Jacques Rivette, the Watchman
Synopsis
Claire Denis’ first-rate video documentary (1990) about filmmaker Jacques Rivette, produced for French television, has many things to recommend it. The main interviewer is the great critic Serge Daney, who, two years before his death, converses with Rivette while relaxing in a cafe and strolling around Paris (Denis interjects a few questions toward the end); since both men were former editors of Cahiers du Cinema, not to mention groundbreaking and highly articulate critics, they have a lot to discuss apart from Rivette’s filmmaking. Clips from many of Rivette’s major films are included, as are interviews with some of Rivette’s actors, such as Bulle Ogier and Jean-Francois Stevenin. Best of all, the film beautifully captures Rivette the man, as both solitary cinephile and exploratory filmmaker.
Credits
Production and distribution (1)
- Executive Producers : Channel Four Television, Art productions, Amip, La Sept Cinéma
Full credits (5)
- Directors of photography : Agnès Godard, Béatrice Mizrahi
- Editors : Dominique Auvray, Jean Dubreuil
- Sound recordists : Jean-Pierre Laforce, Henri Maïkoff
- Producers : Alain Plagne, Janine Bazin, André S. Labarthe
- Participants : Serge Daney, Jacques Rivette, Bulle Ogier, Jean-François Stévenin
Media Gallery
Technical details
- Type : Feature film
- Genres : Documentary
- Sub-genre : Portrait
- Themes : Cinema
- Production language : French
- Original French-language productions : Unspecified
- Nationality : 100% French
- Production year : 1989
- French release : 17/03/1993
- Runtime : 2 h 20 min
- Current status : Released
- Visa number : 71.465
- Visa issue date : 18/03/1994
- Approval : Unknown
- Production formats : 35mm
- Color type : Color
