Cinéma vérité explained

Cinéma vérité (in French sinema veʁite/ truth cinema; "truthful cinema") is a style of documentary filmmaking developed by Edgar Morin and Jean Rouch, inspired by Dziga Vertov's theory about Kino-Pravda. It combines improvisation with use of the camera to unveil truth or highlight subjects hidden behind reality.^{[1] [2] [3]} It is sometimes called observational cinema,^{[4] [5]} if understood as pure direct cinema: mainly without a narrator's voice-over. There are subtle, yet important, differences between terms expressing similar concepts. Direct cinema is largely concerned with the recording of events in which the subject and audience become unaware of the camera's presence: operating within what Bill Nichols,^[6] an American historian and theoretician of documentary film, calls the "observational mode", a fly on the wall. Many therefore see a paradox in drawing attention away from the presence of the camera and simultaneously interfering in the reality it registers when attempting to discover a cinematic truth.

History

Cinéma vérité can involve stylized set-ups and interaction between the filmmaker and the subject, even to the point of provocation. Some argue that the obvious presence of the filmmaker and camera was seen by most cinéma vérité filmmakers as the best way to reveal the truth.^{[7] [8] [9]} The camera is always acknowledged, for it performs the act of filming real objects, people, and events in a confrontational way. The filmmaker's intention was to represent the truth as objectively as possible, freeing the viewer from deceptions in how those aspects of life were formerly presented to them. From this perspective, the filmmaker should be the catalyst of a situation. Few agree on the meanings of these terms, even the filmmakers whose films are being described.

Pierre Perrault sets situations up and then films them, for example in Pour la suite du monde (1963) where he asked old people to fish for whale. The result is not a documentary about whale fishing; it is about memory and lineage. In this sense cinéma vérité is concerned with anthropological cinema, and with the social and political implications of what is captured on film. How a filmmaker shoots a film, what is being filmed, what to do with what was filmed, and how that film will be presented to an audience, all were very important for filmmakers of the time.

In all cases, the ethical and aesthetic analysis of documentary form (see docufiction) of the 1950s and 1960s has to be linked with a critical look at post-war propaganda analysis. This type of cinema is concerned with notions of truth and reality in film. Feminist documentary films of the 1970s often used cinéma-vérité techniques. This sort of "realism" was criticized for its deceptive pseudo-natural construction of reality.^{[10] [11]}

Edgar Morin coined the term around the time of such essential films as 1960's Primary^[12] and his own 1961 collaboration with Jean Rouch, Chronicle of a Summer.^[13]

Filmmakers associated with the style

Pioneers:

• Robert Drew^[14]
• Haskell Wexler^[15]
• Richard Leacock^{[16] [23]}
• Shirley Clarke^[24]
• Chris Marker^{[26] [24]}
• Vittorio De Seta^[16]
• The Maysles Brothers (Albert and David Maysles)^{[28] [16] [24] [23]}
• Frederick Wiseman^{[30] [32]}
• Barbara Kopple^{[33] [34]}
• Les Blank^{[35] [16]}
• Peter Watkins^[36]
• Matthew Heineman

Selected cinéma-vérité films

• Daybreak Express (1953)^{[34] [16]}
• Sea Countrymen (1955)^{[34] [16]}
• Primary (1960)^{[37] [35] [34] [38]}
• Chronicle of a Summer (1961)^{[39] [35] [23]}
• (1963)^{[40] [35] [34] [23]}
• Happy Mother's Day (1964)^{[41] [34] [16]}
• A Time For Burning (1966)^[23]
• Dont Look Back (1967)^{[42] [35] [23]}
• Portrait of Jason (1967)^{[43] [23]}
• Uncle Yanco (1967)^{[34] [16]}
• The Blues Accordin' to Lightnin' Hopkins (1968)^{[16] [34]}
• High School (1968)^{[46] [24]}
• Monterey Pop (1968)^{[35] [23]}
• (1968)^[23]
• Law and Order (1969)^[23]
• Salesman (1969)^[47]
• Italianamerican (1974)^{[34] [16]}
• The Plaint of Steve Kreines as recorded by his younger brother Jeff (1974)^[50]
• A Poem Is a Naked Person (1974)^{[35] [34]}
• Grey Gardens (1975)^{[51] [34]}
• Always for Pleasure (1978)^{[51] [35] [34]}
• Werner Herzog Eats His Shoe (1980)^{[16] [34]}
• The Decline of Western Civilization (1981)^[53] and the sequel The Metal Years (1988)^[54]
• The Atomic Cafe (1982)^{[55] [56] [57] [58]}
• Burden of Dreams (1982)^{[51] [35] [34]}
• Say Amen, Somebody (1982)^[59]
• Streetwise (1984)^[60]
• Sherman's March (1986)^[61]
• (1989)^[62]
• Paris Is Burning (1990)^{[63] [64]}
• American Dream (1991)^{[51] [34]}
• The War Room (1993)^[65]
• Tarnation (2003)^[67]
• Control Room (2004)^[68]
• Murderball (2005)^[69]
• How to Survive a Plague (2012)^[70]
• Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)^[71]
• Cow (2021)^[72]
• When We Were Bullies (2021)^[43]
• Jeen-Yuhs (2022)^[73]

