Notes on the Cinematographer

Among the fundamental filmmaking principles advocated for in the book, Bresson argues that "cinematography" () is the highest, even a transcendent, function of cinema. While a conventional movie is in essence "only" filmed theatre that privileges the performances of "actors", cinematography is an attempt to create a new language of moving images and sounds that incorporates what he calls "models" instead of actors. He succinctly defines the difference between the two: HUMAN MODELS: movement from the exterior to the interior... ACTORS: movement from the interior to the exterior. ==Reception==

Publishers Weekly wrote in 1986: "The casual but succinct observations, presented here three or four to a page, consist of short paragraphs or single sentences. ... All demonstrate a scintillating curiosity and quest for perfection." In a 2020 British Film Institute poll, Notes on the Cinematographer was ranked the second greatest book about film. ==English-language editions==

English-language editions have been published under a variety of titles. Chronologically, they are: • 1977: Notes on Cinematography, translated by Jonathan Griffin (New York: Urizen Books) • 1997: Notes on the Cinematographer, translated by Jonathan Griffin (Green Integer) • 2016: Notes on the Cinematograph, translated by Jonathan Griffin (New York: New York Review Books) ==References==