Cinema is the generic word for films, movies, motion pictures, whatever Anglo-Americans call it, but for the rest of us, it is cinema.
Invented by the Frères Lumiere a century ago, cinema remains one of the most powerful form of expression, communication and entertainment. For the French, it is "Le Septieme Art" .
When I was a child in the Ardennes, my little village did not have a cinema hall as such. All we could afford was a makeshift projection hall where on a Sunday, a projectionist would come form Bastogne, the nearest town, with his 16mm projector and a couple of reels of film. After the local football match, the Café de la Gare would become the cinema: nothing fancy, no screen, just a white wall and one single loudspeaker: perfect!
Scary movie
It was in that simple place that, in the late 50s, I saw the film that frightened me the most, ever: "The Thing From Outer Space". A remake was produced much later by John Carpenter, with all sorts of scary monsters and special effects, but not as frightening as the old black and white original.
It was in that simple place that, in the late 50s, I saw the film that frightened me the most, ever: "The Thing From Outer Space". A remake was produced much later by John Carpenter, with all sorts of scary monsters and special effects, but not as frightening as the old black and white original.
Poetry
When I was at boarding school as an adolescent, it was always a special treat when there was a projection in the new wing, in the gym hall with the new 4mx4m screen, held in place with ropes. One film I remember quite clearly is "La Belle et la Bete" by Jean Cocteau, with his favourite actor and lover, Jean Marais.
Many fantasy productions have been made since, with much more resources and technical savvy, but nothing reaches the intensity and pure visual poetry of Cocteau's old black and white film: it will remain for long in my memory as the ultimate film made by a poet: la vraie poésie au cinema.
Wide Screen
Very rarely, we would visit the nearest little town, where we saw one of the first cinemascope films ever made : "The Robe" - (La Tunique). The vast expanse of the wide screen, the panoramic vistas had more effect on my young mind that the very familiar story of Jesus Christ on the cross.
Very rarely, we would visit the nearest little town, where we saw one of the first cinemascope films ever made : "The Robe" - (La Tunique). The vast expanse of the wide screen, the panoramic vistas had more effect on my young mind that the very familiar story of Jesus Christ on the cross.
In 1958, we took a trip to the World Exhibition in Brussels, where I immediately went for the technology Philips hall, followed quickly by the Cinerama theatre. The screen was the size of a house, displaying 3 images side by side from 3 projectors kept in sync. The sound was multi-channel, for the first time.
Cinemascope
A technical prowess, this cinerama was then moved to the Plaza in Brussels, where a few films were shown. The films were too expensive to produce and the projections too expensive to run, the system was downgraded to 60mm, where they offered films like "2001, Space Odyssey" by Stanley Kubrick.
Nouvelle Vague
In my 20s, I joined the IAD, Institut des Arts de Diffusion, in Brussels, to learn about media, a great novelty in those days, which required a serious technical knowledge.
The curriculum was strong on the history of cinema and we all got familiar with the great directors of the silver screen. No list here, it would be too much. Of course, we got influenced a lot by the "French Nouvelle Vague" .
- Jean-Luc Godard's: A Bout de Souffle; Le Mepris;
- Francois Truffaut: Les 400 coups;
Some of these started as film critics for "Les Cahiers du Cinema" and started practicing what they preached by directing their own films.
Directors
- Jacques Tati: a special mention here
- Frederico Fellini: La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2
- Stanley Kubrick: 2001, a Space Odyssey
- Claude Lelouch: un Homme et une Femme
- Orson Welles: Citizen Kane
- Michelangelo Antonioni: Blow up,
The big picture
Film still exists everywhere, and seems healthy enough for many years to come. Many of today's productions rely on heavy artillery: fast editing (pioneered by S. Einsestein in "Potemkine" in ealy 1900s); fast action, lots of chases, special effects, explosions, computer imagery, very loud sound in multi channel Dolby TXH surround. I wonder what Jean Cocteau would have made of this? Who will be the next director who will really make a poetic film like "La Belle et la Bete" or "Le Sang du Poete" or "Orphée"
The British film critic Barry Norman always says he does not have a favourite film, but the list of his best loved films change according to age, mood, circumstances. It is true for me and for many people.
Films these days are distributed very successfully on DVDs and soon on High Definition DVD, or Blu-Ray Discs. Attempts are made to stream your favourite movies through TV sets, internet downloads and other digital methods for Video On Demand. Whatever the technology, a film remains a film and needs a good story, a good director and a good production.
And maybe, just maybe, somebody, somewhere, sometimes, will remember that, above all, " le Cinema est le Septieme Art".
