#196: RESNAIS, Alain: Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)

RESNAIS, Alain (France)

Hiroshima Mon Amour [1959]

Spine #196
DVD

A cornerstone of French cinema, Alain Resnais' first feature is one of the most influential films of all time. A French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) engage in a brief, intense affair in postwar Hiroshima, their consuming fascination impelling them to exorcise their own scarred memories of love and suffering. Utilizing an innovative flashback structure and an Academy Award-nominated screenplay by novelist Marguerite Duras, Resnais delicately weaves past and present, personal pain and public anguish, in this moody masterwork.

90 minutes
Black & White

Monaural

in French

1:33:1 aspect ratio

Criterion Release 2003

Director/Writers

Screenplay and dialogue by Marguerite Duras.

Alain Resnais was 37 when he directed Hiroshima Mon Amour.

Other Resnais films in the Collection:

#197: Night And Fog (1955)
#478: Last Year At Marienbad (1961)
#824: Muriel, Or The Time Of The Return (1963)

The Film

Film Rating (0-60):

60

The Extras

The Booklet

Thirty-two page booklet featuring an essay by Kent Jones; a round-table discussion with Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Jean Domarchi, Pierre Kast, and Jacques Rivette; About the Composer: Giovanni Fusco by Russell Lack; and Portrait of the Japanese and Portrait of the French Woman by Duras.

Commentary

By film historian Peter Cowie.

Interviews

With director Resnais and actress Riva.

Video interview

With Riva.

Excerpts

From Duras’ screenplay annotations, narrated over clips from the film.

Isolated music and effects track

Extras Rating (0-40):

39

60 + 39 =

99

By Director
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