Claude Chabrol

This study is an analysis of Claude Chabrol and brings into focus a prolific French director. Chabrol has made more than 50 films in a career spanning 40 years. This account traces the development of his film style from the experimental period of the "Nouvelle Vague" to the mature thriller of the 1970s and the critically acclained work of the 1990s. Detailed analyses of the major films are supported by an exploration of Chabrol's concern with genre (particularly the thriller and the melodrama) and an awareness of his work's theoretical and political resonance. Individual chapters cover the "Nouvelle Vague", the Helene cycle, representations of the family, the theme of voyeurism, the portrayal of women and the summation of Chabrol's style in his recent film "La Ceremonie" (Judgement in Stone).