlotte Véry, Frédéric van den Driessche and Michael Voletti. It is the second of Rohmer's Contes des quatre saisons , which also includes A Tale of Springtime , A Summer's Tale and Autumn Tale...
(A Winter's Tale/A Tale of Winter) - 1996 Conte d'étéConte d'étéA Summer's Tale is a 1996 French romance film directed by Éric Rohmer. It is the third film in his Contes des quatre saisons series, which includes Conte de printemps , Conte d'été, Conte d'automne , and Conte d'hiver...
(A Tale of Summer) - 1998 Conte d'automneConte d'automneAutumn Tale is a 1998 French film, directed by Éric Rohmer, starring Béatrice Romand, Marie Rivière, Alain Libolt, Didier Sandre, Alexia Portal, and Aurélia Alcaïs...
(A Tale of Autumn)
Other feature films
- 1959 Le Signe du lion
- 1976 La Marquise d'O...La Marquise d'O...The Marquise of O is a 1976 film directed by Éric Rohmer. Set in 1799, it tells the story of the Marquise von O, a virtuous widow, who finds herself pregnant and protests her innocence while possibly deserving to be exiled. The film was inspired by Heinrich von Kleist's 1808 novel Die Marquise von O...
(The Marquise of O...) - 1978 Perceval le GalloisPerceval le GalloisPerceval le Gallois is a 1978 French film directed by Éric Rohmer. It was inspired by Chrétien de Troyes's 12th century Arthurian romance Perceval, the Story of the Grail.-Synopsis:...
- 1980 Catherine de HeilbronnCatherine de HeilbronnCatherine de Heilbronn is a film made by Éric Rohmer in 1980. Its cast includes Jean Boissery, Pascale Ogier, Daniel Tarrare, Pascal Greggory...
- 1987 Le trio en si bémolLe trio en si bémolLe Trio en mi bémol is a brief filmed theatrical comedy directed by Éric Rohmer in 1988 starring Pascal Greggory and Jessica Forde. It runs for 75 minutes.-Plot:...
- 1987 Quatre Aventures de Reinette et Mirabelle4 aventures de Reinette et MirabelleFour Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle is a 1987 French film directed by Éric Rohmer, lasting 102 minutes and starring Joëlle Miquel, Jessica Forde, Philippe Laudenbach.-Synopsis:...
(Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle) - 1993 L'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèqueL'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèqueL'Arbre, le maire et la médiathèque ou les sept hasards is a French film directed by Éric Rohmer. It was shown at the 1993 Montreal World Film Festival where it received the FIPRESCI prize...
(The Tree, The Mayor, and the Mediatheque) - 1995 Les Rendez-vous de ParisLes Rendez-vous de ParisLes Rendez-vous de Paris [Rendez-vous in Paris] is a 1995 portmanteau French film directed by Éric Rohmer.Three loosely connected variations on the theme of the lover's rendezvous in Paris...
(Rendezvous in Paris) - 2000 L'Anglaise et le ducThe Lady And The DukeThe Lady and the Duke is a 2001 feature film by French director Éric Rohmer.The film was inspired by Ma vie sous la révolution, the colourful memoirs of Grace Elliott, an Edinburgh-born royalist caught up in the political intrigue following the French Revolution...
(The Lady and the Duke) - 2004 Triple AgentTriple agent (film)-Plot:The Popular Front wins the French general elections of 1936. In Spain the Civil War begins. Meanwhile, in a Paris apartment, Fiodor Voronin, a retired general of the Tsarist army lives an apparently quiet life with his Greek wife Arsinoé...
- 2007 Les Amours d'Astrée et de CéladonLes Amours d'Astrée et de CéladonRomance of Astree and Celadon is the final film directed by Éric Rohmer. It was released September 5, 2007.* Director of Photography Diane Baratier* Edited by Mary Stephen- Cast :* Stéphanie de Crayencour * Andy Gillet...
Other short films
- 1950 Journal d'un scélérat
- 1952 Les Petites filles modèles (unfinished)
- 1954 BéréniceBerenice (short story)"Berenice" is a short horror story by Edgar Allan Poe, first published in the Southern Literary Messenger in 1835. The story follows a man named Egaeus who is preparing to marry his cousin Berenice. He has a tendency to fall into periods of intense focus during which he seems to separate himself...
