Robert Bresson Appreciation Thread

I was surprised not to see one..

Pickpocket - 10/10
A Man Escaped - 9/10
Balthazar - 8.5/10
The Devil, Probably - 7.5/10
Diary of a County Priest - 7/10
Money - 7/10
Mouchette - 7/10



I didn't like "The Trial of Joan of Arc" - don't remember what I rated it. My goal is to have watched every one his within the week - as long as I can find them all.

I've only seen Balthazar and Pickpocket. Both were mediocre for me.

Only watched three but i love Bresson so far, think he might become one of my favourite directors. Coincidentally i got both Mouchette and Diary of a Country Priest ready to watch the other day, will get to them soon.

Au Hasard Balthazar is one of my favourite films. I actually was pretty obsessed with it for a while. The first time i quite liked it but thought it felt pretty weird then i read up about it and found out that he told the actors not to actually act partially so the audience would place themselves in these situations and project their own feelings onto the characters, re-watched it and it really got to me i watched it another two times not long after. Think i watched it four times in six weeks, that was a while ago and i've not been back yet so not to ruin it. Amazing film though, that donkey is one of my favourite actors

Pickpocket was really great too watched that for the first time this year. A Man Escaped was pretty good but it didn't entirely work for me, i'm hoping it's the same situation as Balthazar and i really want to rewatch it.

Au Hasard Balthazar - +
Pickpocket -
A Man Escaped -

Will update once i've seen Mouchette and Country Priest or re-watched A Man Escaped.

I wonder if you'd like "A Man Escaped" - it's a prison get-away movie. I was just watching an interview saying how some of his movies are anti-theatrical, but you might like this one.

I just saw his first movie, "Angels of Sin" -- 6/10

Robert Bresson, ranked:



1. Four Nights of a Dreamer (1971) - - His magnum opus
2. Money (1983) - - SEEN TWICE
3. A Man Escaped (1956) - - Bresson's Le Trou
4. The Devil Probably (1977) - - similar in style to #1 - needs a rewatch
5. Pickpocket (1959) - - needs a rewatch
6. Au hasard Balthazar (1966) - - needs a rewatch
7. Diary of a Country Priest (1951) - - SEEN TWICE
8. Mouchette (1967) - - I may rewatch it
9. Ladies of the Park (1945) - - not Bressonian enough
10. The Trial of Joan of Arc (1962) - - I may rewatch it/increase the rating as it's a good austere film
11. Lancelot of the Lake (1974) - - dull upon first watch, needs rewatch


To see:



1. Public Affairs (1934) - his first movie ever, a short, probably only for completists (I'm one)
2. Angels of the Streets (1943) - I expect something like #9. We will see.
3. A Gentle Woman (1969) - Based on Dostoevsky's short story just like #1. Huge expectations.

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San Franciscan lesbian dwarves and their tomato orgies.

Thought I'd love "Four Nights of a Dreamer" - oh well... I gave L'Argent a 7, and "Les Anges du péché a 6/10 (might have been to hard on it, but I guess it's because I expect more from Bresson) so I had to give this a 6.5/10...

My rankings currently. There are several Bresson films I need to rewarch and some I have yet to see, so these rankings are subject to change.

1.) Au Hasard Balthazar
2.) L'Argent
3.) Diary of a Country Priest
4.) A Man Escaped
5.) Mouchette
6.) Pickpocket
7.) Trial of Joan of Arc
8.) The Devil, Probably

Each film is or above.

plans to watch all of his

L'Argent 3.5/5
Pickpocket 4/5
lancelot 2.5/5

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One of the greatest filmmakers ever. Two of his best movies (DOACP & Mouchette) are based on George Bernanos novels. If you want to see a really GREAT movie (not directed by Bresson) check out Under the Sun of Satan (1987) winner at the Cannes festival that year. Also based on a George Bernanos novel.

I think he, De Sica, and Capra made the most great movies.

I'll check it out "Under the Sun of Satan" - thanks for the recommendation, I'm always looking for some.

Capra is not in their league c'mon. Now if you're talking John Ford...

Maybe I haven't watched enough Capra.

i do love all his films hence my avatar (The Trial of Joan of Arc) and my top ten (Mouchette)

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You can call it the art of fighting without fighting.

Ow Ywah im planning some of his this month

Check out

-Mr. Deeds Goes To Town
-You Can't Take It With You!
-Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
-Meet John Doe
and more

I never understood why Capra has been forgotten.. Is it because he started almost 100 yrs ago? Or because he didn't have a sexy technical style?

The Riskin touch, lol.

I'm not a big fan of him, in fact, I'm not a fan at all. The reason is not due to his method of directing actors, actually, I think that is part of his signature move that defines him as the auteur he is, but that doesn't stop his films from looking and feeling incredibly sloppy. I did like "L'argent" a lot though, it is easily my favourite of his filmography from what I've seen.

1) L'argent +
2) A Man Escaped
3) Pickpocket +
4) Four Nights of a Dreamer -
5) Mouchette -
6) Au Hasard Balthazar -

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"A film has to be a dialogue, not a monologue — a dialogue to provoke in the viewer his own thoughts, his own feelings. And if a film is a dialogue, then it’s a good film; if it’s not a dialogue, it’s a bad film."

- Michael "Gloomy Old Fart" Haneke

sloppy? Anything but lol

I know it's an old thread, but I thought I would revive it as I just watched The Devil, Probably this afternoon for the first time. I had been meaning to watch it for some time---ever since I heard it was one of Dennis Cooper's favorite movies (and he is probably my favorite author). However, I have been exploring his films for a while now. I watched Pickpocket after seeing clips of Paul Schrader praise it so much, but it didn't strike me too deeply on my first watch. L'Argent felt more appealing, but it was A Man Escaped that really made me admire his films.

The only one that I really did not like was The Trial of Joan of Arc---but that might be due to the fact that I watched Dreyer's version the day before...