Éric Rohmer (1920-2010)

[GaryC]

That's admirably comprehensive - all but one of the (cinema) features. Wonder why they aren't showing The Sign of Leo?

And points for showing The Tree, The Mayor and the Mediatheque, which isn't available on an English-friendly DVD.

[Fiery Angel]

I saw The Tree, the Mayor... back in '92 at the Walter Reade--I think it's the only time it was shown in New York.

[lady wakasa]

My Eric Rohmer knowledge is pretty minimal (I've seen Claire’s Knee) - so if anyone wants to suggest 5-10 of those films I should really really go see, especially those that don't get much exposure, because I doubt I can do them all, it'd be greatly appreciated.

(And I'll try to shore up the Rohmer background in the meantime.)

[Michael Kerpan]

My favorite is The Green Ray (called Summer in the US -- Tale of Summer is something different)

Tales of Four Seasons -- especially Tale of Winter and Tale of Summer, though Tale of Autumn is also very fine. Tale of Spring is a bit weaker (but still okay)

[knives]

I'll second the Green Ray which is in the running for my favorite Rohmer. It proves that he's special as a director, not just a writer with some of the most beautiful images of his career.The Marquise of O, The Aviator’s Wife, and The Romance of Astree and Celadon are all also essential if you get the chance.

[Numero Trois]

I agree that The Marquise of O is a good place to start with Rohmer. That and his Perceval Le Gallois. He really came into his own as a filmmaker with those. Like knives said, I guess that's the difference between those films and his earlier ones- his directing skills caught up to his writing.

[GaryC]

Personally I'm not as fond of the literary adaptations as I am of the series films, but to each their own.

Personal favourites include Chloe in the Afternoon (L'amour, l'après-midi) from the Moral Tales, The Green Ray (Summer) from the Comedies and Proverbs and A Winter's Tale from the Tales of Four Seasons. The last-named moves him into Kieslowski territory, though stylistically it's quite different.

And while I'm here, My Night at Maud's is being reissued in the UK. It has a run at the BFI Southbank in a digital print starting on 23 July. I saw it in 35mm last time it was reissued, at the Everyman in 1992 - maybe while MichaelB was working there...

[Perkins Cobb]

I saw The Tree, the Mayor... back in '92 at the Walter Reade--I think it's the only time it was shown in New York.

No, Alliance Francaise showed it last year. Also, I've heard that (as with some other recent FSLC programs) a few of the Rohmers may be shown on video in the upcoming retro.

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I'd recommend My Night at Maud’s, Pauline at the Beach, Tale of Springtime, and Triple Agent.

edit: Has anyone seen Rohmer's Catherine de Heilbronn?

[lady wakasa]

Thanks muchly to all for the recommendations. Some of this will depend on the actual schedule (and me grabbing time to read a good biography), but I'll definitely keep these (and the underlying groupings) in mind.

[GaryC]

Has anyone seen Rohmer's Catherine de Heilbronn?

No...and the only DVD release I know of is a French disc (it's an extra for The Marquise of O...) which isn't English-friendly.

As well as with Marquise (also based on work by Heinrich von Kleist) it has a connection with Full Moon in Paris, as the late Pascale Ogier's other lead role for Rohmer - she plays the title role.

This and The Tree, The Mayor and The Mediatheque are the only Rohmer features I haven't seen.

[DeParis]

For those who live in the DC area, the AFI Silver is currently having a Rohmer retrospective. They're featuring his Six Moral Tales Series and his Comedies and Proverbs Series, from now until the end of June: http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplayin ... ohmer.aspx

Any recommendations on which of these films might be the best to start with for someone unfamiliar with Rohmer's work?

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

My Night At Maud's and Pauline at the Beach.

[Murdoch]

Summer and Boyfriends and Girlfriends (my two favorite Rohmers!)

[FerdinandGriffon]

Boyfriends and Girlfriends, La collectioneuse (A perfect way to celebrate the return of good weather!), and Maud's.

[knives]

The Green Ray also is a must see. That said nearly all of his films are worth seeing if you can.

