{"id":2573,"date":"2022-04-07T10:14:11","date_gmt":"2022-04-07T10:14:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/?p=2573"},"modified":"2023-11-28T10:56:30","modified_gmt":"2023-11-28T10:56:30","slug":"nouvelle-vague-movie-locations-in-paris","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/2022\/04\/07\/nouvelle-vague-movie-locations-in-paris\/","title":{"rendered":"Nouvelle Vague Movie Locations in Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"

La Nouvelle Vague<\/em>, the French New Wave movement of the late 1950s to 1960s, left an undelible mark on cinema history not just in France, but around the world.\u00a0<\/span>Directors most associated with the art film movement lived in Paris, and the city featured heavily in their work. Innovative use of portable camera equipement also made it easier for these filmmakers to use the city itself rather than a film set. <\/span>You can delve into the world of the Nouvelle Vague by visiting the sites and districts we have compiled here.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Daguerr\u00e9otypes

Daguerr\u00e9otypes – Agn\u00e8s Varda<\/p><\/div>\n

Montparnasse<\/span><\/h3>\n

The area around our Paris School was a prime location for Nouvelle Vague directors. The greatest of these was Agn\u00e8s Varda, who lived on la Rue Daguerre,\u00a0 which she immortalised in <\/span>Daguerr\u00e9otypes<\/span><\/i>, a 1976 documentary illustrating life on this vibrant market street (predominantly shot between numbers 70-90). Montparnasse also appeared in her film <\/span>Cl\u00e9o de 5 \u00e0 7 <\/span><\/i>(<\/span>Cl\u00e9o from 5 to 7<\/span><\/i>), in particular the Caf\u00e9 Le D\u00f4me and the Parc Montsouris. Jean-Luc Godard selected the classic Montparnasse caf\u00e9 La Rotonde for a scene in his cult classic <\/span>A Bout de Souffle <\/span><\/i>(<\/span>Breathless<\/span><\/i>). Right around the corner from the school and south of the Luxembourg Gardens, rue Michelet also appeared in Rohmer\u2019s <\/span>Le Beau Mariage<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>A Good Marriage<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Study

A Bout de Souffle – Jean-Luc Godard<\/span><\/i><\/p><\/div>\n

L’Avenue des Champs Elys\u00e9es<\/span><\/h3>\n

Although there is less interest in strolling Paris\u2019s most famous avenue today, now mostly lined with chain shops, Les Champs Elys\u00e9es was the backdrop of several New Wave films. The most iconic of these is Jean-Luc Godard\u2019s <\/span>A Bout de Souffle<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>Breathless<\/span><\/i>), whose main characters Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) and Patricia (Jean Seberg) meet on the street where she\u2019s selling newspapers. Eric Rohmer\u2019s first full-length feature, <\/span>Le Signe du Lion<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>The Sign of Leo<\/span><\/i>), was shot on the avenue and around Place de l\u2019Etoile, which was also captured in Jacques Rivette\u2019s <\/span>Paris nous appartient <\/span><\/i>(<\/span>Paris Belongs to Us<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Film

Le Signe du Lion – Eric Rohmer<\/p><\/div>\n

The Seine\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

The banks of the Seine River starred in a range of Nouvelle Vague films. Rohmer\u2019s <\/span>Le Signe du Lion<\/span><\/i> showcased the walkway along the river as well as one of the city\u2019s loveliest bridges, Le Pont des Arts. The bridge also appears in Rivette\u2019s <\/span>Paris nous appartient<\/span><\/i> and Charbrol\u2019s films <\/span>Les Godelureaux (Wise Guys) <\/span><\/i>and <\/span>Les Biches<\/span><\/i> (The Does<\/span><\/i>).<\/span><\/p>\n

\"French

Les 400 Coups<\/span><\/i> – Fran\u00e7ois Truffaut, no. 16 <\/span>rue Fontaine<\/p><\/div>\n

Pigalle<\/span><\/h3>\n

Having grown up in the then middle class 9th district, south of Pigalle, many of Fran\u00e7ois Truffaut\u2019s films revisit his childhood haunts. <\/span>Les 400 Coups<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>The 400 Blows) <\/span><\/i>had a number of scenes shot in the area, especially in and around rue des Martyrs, Avenue Frochot and rue Fontaine (at number 16 where the boys are looking out of the rooftop skylight). Main character Antoine Doinel ambles the busy Boulevard de Clichy, which runs from near Place Pigalle to Place de Clichy, and also goes to the movies at le Wepler, a movie theatre still standing, albeit in a modern incarnation, on Place de Clichy. Sadly le Gaumont Palace, once the largest movie theatre in Europe, has now been replaced by DIY store Castorama.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"

Baiser Vol\u00e9s – Fran\u00e7ois Truffaut,<\/span> rue Navarin<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Montmartre<\/span><\/h3>\n

Truffaut was also fond of nearby Montmartre, whose back streets feature in L<\/span>es Quatre Cents Coups<\/span><\/i> as well as in his 1968 film<\/span> Baisers Vol\u00e9s<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>Stolen Kisses<\/span><\/i>), especially around l\u2019Avenue Junot, la rue de Steinkerque and la rue Caulaincourt. The above shot from the film was actually filmed on rue Navarin in the 9th, but looks up towards Sacr\u00e9-Coeur and la Butte de Montmartre. He shot a scene in<\/span> L\u2019Amour en Fuite<\/span><\/i> (<\/span>Love on the Run<\/span><\/i>) in the Montmartre Cemetery, which turned out to be his final resting place.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Paris

Paris Vu Par…<\/p><\/div>\n

Paris vu par\u2026<\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n

Lastly, for a grand tour of the city watch<\/span> Paris vu par<\/span><\/i>\u2026 (<\/span>Six in Paris<\/span><\/i>), a collection of vignettes by the leading directors of the movement and released in 1965. Jean Douchet focuses on the intellectual Saint-Germain-des-Pr\u00e9s area, including the Caf\u00e9 de Flore and the Institut de France and the Mus\u00e9e Delacroix. <\/span>\u00a0Jean Rouch<\/span>\u2019s short is on the working-class <\/span>Gare du Nord area and rue Lafayette.<\/span> Claude Chabrol selected the bourgeois 16th district around La Muette in contrast to\u00a0 Jean-Daniel Pollet\u2019s seedy Rue Saint-Denis. Rohmer revisited Place de l\u2019Etoile and Godard travelled from a sculptor\u2019s workshop in Montparnasse to the suburb of Levallois.<\/span><\/p>\n

Passionate about film and its history? Study Film in Paris by pursuing our Master’s in Film Programme<\/strong><\/a>. Learn more about it, and our other MA Programmes in the Humanities, at this link<\/strong><\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

La Nouvelle Vague, the French New Wave movement of the late 1950s to 1960s, left an undelible mark on cinema history not just in France, but around the world.\u00a0Directors most associated with the art film movement lived in Paris, and the city featured heavily in their work. Innovative use of portable camera equipement also made […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":74581,"featured_media":2574,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[227397,172971],"tags":[1123,252410,252409],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/74581"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2573"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3277,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2573\/revisions\/3277"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2574"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2573"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2573"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.kent.ac.uk\/paris-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2573"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}