Chronicle of a Summer

Jean Rouch’s hugely influential and ground-breaking documentary.

The first time on DVD or Blu-ray in the UK for this hugely influential and ground-breaking documentary film from leading French documentarist Jean Rouch.

Shot in Paris during 1960, Chronicle of a Summer is a fascinating result of a collaboration between filmmaker-anthropologist Jean Rouch and sociologist Edgar Morin. Through a series of interviews with real-life individuals the filmmakers produce a compelling film that questions the level of reality and truth in documentary filmmaking, as well as being a fascinating insight into 1960’s Parisian society.

With its use of handheld cameras and observational techniques, Chronicle of a Summer was a seminal influence on the cinéma-vérité movement of the 1960s and on many filmmakers since.

Special features

  • Un été + 50 (2011, 75 mins): documentary with new interviews from participants and co-director Edgar Morin, as well as outtakes from Chronicle of a Summer.
  • Illustrated booklet with newly commissioned essays and notes on the film.

Product information

    • Certificate

      12

    • Colour

      Black/white

    • Sound

      Sound

    • Running time

      90mins

    • Languages

      French

    • Subtitles

      English

    • DVD region

      • 2 Europe (except Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus), Middle East, Egypt, Japan, South Africa, Swaziland, Lesotho, Greenland, French Overseas departments and territories

    • Blu-ray region

      • B - Includes most European and Middle-Eastern countries, all of Africa, Australia and New Zealand

    • Catalogue number

      BFIB1167

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