This is the first book-length study in English on Chabrol since 1970. Chabrol has always been a neglected figure in the French New Wave but has recently been declared 'possibly the greatest living film director in France'.. Coincides with the recent renewal of interest in Chabrol, which has seen his back catalogue released in the UK on video.. Celebration of Chabrol's fiftieth film recently, Rien ne va plus prompted many festivals and retrospectives. Publication coincides with Chabrol's new film which is discussed in this study.. Writtten by one of the liveliest critics in French cinema - author of Contemporary French Cinema.

Guy Austin is Lecturer in French at the University of Sheffield

1. Chabrol and friends
2. The New Wave
3. The Hélène cycle
4. Family plots
5. The power of the gaze
6. Stories of women
7. Master of Cérémonie
Afterword