Ma nuit chez Maud/My Night at Maud's2. Ma nuit chez Maud/My Night at Maud's (1969)
3. L'ami de mon amie/My Girlfriend's Boyfriend/Boyfriends and Girlfriends (1987)
4. Le genou de Claire/Claire's Knee (1970)
5. Perceval le Gallois/Perceval (1978)
6. Conte d'automne/An Autumn Tale (1998)
7. La femme de l'aviateur/The Aviator's Wife (1981)
8. Le beau mariage/A Good Marriage (1982)
9. L'anglaise et le duc/The Lady and the Duke (2001)
10. Pauline à la plage/Pauline at the Beach (1983)
Plus, ten runners-up: Conte d'hiver/A Tale of Winter (1992), Les nuits de la pleine lune/Full Moon in Paris (1984), Les amours d'Astrée et de Céladon/The Romance of Astrea and Celadon (2007), Le signe du lion/The Sign of Leo (1959), Die Marquise von O.../The Marquise of O (1976), Conte de printemps/A Tale of Springtime (1990), La Collectionneuse (1967), Les rendez-vous de Paris/Rendezvous in Paris (1995), Conte d'été/A Summer's Tale (1996), La boulangère de Monceau/The Girl at the Monceau Bakery (1963)
This list was updated 1/12/2010 upon the news of Éric Rohmer's passing.
8 comments:
It's great to see the "Comedies & Proverbs" films rated so highly. I've always felt that The Aviator's Wife, Pauline at the Beach, My Girlfriend's Boyfriend, and The Green Ray were some of Rohmer's best films: airy, charming films that patiently observe the interactions of their characters. I rate them even more highly than the much praised and certainly wonderful "Moral Tales" cycle.
The one notable exclusion I see is one film of the "Four Seasons" cycle, A Summer's Tale. A Tale Of Winter is probably the best of that cycle, but the summer film is a close second, a typically witty examination of summer romances. Many of Rohmer's best films are set in the summer, actually; it's the season I'd most associate with him.
Ed,
As a whole, obviously I too prefer the "Comedies and Proverbs," which I very much feel to be the core of his achievement.
Also, I agree on the notable exception, A Summer's Tale. Its exclusion was part oversight, part lack of space. Were I really to consider it, which I have since reading your comment, perhaps I would and should have included it rather than Love in the Afternoon, which its been absolutely ages since I've seen. If and when I re-see either, I could imagine the list being revised. After all, in excluding it I too am undervaluing a film that I felt, when I saw it first a decade ago, was undervalued. (I would also say, however, that An Autumn Tale and Tale of Winter remain the best in that series for me.)
Hi, you are there in Sam Juliano's blogroll, and that's how landed here.
Wow, this is a great site you have!!! More so for me because lists are always so helpful for an amateur cinephile like me, or any cinephile for that matter.
I too have just found your wonderful blog. Just wanted to pop in and say keep up the great work!
Rohmer has long been one of my very favorite directors and I certainly have a hard time arguing with any of your rankings. I still need to see a few you've listed here (most notably The Green Ray), but my personal favorite has always been Claire's Knee, which I've always found to be the epochal Rohmer experience - his jazzy, classy style is at a beguiling height and so finely tuned into the nuances and feelings of the characters. Truly a remarkable film, as are practically all that come from the incredible Rohmer.
My favourite Rohmer film is Triple Agent.
Peter, to select Triple Agent, with all the glories available to one, is, in my estimation, willful. It is certainly an interesting film, particularly as an epistemological twin to his Marquise of O..., but it remains far from the center of his work. I suppose the question I have is how familiar you are with the 'Comedies and Proverbs,' which to me represents the very essence of the director's craft, and how generally do you view them?
Michael,
I don't see any mention of Rohmer's
"L'amour l'après-midi" in your list? Some people consider it to be among his best.
I watched Claire's Knee yesterday, my 15th Rohmer if you count the shorts, and I just wanted to thank you for being partly responsible (his death also played a part, sadly) for me getting interested in him in the first place. That's his 2nd best, I think, BTW, light but not lightweight, unlike some of the other Moral Tales...
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