André S. Labarthe

A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.

A troubled marriage is tested by the couple's involvement in a theatrical production of Racine’s Andromaque.

Four short films by four different directors dealing with the principles of modern life. "Illibatezza" (Rossellini): The hostess Anna Maria, to dissuade an aggressive suitor who prefers maternal tendencies, assumes an unscrupulous attitude, obeying the suggestions of her distant boyfriend. "The New World" (Godard): The deflagration of an atomic bomb causes strange effects on the inhabitants of a city. "La ricotta" (Pasolini): During the filming of a film about a religious subject, the extra Stracci dies hanging on the cross due to an indigestion of ricotta. "Il pollo spante" (Gregoretti): While an expert illustrates to a board of merchants the most modern techniques to increase sales through the discovery of the secret self of the average consumer, the human story of a bourgeois who, following these suggestions, focuses on the purchase of a plot of land in the countryside.

After leaving France in search of a better life in America, a television producer returns with a group of burlesque dancers to take the Paris club scene by storm.

In 1985, former oil rig worker Richard Linklater began a film screening society in Austin, Texas, that aimed to show classic art-house and experimental films to a budding community of cinephiles. Eventually incorporating as a nonprofit, the newly branded Austin Film Society raised enough money to fly in their first out-of-town filmmaker: James Benning. Accepting the invitation, Benning met Linklater and the two began to develop a personal and intellectual bond, leading to many future encounters. Starting in the 1960s, Benning had been creating low budget films mostly on his own, while Linklater had just begun to craft his first shorts. The filmmakers have remained close even as their careers have diverged. After the cult success of Slacker, Linklater went on to make films with Hollywood support. Benning, meanwhile, has stayed close to his roots and is mainly an unknown figure in mainstream film culture.

In 1985, former oil rig worker Richard Linklater began a film screening society in Austin, Texas, that aimed to show classic art-house and experimental films to a budding community of cinephiles. Eventually incorporating as a nonprofit, the newly branded Austin Film Society raised enough money to fly in their first out-of-town filmmaker: James Benning. Accepting the invitation, Benning met Linklater and the two began to develop a personal and intellectual bond, leading to many future encounters. Starting in the 1960s, Benning had been creating low budget films mostly on his own, while Linklater had just begun to craft his first shorts. The filmmakers have remained close even as their careers have diverged. After the cult success of Slacker, Linklater went on to make films with Hollywood support. Benning, meanwhile, has stayed close to his roots and is mainly an unknown figure in mainstream film culture.

Amazing documentary shows rarely seen side of a master director. 1990 was a very good year for Martin Scorsese. After making a diverse group of films in the 80s, he reunited with Robert DeNiro for "Goodfellas" and later that year shot a segment for "New York Stories", an anthology film of three shorts by Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Francis Ford Coppola. During the editing, the French documentary series "Cinéma, de notre temps" filmed a documentary on the director, and it's a fascinating glimpse into his life, personality, and working habits as he edits his short with long-time collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker.

Amazing documentary shows rarely seen side of a master director. 1990 was a very good year for Martin Scorsese. After making a diverse group of films in the 80s, he reunited with Robert DeNiro for "Goodfellas" and later that year shot a segment for "New York Stories", an anthology film of three shorts by Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Francis Ford Coppola. During the editing, the French documentary series "Cinéma, de notre temps" filmed a documentary on the director, and it's a fascinating glimpse into his life, personality, and working habits as he edits his short with long-time collaborator Thelma Schoonmaker.

In the third part of a Cinéastes triptych on Jean Renoir, the director sits alone in a cinema analyzing scenes from La Marseillaise and The Rules of the Game, and discussing his editing and storytelling techniques.

Intimate portrait of Abel Ferrara: the result is an eccentric road movie, with the restless film maker as a charming, shabby guide around New York by night.

Janine Bazin and André Labarthe approached Chantal Akerman about making a film for the series; eagerly, Akerman proposed a number of filmmakers—but all had already been done. So she suggested…“How about me?” Akerman creates a fascinating self-portrait that takes us through her career, aided by critics Emmanuel Burdeau and Jean Narboni and filmmaker Luc Moullet.

Jeanne Moreau, filmed by Jacques Rozier, meets with Jerry Lewis, Barbet Schroeder and Orson Welles, among others.

A documentary about the dancer Sylvie Guillem on her daily round of classes, rehearsals and peformances.

This film of interviews with the film director Jacques Rivette was produced in collaboration with Serge Daney, film critic from “Cahiers du cinéma”, then of “Liberation”. In the course of their conversations, the two speakers discuss Rivette’s career, his relationships with the other film makers of the new wave, his use of “mise en scene” and his working with actors.

