Table of Contents

Essays

Paris: City of the Imagination – Keith Reader

Paris in the Films of Alice Guy-Blaché (1896–1907) – Alison McMahan

'A Parisian Pari': Agnès Varda’s Cléo de 5 à 7 – Georgiana M.M. Colvile

City of Light, City of Darkness: Paris in Francophone African Films – Françoise Pfaff

Émigré Film-makers in 1930s Paris – Alastair Phillips

La Bella Città: Paris Through the Lens of Italian Directors – Giovanna Summerfield

Remaking the Cinematic City: Claire Denis' Paris – Malini Guha

About the Author

Marcelline Block received her BA in History and Literature from Harvard University, along with certificates in French and Swedish, and her MA in French with a Graduate Certificate in Gender and Sexuality Studies from Princeton University, where she is completing her PhD in French. She has published articles and chapters in edited collections about cinema, French literature, visual art and gender studies, among other topics, and has edited several anthologies and journals. Her writing has appeared in English and French and has been translated into Russian. Since 2003, she has taught at Princeton University, in the Departments of French and Italian; English; Comparative Literature; Politics; the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies; the Program in Visual Art. Most recently, she was appointed Lecturer in History at Princeton.

Reviews

''Marcelline Block’s superbly edited collection explores the most important movie city in the world, examining the myriad ways in which filmmakers have celebrated its iconic glories, peered into its shadowy corners, roamed through quartiers old and new, and chronicled its protean moods and atmospheres in films ranging from romance and comedy to poetic realism and science fiction. In its film-historical sweep, its blend of words and images, and the diversity of views presented by its contributors, the volume shows why Vive la Paris! and Vive le cinéma! have been synonymous since the earliest days of film.'' – David Sterritt, Author of The Films of Jean-Luc Godard: Seeing the Invisible   'Marcelline Block has just published her edited collection of essays—World Film Locations: Paris—in which each writer turns the imagination on Paris, which in 20th (and, to an extent) 21st century filmmaking, became the object of desire (nothing obscure about it) of film noir, nouvelle vague, émigré cinema, auteur film, African-American directorship and other cinematic tendencies. All of them—no matter what star, director, genre you think of—turned the cinematic lamps on the arche-star, Paris itself. In this volume, every film of the era you can name—Les enfants du paradis, A bout de souffle, Paris qui dort (it would exhaust the space allotted to continue)—is brilliantly, quirkily, outlandishly treated by established and emerging film theorists. Beware: if you read this book, it will water your eyes for the lumières forever unplugged.' – Marshall Blonsky, Author most currently of the volume Apocalypse, Inc.   'As a reference book or as a guide book for film fans heading for Paris this year it is perfect.' – Charlie Mansfield, University of Plymouth Journal of Tourism Consumption and Practice, vol. 4, no. 2, 2012   'A lavishly illustrated guide ... will provide pleasure for French film buffs and other seasonal film-goers, as well as visitors to Paris.' – Carrie Tarr for Modern & Contemporary France   'This series gathers together a wonderful collection of cinematic moments that rise up out of the city and re-inscribe it with new ways of seeing' – Sarinah Masukor for Screening the Past