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When I begin studying a new director, I usually try to watch as many of his films as I can get my hands on back-to-back (and hopefully in chronological order). I also look for any interviews or authoritative books on him and read through those at the same time. Although secondary sources are good, there’s really nothing quite like hearing what a director thinks in his own words.
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A few months ago, I purchased George Stevens, Jr.’s compilation of interviews with some of the greatest directors from Hollywood’s Golden Age. (You can buy it here.) It is really very good. The interviews all occured at the American Film Institute over the past 40 or so years (at least). The setting was a discussion with a group of young film students who had recently seen that director’s films at AFI. The interviews go from King Vidor all the way up to Ingmar Bergman and other living (or recently living) directors. There are around 30 interviews in the book, each one about 15 pages long.
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I watched Renoir’s Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932) yesterday. It is a delightful film whose comedy is almost unplaceable, bordering on the slapstick, yet much more real in a surprising sort of way. Michel Simon – the famous French actor who plays Boudu – and Jean Renior are interviewed on the DVD and they point out that there was never a character before or after quite like Boudu.
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I have recently been looking into the works of the French film director Jean Renoir. He is the son of the impressionist painter and made films from the 20’s through the 60’s. Some of his films are considered among the best ever made, particularly The Rules of the Game (1939) and Grand Illusion (1937). If you’re unfamiliar with Renoir, I recommend you start with one of these two.
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