Fictional cinéma vérité–style films

The following are films that are fictional or semi-fictional which use cinéma vérité film-making techniques:

• Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)^{[24] [23]}
• David Holzman's Diary (1967)^[23]
• Faces (1968)^{[74] [24] [23]}
• Medium Cool (1969)^{[15] [34] [23]}
• Multiple Maniacs (1970)^[75]
• Wanda (1970)^[76]
• Bush Mama (1979)^[77]
• (1986)^{[78] [79]}
• Bad Movie (1997)^[80]
• Slam (1998)^[81]
• Take Out (2004)^[82]
• Daddy Longlegs (2009)^[83]
• Certified Copy (2010)^[84]
• Tangerine (2015)^[85]
• American Honey (2016)^[86]
• The Florida Project (2017)^{[87] [88]}

Legacy

Many film directors of the 1960s and later adopted use of handheld camera and other cinéma vérité aspects for their scripted, fiction filmshaving actors improvise to get a more spontaneous quality in their dialogue and action. Influential examples include director John Cassavetes, who broke ground with his 1968 Academy Award-nominated film Faces.^[89] The techniques of cinéma vérité can also be seen in fictional films from The Blair Witch Project^[90]

Cinéma vérité was also adapted for use in scripted TV programs, such as , NYPD Blue,^[92] and Modern Family.^[94] and Emmy Award-nominated TV series Documentary Now (the latter paying homage to the style of such CV classics as Grey Gardens, Salesman and The War Room).^{[97] [98]}

See also

• Cinema Verite – the 2011 HBO TV movie about the making of PBS's 1973 documentary series An American Family
• Ethnofiction
• Found footage (pseudo-documentary)
• Pilottone
• Sync sound
• 16 mm film
• Guerrilla filmmaking

External links

• REALISM, article by Robert McConnell at Parlez-vous.com
• Cinéma Vérité at Encyclopædia Britannica
  • Cinéma Vérité: Defining The Moment, IMDb.

Notes and References

1. Web site: Glossary of Rouchian Terms . https://web.archive.org/web/20190430033332/http://www.maitres-fous.net/glossary.html . 30 April 2019 . 2024-03-02 . www.maitres-fous.net.
2. http://www.imakenews.com/gothamsound/e_article002082700.cfm?x=0,b11,w Ricky Leacock and “The Sense of Being There”
3. http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b012tnml Camera that Changed the World
4. http://www.karamumedia12.wikispaces.com/file/view/Direct+Cinema.doc Direct Cinema
5. http://www.filmreference.com/encyclopedia/Criticism-Ideology/Documentary-OBSERVATIONAL-DOCUMENTARY.html Observational documentary
6. Nichols, Bill. Introducing the Documentary. Indiana University Press, 2001, p. 109
7. Barbara Bruni, "Jean Rouch: Cinéma-vérité, Chronicle of a Summer and The Human Pyramid", Senses of Cinema, issue 19, March 2002.
8. DIRECT CINEMA: Filmmaking Style and its relationship to "Truth" – Thesis by Bernice K. Shneider, B.A., Art History University of Massachusetts, MIT (1972)
9. http://microwave.filmlondon.org.uk/get_the_knowledge/lo_budget_hi_quality/chapter_one_learning_from_the_masters_a_history_of_low/jean_rouch_the_film_maker_as_provocateur Jean Rouch – The Film-maker as Provocateur
10. http://serendip.brynmawr.edu/exchange/node/1485 A feminist critique of documentary film
11. http://www.tft.ucla.edu/mediascape/Fall08_Warren.pdf By, For, and About: The “Real” Problem in the Feminist Film Movement
12. Richard Brody, "The Godfather of Cinéma Vérité", The New Yorker, July 31, 2014.
13. https://www.criterion.com/films/28394-chronicle-of-a-summer Chronicle of a Summer (1961)
14. http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/blog/cinema-verite-the-movement-of-truth/ "Cinema Verite: The Movement of Truth"
15. Web site: Haskell Wexler . 2023-05-13 . . en.
16. https://www.criterionchannel.com/cinema-verite-shorts Cinema Verité Shorts - The Criterion Channel
17. • Agnes Varda^[16]
18. • Karel Reisz^[16]
19. • Tony Richardson^[16]

