Truffaut on Cinema

Between 1959 and 1984, French film director François Truffaut was interviewed over three hundred times. Each interview offers critical insight into the genesis of Truffaut’s films as he shares the sources of his inspiration, the choice of his themes, and the development of his screenplays. In addition, Truffaut discusses his relationships with collaborators, actors, and the circumstances surrounding the shooting of each film. These texts, originally assembled by Anne Gillain and published in French in 1988, are presented here in a montage arranged chronologically by film. This compilation includes an impressive array of reflections on cinema as an art form. Truffaut defines the aims and practices of the French New Wave, comparing their efforts to the films made by their predecessors and including comments that encompass the entire history of cinema. Truffaut on Cinema provides commentary on contemporary events, a wealth of biographical information, and Truffaut’s own artistic itinerary.

Anne Gillain is Professor Emerita at Wellesley College. She is author of Francois Truffaut: The Lost Secret (IUP, 2013) and is co-editor with Dudley Andrew of A Companion to Francois Truffaut.

Alistair Fox is Professor Emeritus of English at the University of Otago. He is author of Speaking Pictures: Neuropsychoanalysis and Authorship in Film and Literature (IUP, 2016), Jane Campion: Authorship and Personal Cinema (IUP, 2011), and is translator of Francois Truffaut: The Lost Secret (IUP, 2013).