Perhaps the single most important voice of cinema in the twentieth century, Andr
e Bazin profoundly influenced the development of the scholarship that we know no
w as film criticism. Bazin has acutely analyzed the cinematic values of our time
, extending to his international audiences "the impact of art for the understand
ing and discrimination of his readers."
The depth and logic of his commentary
has elevated film criticism to new heights. The reputation of Andre Bazin contin
ues to grow as his writings are published and studied by filmmakers and filmgoer
s alike. Often referred to as the Edmund Wilson of film, Bazin was more than a c
ritic. "He made me see certain aspects of my work that I was unaware of," said L
uis Bunuel. "He was our conscience," wrote Jean Renoir. "He was a logician in ac
tion," echoed Francois Truffaut.
In The Cinema of Cruelty, Francois Truffaut,
one of France's most celebrated and versatile filmmakers, has collected Bazin's
writings on six film "greats" Erich von Stroheim, Carl Dreyer, Preston Sturges,
Luis Bunuel, Alfred Hitchcock, and Akira Kurosawa. The result is a major collect
ion of film criticism.
