The Beginners Guide to Robert Bresson

This is an introductory guide to perhaps the most important filmmaker to ever live. His films, though they may be hard to get into, are truly some of the greatest films ever made and I consider him my all-time favorite film director. You can watch many of his films on the Criterion Channel.

I want to make a small correction. I was rewatching A Man Escaped while editing this video and heard the use of a score. I think that's the last film in which he used a score, but I made it sound like the final scored film was Diary of a Country Priest.

My personal favorite of his is L'Argent. I love the aesthetic and flow of it. It's Bresson at the top of his game and the haunting ending has stuck with me ever since I first watched it. Truth be told, I love all of his films and I've seen them all several times.


Bresson has influenced me to an incredible extent as a filmmaker. You can see his influences in my first feature film, Wasted Hours.

Richard Linklater has some incredible talks on some of his films:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcOOLfqDcho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nUO-EbO-tOk


Music: C Major Prelude by Bach



List of films shown or mentioned in the video:
https://letterboxd.com/thekinocorner/list/the-beginners-guide-to-robert-bresson/



Social Media:
Twitter: https://twitter.com/imahaffeyfilm
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/isaac_mahaffey/
Letterboxd: https://letterboxd.com/TheKinoCorner/



Some great resources if you want to learn more about Bresson:
Notes on the Cinematograph: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1681370247/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_WVDoEbCDHS2Z8
Bresson on Bresson: https://www.amazon.com/dp/1681370441/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_U_-UDoEbWGJMDFK


Interviews and Internet Videos I sourced:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CtKBMFutMBY&t=11s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DVODh2lkVdc
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UtrcJYw384
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UtrcJYw384
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UtrcJYw384
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1UtrcJYw384
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gfYoxwwsioI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcOOLfqDcho
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wcOOLfqDcho