Jean-Louis Comolli (30 July 1941 – 19 May 2022) was a French writer, editor, and film director.
Career
Comolli was editor in chief of ''
Cahiers du cinéma
''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...
'' from 1966 to 1978,
during which period he wrote the influential essays "Machines of the Visible" (1971) and "Technique and Ideology: Camera, Perspective, Depth of Field" (1971–72), both of which have been translated in English anthologies of film and media studies. This work was important in the discussion on
apparatus theory
Apparatus theory, derived in part from Marxist film theory, semiotics, and psychoanalysis, was a dominant theory within cinema studies during the 1970s, following the 1960s when psychoanalytical theories for film were popular.
Overview
Apparatus ...
, an attempt to rethink cinema as a site for the production and maintenance of
dominant state ideology in the wake of May 1968.
After his tenure at ''Cahiers'', Comolli continued his work as a director and has since published numerous works on film theory, documentary, and jazz. He taught film theory at the Universities of Paris VIII, Barcelona, Strasburg and Genève.
In the spring of 2008, Comolli was invited to the
Visions du réel
Visions du Réel (Visions of Reality) is an internationally renowned documentary film festival held in April each year in Nyon, Switzerland. Established in 1969 as the Nyon International Documentary Film Festival, the event adopted its current na ...
documentary film festival in
Nyon, Switzerland
Nyon (; outdated German: or ; outdated Italian: , ) is a municipality in Nyon District in the canton of Vaud in Switzerland. It is located some 25 kilometers north east of Geneva's city centre, and since the 1970s it has become part of the Gen ...
, where he developed his theory of documentary cinema.
[''Cahier du Monde'' Sunday 4/Monday 5 May 2008, n° 19680]
Select filmography
* 1968: ''
Les deux Marseillaises'' (co-director:
André S. Labarthe)
* 1969: ''
Comme je te veux''
* 1975: ''
La Cecilia''
* 1981: ''
L'Ombre rouge''
* 1983: ''
Balles perdues''
* 1986: ''
Le Bal d'Irène'' (TV)
* 1987: ''
Pétition'' (TV)
* 1989: ''
Marseille de père en fils - Coup de mistral''
* 1989: ''
Marseille de père en fils - Ombres sur la ville''
* 1992: ''
La Campagne de Provence''
* 1993: ''
Marseille en mars''
* 1994: ''
Jeune fille au livre''
* 1995: ''
Georges Delerue
Georges Delerue (12 March 1925 – 20 March 1992) was a French composer who composed over 350 scores for cinema and television. Delerue won numerous important film music awards, including an Academy Award for ''A Little Romance'' (1980), three C ...
'' (TV)
* 1996: ''
Marseille contre Marseille''
* 1997: ''
Nos deux Marseillaises''
* 1997: ''
La Question des alliances''
* 2000: ''
Durruti, portrait d'un anarchiste''
* 2003: ''
Rêves de France à Marseille''
* 2004: ''
Les Esprits du Koniambo'' (TV)
* 2005: ''
Le Peintre, le poète et l'historien'' (TV)
Select bibliography
* "Machines of the Visible." in ''Electronic Culture: Technology and Visual Representation'', ed. Timothy Druckrey. Aperture Press (1996
971
Year 971 ( CMLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Battle of Dorostolon: A Byzantine expeditionary army (possibly 30–40,000 men) ...
.
* "Technique and Ideology: Camera, Perspective, Depth of Field.” in ''Narrative, Apparatus, Ideology: A Film Theory Reader'', ed. Philip Rosen. Columbia University Press (1986
972
Year 972 ( CMLXXII) was a leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar.
Events
By place
Byzantine Empire
* Spring – Emperor John I Tzimiskes divides the Bulgarian territories, recent ...
.
References
External links
Audio interview with Jean-Louis Comolli (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Comolli, Jean-Louis
1941 births
2022 deaths
French film directors
French male screenwriters
French screenwriters
French film critics
French male non-fiction writers
Cahiers du Cinéma editors
Pieds-Noirs
People from Skikda