20. Others

    • William Greaves
    • Jim McBride
    • Lindsay Anderson^[16]
21. • Jean Rouch^[16]
22. • D. A. Pennebaker^[16]
23. https://filmforum.org/series/60s-verite-series Film Fourm · 60s VERITÉ
24. https://www.flavorwire.com/612580/how-60s-verite-transformed-american-cinema How ’60s Vérité Transformed American Cinema - Flavorwire
25. ^[24]
26. https://www.vice.com/en/article/4av45p/how-tyler-the-creator-crafted-his-own-cinematic-universe How Tyler, The Creator Crafted His Own Cinematic Universe - VICE
27. • Jean-Luc Godard^[26]
28. https://www.indiewire.com/feature/best-documentaries-21st-century-1201857688/ The 50 Best Documentaries of the 21st Century - IndieWire
29. ^[28]
30. https://www.nytimes.com/1989/02/04/obituaries/john-cassavetes-major-director-in-us-cinema-verite-dies-at-59.htmlJohn Cassavetes, Major Director In U.S. Cinema Verite, Dies at 59 - The New York Times
31. • John Cassavetes^[30]
32. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TP8KgFHwNeA UNDER THE INFLUENCE: FILMS BY JOHN CASSAVETES | Official Trailer | Hand-Picked by MUBI - MUBI on YouTube
33. https://books.google.com/books?id=BUE7gm9TgkYC&dq=Cinema+verite+michael+moore&pg=PA160 New Working-class Studies - Google Books (pg.160)
34. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/8027-the-criterion-channels-january-2023-lineup The Criterion Channel’s January 2023 Lineup|Current|The Criterion Collection
35. https://www.criterionchannel.com/cinema-verite Cinema Verité - The Criterion Channel
36. http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/the-25-best-movies-about-the-cold-war/2/ The 25 Best Movies About The Cold War – Page 2 – Taste of Cinema
37. Realism as a Style in Cinema Verite: A Critical Analysis of "Primary" . 1224885 . Hall . Jeanne . Cinema Journal . 1991 . 30 . 4 . 24–50 . 10.2307/1224885 .
38. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_I_of_the_Camera/R92ziB67AMIC?hl=en&gbpv=1 The 'I' of the Camera - Google Books (pg.281)
39. https://www.criterion.com/films/28394-chronicle-of-a-summer Chronicle of a Summer (1961)|The Criterion Collection
40. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/06/25/movies/cinema-verite.html Does Cinéma Vérité Exist? Watch These 2 Movies to Find Out - The New York Times
41. http://phfilms.com/films/happy-mothers-day/ Happy Mother's Day
42. Web site: D.A. Pennebaker's Don't Look Back: Direct Cinema's Early Portrait of a Cultural Icon. Terri C Smith. January 15, 2007.
43. https://www.backstage.com/magazine/article/what-is-cinema-verite-examples-75673/ Cinéma Vérité: How to Use the Filmmaking Technique|Backstage
44. ^[43]
45. • Titicut Follies (1967)^[43]
46. http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2015/10-essential-cinema-verite-films-every-documentary-fan-should-see/2/ 10 Essential Cinema Verite Films Every Documentary Fan Should See - Page 2 -Taste of Cinema
47. https://iffr.com/en/iffr/2005/films/a-film-of-their-1973-spring-tour-commissioned-by-christian-world-liberation-front A Film of Their 1973 Spring Tour Commissioned by Christian World Liberation Front - IFFR EN
48. • Hospital (1970)
    • I Am Somebody (1970)
    • Woodstock (1970)
    • Christo's Valley Curtain (1973)
    • A Film of Their 1973 Spring Tour Commissioned by Christian Liberation Front of Berkeley California (1974)^[47]
49. • Gimme Shelter (1970)^[47]
