Renoir on Renoir

Renoir on Renoir is a 1990 collection of essays by, and interviews of, the legendary filmmaker Jean Renoir, who created such classics as The Grand Illusion, The River and The Rules of the Game. Renoir's career in cinema, which straddled the transition from silent film to the talkies, has influenced a subsequent generation of filmmakers. Between 1954 and 1967, Renoir was interviewed by such eminent filmmakers and theorists as Jacques Rivette, Francois Truffaut and Jacques Becker. The interviews were originally recorded and published in the distinguished French film review Cahiers du Cinéma, and shown on French television. They are an engaging account of Renoir's deep commitment to his chosen profession. Providing additional information on his ideas and theories on screen writing and directing, Renoir's essays also include lively anecdotes of the genesis and evolution of each of his films. They reveal behind-the-scenes of some of the masterpieces of French cinema.