Hiroshima Mon Amour

( 3 )

Overview

Alain Resnais's multi-award-winning Hiroshima, Mon Amour is neither an easy film to watch nor to synopsize, but it remains one of the high-water marks of the French "new wave" movement. Resnais and scenarist Marguerite Duras weave a complex story concerning a French actress's Emmanuelle Riva experiences in occupied France, juxtaposed with the horrendous ordeal of a Japanese architect Eiji Okada coping psychologically with the bombing of Hiroshima. These stories are offered in quick flashback vignettes, which ...
See more details below
This VHS is Not Available through BN.com
See All Options

More About This Product

Overview

Alain Resnais's multi-award-winning Hiroshima, Mon Amour is neither an easy film to watch nor to synopsize, but it remains one of the high-water marks of the French "new wave" movement. Resnais and scenarist Marguerite Duras weave a complex story concerning a French actress's Emmanuelle Riva experiences in occupied France, juxtaposed with the horrendous ordeal of a Japanese architect Eiji Okada coping psychologically with the bombing of Hiroshima. These stories are offered in quick flashback vignettes, which permeate the contemporary story of the woman's relationship with the architect in contemporary Hiroshima. The characters are of the Then and the Now simultaneously, much like the famous watch that was dug out of the ruins of Hiroshima, its hands permanently affixed at 9:15. Resnais refuses to honor the traditional "unities" of film: we are never certain at any time whether we're watching the events of 1959 or of 1945. In truth, Hiroshima Mon Amour is not quite as inscrutable as certain critics would have us believe the central theme of the importance of coming to grips with one's past comes through loud and clear, but it confused many filmgoers upon its first release, some of whom gave up the picture as a bad job and steered clear of all future Resnais efforts. Viewers are strongly encouraged to stay with this one from beginning to end; it won't be a smooth ride, but it will be an immensely rewarding one.
Read More Show Less

Editorial Reviews

All Movie Guide - Michael Hastings
Director Alain Resnais' tone poem on love, annihilation, and the need for compassion grafts the story of two lovers onto a larger philosophical treatise about the horrors of the atomic bomb. We know very little about the unnamed couple (Emmanuelle Riva and Eiji Okada) at the beginning of the film; Resnais is more interested in the fallout from sex -- the memories, regrets, and images that it can conjure, good and bad -- than in its logistics. Casually juxtaposing scenes of tranquility with graphic documentary footage of the aftermath in Hiroshima, Resnais stresses the importance of contact, nuance, and gesture amid the moment-to-moment uncertainty of a post-war world. Novelist-filmmaker Marguerite Duras scripted the film, which uses its interracial romance as a metaphor for international harmony. Resnais' deliberate, ponderous compositions set him apart from most of his New Wave peers, and he is aided by the legendary Sacha Vierny -- one of the few cinematographers who can make a museum visually compelling. Some critics found the film obtuse on its release, but the Academy thought enough of it to nominate Duras for Best Original Screenplay. The director would apply many of Hiroshima's non-linear storytelling techniques to 1961's L'Année dernière à Marienbad.
Read More Show Less

Product Details

  • Release Date: 6/6/2000
  • UPC: 037429116333
  • Original Release: 1959

    • Rating:

  • Source: Homevision
  • Format: VHS

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits
Emmanuelle Riva She
Eiji Okada He
Stella Dassas The Mother
Bernard Fresson The German Lover
Pierre Barbaud The Father
Technical Credits
Alain Resnais Director
Pierre-Louis Calvet Sound/Sound Designer
Jasmine Chasney Editor
Henri Colpi Editor
Georges Delerue Score Composer
Marguerite Duras Screenwriter
Esaka Production Designer
Giovanni Fusco Score Composer
Samy Halfon Producer
Mayo Production Designer
Anne Sarraute Editor
Michio Takahashi Cinematographer
Sacha Vierny Cinematographer
Read More Show Less

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 5
( 3 )
Rating Distribution

5 Star

(3)

4 Star

(0)

3 Star

(0)

2 Star

(0)

1 Star

(0)

Your Rating:

Review Guidelines
Add Recommendations
Your Name: Create a Pen Name or

Barnes & Noble.com Review Rules

Our reader reviews allow you to share your comments on titles you liked, or didn't, with others. By submitting an online review, you are representing to Barnes & Noble.com that all information contained in your review is original and accurate in all respects, and that the submission of such content by you and the posting of such content by Barnes & Noble.com does not and will not violate the rights of any third party. Please follow the rules below to help ensure that your review can be posted.

Reviews by Our Customers Under the Age of 13

We highly value and respect everyone's opinion concerning the titles we offer. However, we cannot allow persons under the age of 13 to have accounts at BN.com or to post customer reviews. Please see our Terms of Use for more details.

What to exclude from your review:

Please do not write about reviews, commentary, or information posted on the product page. If you see any errors in the information on the product page, please send us an email.

Reviews should not contain any of the following:

  • - HTML tags, profanity, obscenities, vulgarities, or comments that defame anyone
  • - Time-sensitive information such as tour dates, signings, lectures, etc.
  • - Single-word reviews. Other people will read your review to discover why you liked or didn't like the title. Be descriptive.
  • - Comments focusing on the author or that may ruin the ending for others
  • - Phone numbers, addresses, URLs
  • - Pricing and availability information or alternative ordering information
  • - Advertisements or commercial solicitation

Reminder:

  • - By submitting a review, you grant to Barnes & Noble.com and its sublicensees the royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable right and license to use the review in accordance with the Barnes & Noble.com Terms of Use.
  • - Barnes & Noble.com reserves the right not to post any review -- particularly those that do not follow the terms and conditions of these Rules. Barnes & Noble.com also reserves the right to remove any review at any time without notice.
  • - See Terms of Use for other conditions and disclaimers.
Search for Products You'd Like to Recommend

Recommend other products that relate to your review. Just search for them below and share!

Create a Pen Name

Your Pen Name is your unique identity on BN.com. It will appear on the reviews you write and other website activities. Your Pen Name cannot be edited, changed or deleted once submitted.

 
Your Pen Name can be any combination of alphanumeric characters (plus - and _), and must be at least two characters long.

Continue Anonymously
Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews

  • Posted October 1, 2010

    Resnais made a masterpiece.

    This has to be one of the ten best of all time. Unforgettable.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted July 14, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted August 7, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

Sort by: Showing all of 3 Customer Reviews