50. http://history.sundance.org/films/108/the_plaint_of_steve_kreines_as_recorded_by_his_younger_brother_jeff The Plaint of Steve Kreines as recorded by his younger brother Jeff
51. https://www.starkinsider.com/2023/01/1960s-cinema-verite-documentaries-come-to-the-criterion-channel.html 1960s Cinema Verité documentaries come to the Criterion Channel|Stark Insider
52. • Harlan County U.S.A. (1976)^[51]
53. News: MISS SPHEERIS'S PUNK VERITE . The New York Times. Janet. Maslin. July 5, 1981.
54. https://books.google.com/books?id=ubWAht7N7zsC&dq=Decline+of+western+civilization+verite&pg=PA113 The Rolling Stone Illustrated History of Rock & Roll: The Definitive History of the Most Important Artists and Their Music - Google Books (pg.113)
55. Web site: The Atomic Cafe. Screen Slate. 29 July 2018. Tanya . Goldman . Spencer. Nachman.
56. https://www.texasobserver.org/atomic-cafe-documentary-sxsw-cold-war-nuclear/ IN ‘THE ATOMIC CAFE,’ U.S. COLD WAR PROPAGANDA COMES OUT OF THE BUNKERS FOR THE TRUMP ERA - The Texas Observer
57. Web site: David . Parkinson. The Atomic Cafe Review. Empire. 30 March 2006.
58. Web site: Atomic Cafe: History Done Right. Conelrad. https://web.archive.org/web/20230107012648/http://www.conelrad.com/jayne_loader.html. 7 January 2023.
59. https://books.google.com/books?id=_M3nR4wI99AC&dq=Decline+of+western+civilization+verite&pg=PA380 A New Pot of Gold: Hollywood Under the Electronic Rainbow, 1980 1989 - Google Books (pg. 380)
60. https://www.criterion.com/current/posts/6502-two-stark-visions-of-the-american-underbelly-hit-the-big-screen Two Stark Visions of the American Underbelly Hit the Big Screen|Current|The Criterion Collection
61. Encyclopedia: Sherman's March - film. New Georgia Encyclopedia. Christopher Allen . Huff. 9 August 2013.
62. https://books.google.com/books?id=8NrFDwAAQBAJ Television History, the Peabody Archive, and Cultural Memory - Google Books
63. Web site: Paris Is Burning . Cinema Axis. Barbara . Goslawski. June 17, 2019.
64. https://buffalonews.com/news/in-disguise-a-grotesque-mirror-on-the-culture-paris-is-burning-and-the-power-of/article_d0ae1bf7-e49d-5202-984d-3701664b27ff.html IN DISGUISE A GROTESQUE MIRROR ON THE CULTURE 'PARIS IS BURNING' AND THE ... - Buffalo News
65. https://www.watershed.co.uk/articles/when-we-were-kings-hale-county-this-morning-this-evening-and-hoop-dreams When We Were Kings: Hale County This Morning and Hoop Dreams|Watershed
66. • Hoop Dreams (1994)^[65]
67. https://emanuellevy.com/review/tarnation/ Tarnation (2004): Jonathan Caouette's Reality as Painfully and Weirdly Entertaining Confessional Family Saga | Emanuel Levy
68. https://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/12/magazine/enter-narcicinema.html Enter Narci-Cinema - The New York Times
69. https://aframe.oscars.org/what-to-watch/post/matthew-heineman-5-documentaries-that-taught-me-verite-filmmaking Matthew Heineman: 5 Documentaries That Taught Me Vérité Filmmaking|A.frame
70. https://mubi.com/en/notebook/posts/archival-verite-david-france-talks-about-the-death-and-life-of-marsha-p-johnson Archival Vérité: David France Talks about "The Death and Life of Marsha P. Johnson" on Notebook|MUBI
71. https://www.criterion.com/films/32311-dick-johnson-is-dead Dick Johnson Is Dead (2020)|The Criterion Collection
72. https://www.newyorker.com/culture/the-front-row/why-a-documentary-about-a-cow-reveals-the-limits-of-an-art-form Why a Documentary About a Cow Reveals the Limits of an Art Form|The New Yorker
