A cornerstone film of the French New Wave, Alain Resnais' first feature is one of the most influential films of all time. A French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) and a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) engage in a brief, intense affair in postwar Hiroshima, their consuming fascination impelling them to exorcise their own scarred memories of love and suffering. Utilizing an innovative flashback structure and an Academy Award-nominated® screenplay by novelist Marguerite Duras, Resnais delicately weaves past and present, personal pain and public anguish, in this moody masterwork.

Supplements Audio commentary by film historian Peter Cowie Cinepanorama interview with Alain Resnais (1961) Audio interview with Alain Resnais (1980) Emmanuelle Riva interviewed by François Chalais at Cannes (1959) Excerpts from Duras' annotations to the screenplay Isolated music and effects track A new essay on the film by Kent Jones A new essay on composer Giovanni Fusco by Russell Lack

FORUM USER RATINGS (BETA)

You need to be signed in to rate DVDs: Login

Forum User Averages Film Rating: 9/10 Artwork Rating: 9/10 Picture Rating: 9/10 Audio Rating: 9/10 Extras Rating: 8/10

The "My Criterion Collection" application is a Criterion/Eclipse DVD organizer hosted by criterionforum.org and is currently only available for use on Facebook.

Click here to install the "My Criterion Collection" application onto your Facebook account (a Facebook account is required.)