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Alain Resnais.

^^^ Fuck! :( Just saw "Je t'aime je t'aime" in 35mm at NYC's Film Forum for the first time and it, like just about anything I've seen of Resnais, just blew me away with the simplicity and economy with which he told the stories he wanted. "Night and Fog," "Hiroshima Mon Amour" and "Last Year at Marienbad" would be career-best works from just about any director, but these were just his starting credentials. Sob, sob.

That's very sad news. Of course Night and Fog, Hiroshima, Mon Amour and Last Year In Marienbad are the monumental achievements that it would be virtually impossible for any director to surpass, but I do also have great fondness for The War Is Over and those later adaptations of Alan Ayckbourn plays Private Fears In Public Places and especially the magnificent set-based, two actors playing all the roles, branching-narrative (if you like Dogville or Manderlay this is similarly 'meta') two part Smoking/No Smoking. Apparently his last film about to be released in France this month is The Life of Riley, also based on an Ayckbourn play and starring his regular main actress, his wife Sabine Azéma.

Interesting, I thought Wild Grass was going to be his last film

The Life of Riley premiered at the Berlin FF earlier this month, and was well-received.

domino harvey wrote:Interesting, I thought Wild Grass was going to be his last film

Do you mean that it was intended to be his last film or that it would be by default? Because there was also You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet.

Maybe that was what I was thinking of. I don't know, I plead ignorance but pleasure at there being a couple more Resnais films than I thought there were (I haven't seen anything since Private Fears in Public Places, which was interesting but not particularly good save the one bold stylistic choice)

I have yet to explore any of the 70s and 80s Rensais films. I really should seek out the Bogarde and Gielgud starring Providence at least, and I remember that Artificial Eye put out a DVD set of four of his 80s films a little while back, so I might have to finally get around to those soon.

Skip La vie est un roman, it's one of the worst films I've ever seen, a mix of childish adults and five different films you don't want to see. It's another strong contender for Worst Film From a Great Director-- although, given your affinity for off-kilter disasters, you may love it!

domino harvey wrote:(I haven't seen anything since Private Fears in Public Places, which was interesting but not particularly good save the one bold stylistic choice)

I've seen a lot of Resnais's drama adapatations. Most of them fall into that "interesting" category. The one that rises to a higher level is 1986's Mélo.

I love just about any Resnais (though La Vie est un roman is about as bad as Domino describes it). Anyone looking to branch out past the sixties classics, and especially those participating in the eighties project, should rush to Hulu Plus, where you can stream Mon Oncle d'Amerique in HD. In it's own way it's as titanic a film as anything he ever did, an all encompassing, loving and heartfelt study of human and animal behavior at it's most epic and minuscule levels.

Very sad to hear that another giant has passed. Changes in taste and fashion have not been very kind to his international standing, but he nonetheless managed to keep on working until the very end, and with people you could tell had more and more love and dedication for him with every film. It would be hard to name a more rich and diverse body of work, or to imagine that he'll ever be forgotten.

Kimstim put out an equivalent to the AE set for those who care to know. Really terrible news since I honestly thought he'd be working for another decade at least.

For all the vitality in his work, especially his recent stuff, I felt like he might live forever. Everyone owes it to themselves to check out his late output; Domino, I have trouble anticipating your opinions on films, but you might like Wild Grass (it's a disorienting film, as it's built upon the betrayal of expectations, but it's formally mischievous, playing with the conventions of the romantic comedy, and has a delightfully weird sense of humor). The layers of narrative and representation in You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet are expertly managed, and it's a more satisfying dramatic experiment than Private Fears in Public Places.

As for me, I need to fill the gap and explore his work from the 70s and 80s. And let's not forget his wonderful documentary work preceding his 60s features.

The passing of a giant. For me his most underrated masterpiece is Muriel, which still has some of the most radical editing I've seen in a narrative feature.

Very sad news. My favorite films of his are: Hiroshima Mon Amour, Last Year at Marienbad, Muriel, and Melo.

karmajuice wrote:For all the vitality in his work, especially his recent stuff, I felt like he might live forever. Everyone owes it to themselves to check out his late output; Domino, I have trouble anticipating your opinions on films, but you might like Wild Grass (it's a disorienting film, as it's built upon the betrayal of expectations, but it's formally mischievous, playing with the conventions of the romantic comedy, and has a delightfully weird sense of humor). The layers of narrative and representation in You Ain't Seen Nothin' Yet are expertly managed, and it's a more satisfying dramatic experiment than Private Fears in Public Places.

As for me, I need to fill the gap and explore his work from the 70s and 80s. And let's not forget his wonderful documentary work preceding his 60s features.

I actually would think Wild Grass would be Dom's best bet if just because when watching They All Laughed I couldn't help but be reminded it in terms of how it plays with expectations to create the overall emotional effect.

Last Year at Marienbad is the reason I became interested in international film at fifteen. I'm very sad to hear of Resnais' passing, but it's so cool to see how active he was right to the end of his life. A true artist, gone but still here.

A heartfelt RIP to Alain Resnais... Night and Fog is one of the most powerful films ever made, short or not, and is one of the few that truly grapples with the Holocaust.

A nice tribute from the Onion A.V. Club

And from Glenn Kenny's blog, featuring a 2007 interview with Resnais

Resnais to me wasn't as consistent as his peers but not for lack of trying as he was certainly ambitious. Like sir luke he's the reason I became interested in film beyond what had been fed to me. Although in my case it was Hiroshima Mon Amour that I saw first. Strange how the death of a 91 year old can get to you but this one hearts. Like Marker, you never thought the world would be without him and for that the world sucks.