Deadly deviations, subversive cinema: the influence of Hollywood film noir on the French new wave

This dissertation develops a comprehensive study of the influence exerted by Hollywood “genre” cinema, in particular the B-series film noir, on the French New Wave. Initially, I ask if this relationship is not the principle identifying criterion of New Wave cinema. It is, after all, a matter of record that Hollywood’s cheaply-made B-movies were championed by the critics of Cahiers du cinéma as permitting authorial self-expression and as encouraging cinematic innovation and evolution. Genre cinema subsequently remained a preoccupation for the New Wave auteurs, who made no fewer than fifty gangster and crime films between 1958 and 1965, including many of the New Wave’s most iconic films. ❧ I therefore embark on a comparative study that considers in great detail the New Wave’s reprisal and adaptation of the film noir format, with my analyses focused not only on character and plot conventions, but also on the tropes, aesthetics and filmmaking production techniques common to both cinemas. I show how the two cinemas cross-pollinate, especially given that the French polar itself exerted influence on Hollywood film noir and that French critics were among the first to identify the new tendency towards making film noir in postwar Hollywood. I also draw a number of important conclusions. Primarily, I show that while the New Wave borrows extensively from Hollywood aesthetics, its manipulation and subversion of American film noir conventions are also at the very heart of the politique des auteurs. This politique is characterized by a profound dissatisfaction with their era, the Americanization of French society, France’s involvement in Algeria, and a reticence about the impending sexual liberation movement. ❧ I contextualize my project within the current debate in film and French studies regarding the legacy of the New Wave, particularly in light of a tendency to cast doubt on the movement’s involvement with “the political,” as well as to dispute the New Wave’s status as a defining moment in French cinema.本论文对好莱坞类型片（Hollywood “genre” cinema），尤其是B级黑色电影（B-series film noir），对法国新浪潮（French New Wave）所产生的影响展开了全面研究。最初，本文探讨这一关联是否正是法国新浪潮电影的核心界定标准。毕竟，有史料可证，好莱坞低成本制作的B级片曾被《电影手册》（Cahiers du Cinéma）的影评人大力推崇，认为其为创作者提供了自我表达的空间，并推动了电影创作的革新与发展。此后，类型片始终是新浪潮导演们的核心创作关切——1958年至1965年间，他们至少拍摄了五十部黑帮与犯罪题材影片，其中不乏新浪潮最具标志性的作品。 因此，本文展开一项比较研究，细致探讨新浪潮对黑色电影范式的复刻与改编，分析重点不仅涵盖角色与情节的常规范式，还包括两部电影共有的叙事母题、美学风格与电影制作工艺。本文阐释了二者的双向互鉴与渗透：尤其是法国黑色侦探片（polar）曾对好莱坞黑色电影产生影响，且法国影评人是最早指出战后好莱坞黑色电影创作新趋势的群体之一。此外，本文得出多项重要结论。核心而言，尽管法国新浪潮大量借鉴好莱坞美学风格，但其对美国黑色电影传统套路的改造与颠覆，恰恰是作者论（politique des auteurs）的核心要义。作者论的特征，体现为对所处时代的深刻不满：法国社会的美国化、法国参与阿尔及利亚战争，以及对即将到来的性解放运动持审慎观望态度。 本研究将自身置于当前电影学与法国研究领域关于新浪潮遗产的学术辩论语境之中，尤其是针对那些质疑新浪潮与“政治”的关联，以及争议其作为法国电影史上定义性时刻之地位的学术倾向。