73. https://thefilmstage.com/kanye-west-documentary-jeen-yuhs-interview-netflix-coodie-and-chike/ Inside the 21-Year Spiritual Journey of Capturing Kayne West's Life and Career|The Film Stage
74. Josh Schasny, "25 New Hollywood Era Films That Projected the Hopes and Fears of the Times", Taste of Cinema, March 4, 2016.
75. https://www.artforum.com/film/charlie-fox-on-john-waters-s-multiple-maniacs-67594 Charlie Fox on John Waters's Multiple Maniacs - Artforum International
76. https://www.criterion.com/films/29450-wanda Wanda (1970)|The Criterion Collection
77. http://theseventhart.info/tag/killer-of-sheep/ Killer of Sheep|The Seventh Art
78. https://archive.org/details/onehundredviolen0000fulw/page/100/mode/2up One hundred violent films that changed cinema
79. https://www.filmsite.org/henryportraitofserialkiller.html Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1986) - filmsite.org
80. https://londonkoreanlinks.net/2023/09/22/k-rime-timeless-bottomless-bad-movie-screening/ K-rime: Timeless, Bottomless Bad Movie screening
81. https://www.publishersweekly.com/9780802135759 Slam: The Book - Publishers Weekly
82. https://www.criterion.com/films/30084-take-out? Take Out (2004)|The Criterion Collection
83. https://www.criterion.com/films/29117-daddy-longlegs Daddy Longlegs (2009)|The Criterion Collection
84. https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/best-of-2010s/best-movies-2010s-decade The 100 Best Movies of the 2010s - Paste Magazine
85. https://nofilmschool.com/2015/07/tangerine-sundance-iphone-5s-sean-baker-radium-cheung-interview How the Filmmakers Behind Sundance Hit 'Tangerine' Shot on an iPhone & Got Cinematic Results - No Film School
86. https://variety.com/2016/film/columns/american-honey-shia-labeouf-1201898316/ What 'American Honey' Says About the Kids: No, They're Not All Right - Variety
87. https://tonemadison.com/articles/the-florida-project-finds-magic-for-those-living-in-the-shadow-of-disney/ "The Florida Project" finds magic for those living in the shadow of Disney – Tone Madison
88. https://www.worldofreel.com/blog/2019/12/top-50 The 25 Best Movies of the Decade (2010s) - World of Reel
89. http://www.allmovie.com/artist/john-cassavetes-p84410 John Cassavetes
90. https://www.filmsite.org/bestfilmediting9.html Best Film Editing Sequences - filmsite.org
91. to Saving Private Ryan.^[90]
92. Brad Becker Parton, "How 'Parks and Rec' Transcended its Mockumentary Roots", Vulture, February 26, 2015.
93. both the UK and American versions of The Office, Parks & Recreation^[92]
94. Web site: Greatest Film Scenes and Moments - filmsite.org . 2019-09-20 . 2019-09-20 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190920175446/https://www.filmsite.org/scenes72.html . dead .
95. It has also been a subject ripe for parodies and spoofs such as the mockumentary film This Is Spinal Tap^[94]
96. Documentary series are less common, but COPS is one famous non-fictional example.^[94]
97. https://www.dailynews.com/2015/08/14/documentary-now-a-spoof-on-docs-by-snl-alums-seth-meyers-bill-hader-and-fred-armisen/ "'Documentary Now!' a spoof on docs by 'SNL' alums Seth Meyers, Bill Hader and Fred Armisen"
98. Hubert Adjei-Kontoh, "Documentary Now! An ode to the funniest spoof on television", The Guardian, February 20, 1019.