Jacques Rivette
Jacques Rivette crafted labyrinthine, improvisational films that turned the act of creation into the central drama.
1928–2016 (age 88)·French film director, screenwriter and film critic·Birthday: March 1·The Silent Generation
Biography
As the most elusive figure of the French New Wave, Jacques Rivette pursued a radical vision of cinema as a living, breathing, and often marathon-like experience. While his contemporaries Truffaut and Godard captured the zeitgeist with sharper edges, Rivette’s films unfolded like secret societies, with plots revolving around theatrical rehearsals, conspiratorial games, and artistic processes that blurred the line between performance and life. His monumental 'Out 1', originally a 13-hour epic, remains a holy grail for cinephiles, a sprawling tapestry of characters and coincidences. Rivette believed in the alchemy that happened before the camera, granting his actors extraordinary freedom to shape their roles within his intricate frameworks. This resulted in works of hypnotic realism and playful mystery, where the journey—whether a 4-hour conspiracy thriller like 'Céline and Julie Go Boating' or a 3-hour period drama like 'The Duchess of Langeais'—was always the point. His criticism for *Cahiers du Cinéma* was as incisive as his filmmaking, championing a director-centric vision long before he stepped behind the camera himself.
The Silent Generation
1928–1945
Born between the Depression and the end of WWII. Too young to fight, old enough to remember. They became the conformist middle managers of the 1950s — and the civil rights leaders who quietly dismantled Jim Crow.
Jacques was born in 1928, placing them squarely in The Silent Generation. The events that shaped this generation — world wars, depression, and rapid industrialization — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jacques Was Born
The biggest hits of 1928
#1 Movie
The Singing Fool
Best Picture
Wings
Jacques's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1928Born
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin; Mickey Mouse debuts
President: Calvin Coolidge"Ol' Man River" — Paul WhitemanBest Picture: Wings
1933Started school
FDR's New Deal launches; Prohibition ends
Gas: $0.18/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Stormy Weather" — Ethel WatersBest Picture: Cavalcade
1941Became a teenager
Pearl Harbor attack brings the US into WWII
Gas: $0.19/galHome: $3,060Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Chattanooga Choo Choo" — Glenn MillerBest Picture: How Green Was My Valley
1944Could drive
D-Day: Allied forces land at Normandy
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $3,400Min wage: $0.30/hrPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"Swinging on a Star" — Bing CrosbyBest Picture: Going My Way
1946Could vote
United Nations holds its first General Assembly
Gas: $0.21/galHome: $5,150Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Prisoner of Love" — Perry ComoBest Picture: The Best Years of Our Lives
1949Turned 21
NATO founded; Mao proclaims the People's Republic of China
Gas: $0.27/galHome: $7,450Min wage: $0.40/hrPresident: Harry S. Truman"Riders in the Sky" — Vaughn MonroeBest Picture: All the King's Men
1958Turned 30
NASA founded
Gas: $0.31/galHome: $11,050Min wage: $1.00/hrPresident: Dwight D. Eisenhower"Volare" — Domenico ModugnoBest Picture: Gigi
1968Turned 40
Martin Luther King Jr. and Robert Kennedy assassinated
Gas: $0.34/galHome: $14,950Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Lyndon B. Johnson"Hey Jude" — The BeatlesBest Picture: Oliver!
1978Turned 50
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1988Turned 60
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1998Turned 70
Google founded; Clinton impeachment
Gas: $1.06/galHome: $107,300Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Too Close" — NextBest Picture: Shakespeare in Love
2008Turned 80
Barack Obama elected first Black US president; financial crisis
Gas: $3.27/galHome: $153,100Min wage: $6.55/hrPresident: George W. Bush"Low" — Flo RidaBest Picture: Slumdog Millionaire
2016Died at 88
Donald Trump elected president; Brexit vote
Gas: $2.14/galHome: $181,700Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Love Yourself" — Justin BieberBest Picture: Moonlight
Key Achievements
- Directed 'Céline and Julie Go Boating' (1974), a seminal, playful film that deconstructs narrative cinema.
- Created the legendary 13-hour film 'Out 1' (1971), a cornerstone of experimental narrative.
- Served as editor-in-chief of the influential film magazine *Cahiers du Cinéma* from 1963 to 1965.
- His film 'La Belle Noiseuse' (1991), a four-hour meditation on artistic creation, won the Grand Prix at Cannes.
- Was a founding critic of the French New Wave, publishing key essays that shaped the movement's ideology.
Did You Know?
He was a brilliant chess player and often used game-like structures in his film plots.
The original cut of 'Out 1' was screened only a handful of times in the 1970s, achieving mythical status.
He initially studied literature and philosophy, and was a passionate fan of American serial novels.
Despite the length of his films, he was known for shooting relatively quickly and with small crews.
He turned down an invitation to join the prestigious Collège de 'Pataphysique, a society dedicated to absurdist science.
““For me, cinema is a way of thinking. The sequence shot is a way of thinking, montage is a way of thinking.””
