Serge Daney: L’Homme Cinéma Series
January 9- February 4
Heir apparent to the legendary French critic and theorist André Bazin, Serge Daney (1944-1992) carried the torch of French film criticism to a new generation of cinéphiles with his insightful writing for Cahiers du cinema (for which he served as editor-in-chief from 1975 to 1981, ushering in a significant era of post-auterist criticism), for the newspaper Libération, and at the influential journal he founded, Trafic. Despite his canonical status in European film circles, his reputation abroad has been largely constrained-in no small part because his work has yet to be translated into English. Never a victim of fashion, Daney was a champion of both classical Hollywood genre films and promising new directors from France and abroad. This program offers a sampling of some of the critic’s most beloved films as well as a rare documentary in which Daney provides testimony to his passion for film and the culture at large. Each evening’s program will be introduced by a local film historian, scholar, or critic.
This program is co-presented with French Cultural Services, the Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies at Harvard University, Vive les Arts, and Cahiers du cinema, which will also publish the proceedings of the symposium in an upcoming issue. Special thanks to Centre National du Cinéma, the Department of Film Studies at Yale University, and Unifrance USA.
CHILDREN OF PARADISE (Les enfants du paradis), Directed by Marcel Carné, France, 1945, with Pierre Brasseur, Arletty, Jean-Louis Barrault will screen on January 9 at 7 pm, and February 3 also at 7 pm.
HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR, Directed by Alain Resnais, screens on January 11 at 8 pm and February 2 at 9 pm
Also screening for this program are: SHE WORE A YELLOW RIBBON directed by John Ford, NIGHT OF THE HUNTER directed by Charles Laughton, ANNIE HALL directed by Woody Allen, RIO BRAVO directed by Howard Hawks, BIRD directed by Clint Eastwood, and FANNY AND ALEXANDER directed by Ingmar Bergman among other terrific titles. Please visit the HFA web site for a complete listing.
On January 29 10 am - 4 pm, AFTER FILM CRITICISM: A SYMPOSIUM IN HOMAGE TO SERGE DANEY will be held at Minda de Gunzburg Center for European Studies. Adolphus Busch Hall, 27 Kirkland St. at Cabot Way, in Cambridge. For this day-long symposium, a diverse group of international scholars and critics will gather to examine the influence French critic Serge Daney brought to bear on contemporary film culture, the contested position of the cinephiliac, and the divide between academic and journalistic criticism. Panelists will include Professor Dudley Andrew of Yale University, critic and editor Jean-Michel Frodon of Cahiers du cinéma, and cultural critic Susan Sontag.