As a pioneer of the French New Wave, Jacques Rivette was one of a group
of directors who permanently altered the world's perception of cinema by
taking the camera out of the studios and into the streets. His films,
including Paris nous appartient, Out 1: Noli me tangere, Céline et
Julie vont en bateau--Phantom Ladies Over Paris, La belle noiseuse,
Secret défense, and Va savoir are extraordinary combinations of
intellectual depth, playfulness, and sensuous beauty. In this study of
Rivette, Mary M. Wiles provides a thorough account of the director's
career from the burgeoning French New Wave to the present day, focusing
on the theatricality of Rivette's films and his explorations of the
relationship between cinema and fine arts such as painting, literature,
music, and dance. Wiles also explores the intellectual interests that
shaped Rivette's approach to film, including Sartre's existentialism,
Barthes's structuralism, and the radical theater of the 1960s. The
volume concludes with Wiles's insightful interview with Rivette.