An hour-long discussion between Fritz Lang and Jean-Luc Godard in which they discuss a variety of art forms, the role of the cinema, their collaboration together, and much more. (Filmed in 1964 but released for TV in 1967.)

An hour-long discussion between Fritz Lang and Jean-Luc Godard in which they discuss a variety of art forms, the role of the cinema, their collaboration together, and much more. (Filmed in 1964 but released for TV in 1967.)

Interview with the French film director, conducted for television in 1978.

Part of the Cinéastes de notre temps series.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

An episode of the television program Cinéastes de notre temps in which the director gives his first on-camera interview.

Made for Cinéastes de notre temps series. In 1964, several French New Wave auteurs discuss the success and crisis of the wave. Featuring Claude Chabrol, François Truffaut, Jacques Rivette, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rozier, Jacques Demy, Agnès Varda, Jean Rouch, and many others.

Five, even six, variations on a theme, commentary and interpretation of the same photograph. An exercise to tell and summarize the history of the Cinémathèque française.

On the shooting or when talking about it, Mathieu Amalric is preparing Barbara, his film about the iconic singer, starring the incredible Jeanne Balibar.

No synopsis available yet.

The first of three documentaries by Rivette on Jean Renoir.

Second in the documentary trilogy from mastermind Jacques Rivette, featuring a conversation between Jean Renoir and Michel Simon, who celebrate their reunion by discussing, among other things, La Chienne (1931) and Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932).

A “Cinéastes de notre temps” series episode directed by french film critic André S. Labarthe, originally aired 4 June 1971.

“I Have to Make the Word Be Flesh” is an insightful and candid interview with the man himself about his films and his motivations. Cronenberg is cheerfully frank about his often grotesque images and controversial subject matter, and clearly relishes in the opportunity to explore the themes and motifs behind each one.

“I Have to Make the Word Be Flesh” is an insightful and candid interview with the man himself about his films and his motivations. Cronenberg is cheerfully frank about his often grotesque images and controversial subject matter, and clearly relishes in the opportunity to explore the themes and motifs behind each one.

A “Cinéma, de notre temps” series episode directed by french film critic André S. Labarthe, originally aired sometime around 2015.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

No synopsis available yet.

Made for "Cinéma, de notre temps" series. In a peaceful residence near the Loire River, Chabrol raised his favorite characters : monsters. In this documentary, we can see him actively working on the adaptation of Simenon's novel "Betty", and answering the questions posed by Jean Douchet (his former colleagues at the magazine "Cahiers du Cinéma"). Excerpts from The Butcher (Le Boucher), Violette Nozière, The Hatter's Ghost (Les Fantômes du chapelier) and Masks (Masques) will punctuate their meaningful and witty conversation.

Made for "Cinéma, de notre temps" series. In a peaceful residence near the Loire River, Chabrol raised his favorite characters : monsters. In this documentary, we can see him actively working on the adaptation of Simenon's novel "Betty", and answering the questions posed by Jean Douchet (his former colleagues at the magazine "Cahiers du Cinéma"). Excerpts from The Butcher (Le Boucher), Violette Nozière, The Hatter's Ghost (Les Fantômes du chapelier) and Masks (Masques) will punctuate their meaningful and witty conversation.

Bergala makes Erice wander about (DV in hand) between Madrid and Paris remembering those primeval scenes in his education as a filmmaker, retrieving places more alive than ever in his cinéphile memory. Paris-Madrid, allers-retours fuses genealogy & elegy, diving into the roots of Erice’s oeuvre.

No synopsis available yet.

Documentary on the use of color and black and white in contemporary arts through nine artists. A “Cinéastes de notre temps” series episode directed by french film critic André S. Labarthe, originally aired 16 March 1968.

Episode of the French television series about the work of film director Jacques Becker. (A 27-minute excerpt from this show appears on the Criterion Collection's release of "Casque d'Or." )

The film retraces the last two years of Antonin Artaud.

The film retraces the last two years of Antonin Artaud.

Colour, form, area - this is the formula of the greatest pioneer of abstract painting. Kandinsky came to art late in life, but his impact through Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) and Bauhaus paved the way for modern art. In 1913, he created one of the first abstract pictures, the theoretical basis of which was inspired by his essay Uber das Geistige in der Kunst (On the Spiritual in Art). Accompanied by Mussorgsky's Pictures From An Exhibition Labarthe goes on a sensual journey which makes the soul resound with colours and forms. "A picture has to resound and must be bathed in an inner glow." Kandinsky

A “Cinéastes de notre temps” series episode directed by french film critic André S. Labarthe, originally aired 12 May 1969.

Catherine Deneuve comments on passages from "L'Ève future" by Villiers de l'Isle-Adam. Episode of the TV program "Cinéma, cinémas".