- 1956 La Sonate à Kreutzer
- 1958 Véronique et son cancreVéronique et son cancreVéronique et son cancre is a short comedy film by Éric Rohmer, which he directed before his series of Six Moral Tales .- Plot :...
- 1960 Présentation ou Charlotte et son steak
- 1963 see above, Contes moraux (Six Moral Tales)
- 1964 Nadja à Paris
- 1965 "Place de l'Étoile" from Paris vu par...Paris vu par...-Cast:"La Muette" Directed by Claude Chabrol*Stéphane Audran as The mother*Claude Chabrol as The father*Gilles Chusseau as Boy*Dany Saril as The maid"Saint-Germain-des-Prés" Directed by Jean Douchet*Jean-Pierre Andréani as Raymond...
(Six in Paris) - 1966 Une Étudiante d'aujourd'hui
- 1983 Loup y es-tu? (Wolf, Are You There?)
- 1986 Bois ton café (Drink your coffee it's getting cold!) (music video)
- 1997 Fermière à Montfaucon
- 1997 Un dentiste exemplaire
- 1999 Une histoire qui se dessine
- 1999 La CambrureLa CambrureLa Cambrure is a short film shot in video, directed by Edwige Shaki who also wrote the scenario. Éric Rohmer was a technical advisor and editor for the movie. Despite being directed by Shaki, some of Rohmer's trademarks, extensive dialog and beautiful young actors, including Shaki herself, are...
directed by Edwige Shaki with Eric Rohmer's help - 2004 Le canapé rouge
Works for television
Episodes for En profil dans le texte- 1963
Les cabinets de physique : la vie de société au 18e siècle
Les Cabinets de physique : la vie de société au XVIIIe sièclefilm by Éric Rohmer 1964 / 24 min...
Les métamorphoses du paysage : l'ère industrielle
Les Métamorphoses du paysage : l'ère industrielle is a film by Éric Rohmer . The length is 22 min.A sophisticated and beautifully constructed account of landscape change in and around Paris in the early 1960s...
Les histoires extraordinaires d'Edgar Poe
Les Histoires extraordinaires d'Edgar Poe is a 1965 24-minute short film directed by Éric Rohmer....
Les caractères de La Bruyère
Les caractères de La Bruyèrefilm by Éric Rohmer 1965 / 22'...
Entretien sur Pascal
Entretien sur Pascal is a 1965 French short documentary film directed by Éric Rohmer. The film features R. P. Dubarle and Brice Parain....
Victor Hugo architecte
Victor Hugo architecte is a 1969 French 26-minute documentary film directed by Éric Rohmer....
Episodes for Cinéastes de notre temps
- 1965 Carl Th. Dreyer
- 1966 Le celluloïd et le marbre
Episodes for Aller au cinéma
- 1968
Ville nouvelle (1975, four-part miniseries)
- Épisode 1:
L'enfance d'une ville
L'Enfance d'une ville [série Villes nouvelles, épisode 1]film by Éric Rohmer 1975 / 52 min...the architectural elaboration of the new city of Cergy-Pontoise....
Episode for Histoire de la vie privée
- 1989 Les Jeux de sociétéLes jeux de sociétéLes Jeux de société is a 1989 film by Éric Rohmer, starring Alexandra Stewart. The length is 57 min....
non-series
- 1967 L'homme et la machine
- 1967 L'homme et les images
- 1968 L'homme et les frontières
- 1968 L'homme et les gouvernements
External links
- extensive biography of Eric Rohmer
- Éric Rohmer — critical essay at Kamera
- Interview with 'The French Revolutionary - Eric Rohmer
- Tom Milne Obituary: Eric Rohmer, The Guardian, 11 January 2010
- Christopher Hawtree "Eric Rohmer: Prolific film-maker, critic and novelist whose pioneering work homed in on romantic tangles", The Independent, 13 January 2010
- "Eric Rohmer: director whose films included Le genou de Claire", The Times, 12 January 2010
- "On Eric Rohmer" in memoriam from n+1N+1n+1 is a New York–based American literary magazine that publishes social criticism, political commentary, essays, art, poetry, book reviews, and short fiction. It is published three times each year, and content is published on several times each week...
- "The Grave of Eric Rohmer (Maurice Scherer), Montparnasse Cemetery, Paris.",.