Acknowledgements

My first acknowledgements must go to the *Cahiers* critics themselves, who
challenged me with their writings but also, without exception, welcomed
my requests to speak with them about their personal histories. Jean-
Louis Comolli, in particular, responded with unbounded generosity to
my unsolicited email asking to translate *Cinéma contre spectacle* and has
been a true friend since then. Jean Narboni, Jacques Aumont, Bernard
Eisenschitz, Sylvie Pierre, Pascal Kané, Pascal Bonitzer and Serge Toubiana
were equally ready to share their thoughts and stories on tape, as were
other figures from this period such as Michel Delahaye (who has sadly
since passed away), Jean Douchet, Jacques Bontemps, Serge Toubiana,
Alain Bergala and Serge Le Péron. My only regret is that the deaths of
Serge Daney and Pierre Baudry, and the tragic, mysterious fate of Jean-
Pierre Oudart, prevented me from being able to talk with them. Likewise,
Pascal Kané's recent passing away is a tragic loss, and I will treasure the
moments shared with him, both when conducting interviews and in more
informal settings.

This project has gone through many guises, but the most important
shepherd throughout all the stages of its development was without a doubt
Dudley Andrew, whose assistance in guiding the present book to its comple-
tion has been inestimable. He has been a generous and sagacious mentor,
and his research on André Bazin was an inspiration for my own study of
a later generation of *Cahiers* critics, so I have cherished the privilege of
having such close input from him on my work. During my time at Yale
University, Francesco Casetti, John Mackay, Charlie Musser, Aaron Gerow,
Brigitte Peucker, Katie Trumpener, Carol Jacobs and Ron Gregg all made
treasured contributions to my development as a scholar, teacher and a
person. Many formative friendships were also forged in New Haven; I can't
not mention those with Joshua Sperling, Luca Peretti, Michael Cramer,
Jeremi Szaniawski, Patrick Reagan, Masha Shpoleberg, Grant Wiedenfeld,
Moira Weigel, Ksenia Sidorenko, Jensen Suther, Mal Ahern, Jordan Brower,
Annie Berke and Joshua Alvizu.

Since moving to the Goethe Universität in Frankfurt am Main I have
been blessed to share a department with Vinzenz Hediger, after years of
collaboration with him on the "Film Theory in Media History" book series.
His dynamism and energy in so many domains are a credit to the field of
film studies, while Rembert Hüser, Nikolaus Müller-Stahl, Laliv Melamed,
Philipp Dominik Keidl, Sonia Campanini, Bettina Schulte-Strathaus and
Josefine Hetterich have made Theater, Film and Media Studies a lively and
engaging department in which to work.

Further afield I would also like to thank Philip Rosen, Tom Conley,
Jane Gaines, Trond Lundemo, Warren Buckland, André Habib, Antoine
de Baecque, François Dosse, Hervé Joubert-Laurencin, Dana Polan, D.N.
Rodowick, Laleen Jayamanne, Seung-hoon Jeong, Sam di Iorio, Paul Macovaz,
Elif Sendur, Chrisa Blümlinger, Volker Pantenburg, Pierre Eugène and Marco
Grosoli for their friendly help and guidance at various stages in this project
and other associated ventures. Chuck Kleinhans and Philip Watts were also
immensely helpful, and I along with so many other people will miss their
interventions into the field. Perhaps the biggest recent loss for us all, however,
has been that of Thomas Elsaesser. I was lucky enough to have him as a
mentor and a friend over the last ten years, and I feel immensely privileged
that this book will appear in his "Film Cultures in Transition" series, but
it is inevitably shrouded in sadness with his death before its publication.

To my fellow current and former editors at *Senses of Cinema*, Rolando
Caputo, Adrian Danks, Dan Edwards, Alex Heller-Nicholas, Mark Freeman,
David Heslin, César Albarrán Tomas, Bradley Dixon and Fiona Villela, I want
to thank you for providing Australia (and the world) with an outlet that,
in its own modest way, continues the *Cahiers* mission of fostering original
critical thinking on the cinema.

I can't express enough gratitude to Mum and Dad for everything they
have given me, as well as to my wife Michelle for her love, support and
inspiration, and finally Alex, who makes every day special.