Correspondence, 1945-1984

The genius behind The 400 Blows, Shoot the Piano Player, and Jules and Jim, Francois Truffaut was the most important director of French New Wave Cinema, and this book offers a lifelong record of his correspondence. As well as offering an intimate picture of Truffaut's generous, lively personality, these letters provide his opinions on film theory and criticism. In letters to Alfred Hitchcock, Louis Malle, Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard, Paul Newman, and others, Truffaut is by turns warm, chilly, passionate, and provocative. While the letters vary greatly in mood and tone, they document Truffaut's development from an ardent and troubled adolescent with a budding interest in cinema to one of the most accomplished and celebrated filmmakers of our time.