Neupert interview in new Rivette restoration

On March 8, the American video-distribution company Criterion Collection will release a new 2K digital restoration of Jacques Rivette's 1961 classic, PARIS BELONGS TO US. Among the added features to the new disc is an interview with Wheatley Professor of the Arts in the department of theatre and film studies, Richard Neupert. Author of A History of the French New Wave Cinema, Neupert is featured in an Intro "bonus track" on the BluRay release, for which Criterion came to Ciné in Athens to interview him for a 25-min talk on the movie: 

One of the original critics turned filmmakers who helped jump-start the French New Wave, Jacques Rivette began shooting his debut feature in 1958, well before that cinema revolution officially kicked off with The 400 Blows and Breathless. Ultimately released in 1961, the rich and mysterious Paris Belongs to Us offers some of the radical flavor that would define the movement, with a particularly Rivettian twist. The film follows a young literature student (Betty Schneider) who befriends the members of a loose-knit group of twentysomethings in Paris, united by the apparent suicide of an acquaintance. Suffused with a lingering post–World War II disillusionment while also evincing the playfulness and fascination with theatrical performance and conspiracy that would become hallmarks for the director, Paris Belongs to Us marked the provocative start to a brilliant directorial career.

"I was really honored when Criterion's producer called to ask whether I would be willing to do a video interview for their new release of Jacques Rivette's PARIS BELONGS TO US. I was also thrilled that we could work out the filming at Ciné movie theater," Dr. Neupert said via email. "PARIS BELONGS TO US is a perfect example of the experimentation of the early stages of the French New Wave. But Rivette never found the sort of popularity that greeted his more successful friends, François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, and Claude Chabrol. Rivette has nonetheless become a major figure among many really serious cinéphiles. As one French historian says, Rivette was legendary, despite the fact that few people got to see many of his films. Rivette was also a very important critic for CAHIERS DU CINEMA and he had a lasting impact on film criticism and theory. Unfortunately, he died last month, which has only increased the interest in his work and his legacy." 

Terrific honor for the film studies program and for Neupert, whose authority on the French New Wave is both widely respected and broadly impactful on the field as well as the fans of cinema. Great scholarship that re-acquaints us with great art. C'est formidable!