Icarus Films is set to release an exciting new box set highlighting newly restored short films from some of the French New Wave’s most noteworthy names. This terrific collection includes the works of New Wave pioneers such as Truffaut, Godard, Resnais, Varda, Rivette, and more. The selections are eclectic and the restoration quality is top-notch making this a must for collectors and fans alike.

This fabulous 2-disc blu-ray box set of “Early Short Films of the French New Wave” will be available to purchase on September 19th. See below for a full synopsis and release information.

Official Synopsis

Year: 1956 – 1968

Runtime: 348 Minutes

Directors: Alain Resnais, Jacques Rivette, François Reichenbach, Jean-Luc Godard, Agnès Varda, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, François Truffaut, Maurice Pialat, Melvin Van Peebles, Guy Gilles, Jean Rouch, Jeanne Barbillon, Gisèle Braunberger

From the Studio:

Icarus Films is proud to present Early Short Films of the French New Wave, available on Blu-ray and DVD on September 19th, 2023. The nineteen (19) short films in this box set represent the dawn of the French New Wave, as a group of talented young filmmakers, including Jean-Luc Godard, Francois Truffaut, Agnes Varda, & more, presented a radically new vision of French cinema. 

These shorts are not just steppingstones on the way to the famed New Wave features, but classics that stand on their own, the first forays of a movement that would revolutionize the world of French film and influence cinema around the world for decades to come.

This box set includes 2 discs and a 12-page booklet with an essay by Eric Le Roy, Head of Collections at the Centre National de Cinema (CNC). The short films included in this box set have been restored and digitized with the support of the CNC.

Disc 1:
 
ALL THE WORLD’S MEMORY – Alain Resnais (1956)

FOOL’S MATE – Jacques Rivette (1956)
Starring Virginie Vitry and Jacques Doniol-Valcroze! Featuring cameos by Claude Chabrol, Jean-Luc Godard, and François Truffaut.

THE MARINES – François Reichenbach (1957)
Reichenbach’s original version with anti-militarist commentary.

ALL THE BOYS ARE CALLED PATRICK – Jean-Luc Godard (1957)
Written by Eric Rohmer! Starring Anne Colette and Nicole Berger

THE SONG OF STYRENE – Alain Resnais (1957)

Ô SAISONS, Ô CHÂTEUX – Agnès Varda (1958)

THE OVERWORKED – Jacques Doniol-Valcroze (1958)
Co-written by Francois Truffaut! Starring Yane Barry, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and Jean-Claude Brialy.

A STORY OF WATER – Jean-Luc Godard and François Truffaut (1958)
Starring Caroline Dim and Jean-Claude Brialy.

CHARLOTTE AND HER BOYFRIEND – Jean-Luc Godard (1958)
Starring Jean-Paul Belmondo (voiced by Jean-Luc Godard!) and Anne Colette. 

LOVE EXISTS – Maurice Pialat (1960)

JANINE – Maurice Pialat (1961)

500 FRANCS – Melvin Van Peebles (1961)

PARIS, A WINTER’S DAY – Guy Gilles (1962)

Disc 2:
 
IN MEMORY OF ROCK – François Reichenbach (1963)
Featuring French rock stars Eddy Mitchell, Vince Taylor and Johnny Hallyday

THE LITTLE CAFE – François Reichenbach (1963)

THE GOUMBÉ OF THE YOUNG REVELERS – Jean Rouch (1965)

THE BOTANICAL AVATAR OF MADEMOISELLE FLORA – Jeanne Barbillon (1965)
Music by Michel Legrand and Jacques Loussier! Starring Bernadette Lafont and Louis Mesuret.

THE FIFTEEN YEAR OLD WIDOWS – Jean Rouch (1966)
Cameo by Maurice Pialat! 

+ Bonus Film

DIRECTING ACTORS BY JEAN RENOIR – Gisèle Braunberger (1968)
Starring Jean Renoir and Gisele Braunberger