Cracking Gilles Deleuze’s Crystal

Barry Nevin has written a compelling book that should inspire readers to (re)turn to Renoir. He fortifies his arguments with brand new research from the Renoir archives at UCLA, while also showing a wonderful interpretive eye. Indeed, his analysis of the periscope in Eléna et les hommes is just one of many moments that has changed the way I look at the film in question (p. 166). And if a work of film-philosophy can change the films it has made you watch, it is truly film-philosophy worthy of the name. -- David Deamer * Film-Philosophy Volume 25, Issue 2 *
Scholarly, insightful, and respectful...Nevin demonstrates that much remains to be said about the great director. This subtle and detailed book will be welcomed by all those interested in Renoir’s films and in film philosophy more broadly. -- Colin Davis, Royal Holloway (University of London) * French Studies *
Barry Nevin has here made a significant contribution to the densely-populated field of Renoir studies and the currently thriving world of Deleuzian film theory. The work is nourished by significant archival research and extensive interdisciplinary erudition. This is a book of great importance to all serious students of Renoir. -- Professor Keith Reader, University of London Institute in Paris