This book is the first ever English-language study of Julien Duvivier
(1896-1967), once considered one of the world's great filmmakers. It
provides new contextual and analytical readings of his films that
identify his key themes and techniques, trace patterns of continuity and
change, and explore critical assessments of his work over time. His
career began in the silent era and ended as the French New Wave was
winding down. In between, Duvivier made over sixty films in a long and
at times difficult career. He was adept at literary adaptation, biblical
epic, and film noir, and this groundbreaking volume illustrates in great
detail Duvivier's eclecticism, technical efficiency and visual fluency
in works such as Panique (1946) and Voici le temps des assassins (1956).
It will particularly appeal to scholars and students of French cinema
looking for examples of a director who could straddle the realms of the
popular and the auteur.