[domino harvey]

Claire's Knee

[zedz]

The Green Ray also is a must see. That said nearly all of his films are worth seeing if you can.

Definitely The Green Ray. Not only is it one of Rohmer's greatest films, but the climactic moment should be seen in as good a print / format as possible.

[Camera Obscura]

The Green Ray also is a must see. That said nearly all of his films are worth seeing if you can.

Totally second Green Ray (although it doesn't play at this retrospective, I think). Rewatched it recently and it's one of his best. To pile up on the hyperboles, together with Malle's Le feu follet (no matter how different their approach might be), probably the most shattering and insightful film about depression ever made.

For those who live in the DC area, the AFI Silver is currently having a Rohmer retrospective. They're featuring his Six Moral Tales Series and his Comedies and Proverbs Series, from now until the end of June: http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplayin ... ohmer.aspx

Any recommendations on which of these films might be the best to start with for someone unfamiliar with Rohmer's work?

Grabbed Boyfriends and Girlfriends (1987) out of my R2UK Rohmer Collection and so glad I did. Wonderful little film. And the modernist (and very 80s) setting in Cergy-Pontoise really does add something in the way Rohmer dissects his desolate characters.. Catch this one, you won't regret it.

[Michael Kerpan]

Green Ray is being shown under its American (only) title -- Summer. (Also MY top recommendation, btw).

[Ishmael]

For those who live in the DC area, the AFI Silver is currently having a Rohmer retrospective. They're featuring his Six Moral Tales Series and his Comedies and Proverbs Series, from now until the end of June: http://www.afi.com/silver/new/nowplayin ... ohmer.aspx

In addition, the National Gallery of Art is showing a bunch of his other films. They're just finishing his Tales of Four Seasons this Sunday, but they've still got most of his crack films (i.e., not part of his series) to go. The idea was to do a complete retrospective of Rohmer's films in collaboration with the AFI and La Maison Francaise, but they couldn't get a print of Perceval that looked acceptable, and the rights to his TV work were too difficult to obtain.

Oh, and if you're still looking for recommendations, A Tale of Summer is one of Rohmer's best, and the NGA is showing it this Sunday. Also, films at the NGA are always free, which means there's no excuse not to go.

[rumblefish]

Good news, the complete works of Rohmer on Blu Ray including English subtitles. 199 Euro.

http://www.potemkine.fr/Potemkine-film/ ... 12809.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Numero Trois]

Nadja à Paris-

Nadja Tesich, the star of Eric Rohmer’s 1964 short film Nadja à Paris, originally wrote this essay in the 1990s, but never published it. In the last three months before she died in February 2014, I helped Nadja revise the piece, recording her thoughts and our discussions.

http://www.nybooks.com/blogs/gallery/20 ... dja-paris/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[bottled spider]

Halfway through reading Nabokov's short story The Assistant Producer this morning I thought "Hey, wait a second, this is..."

Kenny on Triple Agent and The Assistant Producer

(The link to an article about the real events isn't very helpful since it requires a subscription to read it. Here is a wiki article, I don't know of what accuracy).

[hearthesilence]

BAM is screening what appears to be a new DCP of Perceval. An excellent chance to see what some say is actually a key albeit unique masterwork in Rohmer's oeuvre, I don't think I fully appreciated it the first time, partly because a key element comes from the wording of the dialogue, which didn't come across in the subtitles I saw.

An excerpt from an excellent essay by Andrea Picard published in Cinemascope:

Left unfinished at the time of de Troyes’ death in 1190, Perceval, le conte du Graal (Perceval, the Story of the Grail), generally considered the first French novel, was translated into a modern French prose that Rohmer considered rather dull and sluggish, and fundamentally responsible for the work’s considerable languishing in its native country. His affection for the original text—its use of rhyming couplets, as well as its tale of a clumsy, peripatetic spiritual and romantic quest replete with great moments of humour, self-reflection, and an eventual apotheosis—led Rohmer to translate the 9,234 verses into modern French, then back again into octosyllabic verse, ending up with a text closer to the original in sound, spirit, and poetic structure (even reserving some archaic words where he deemed them imperative).