This blog is all about Jean Renoir. His reputation is right up there with Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Alfred Hitchcock, Sergei Eisenstein, etc., as one of the finest film artists of all time. He's the son of Impressionist painter Pierre Auguste Renoir. What else should I mention about him at this point?

Ah, yes, I haven't seen much of his work at all. Which leads me to this blog's raison d'etre: my discovery of the great man and his great work. I'm going to start at the beginning of his career, watch his films, read his books, and attempt to go all the way through his filmography.

Is he truly one of the world's greatest moviemakers? I'll refrain from saying anything at this time. It would be a bad idea to make a blanket statement like that before exploring the work of any artist - it would taint the process. However, I'm not sure I'd call him "great" at this point, anyway. I've only seen two of his films, and those were seen under the advance awareness of their monumental reputations; who can watch Grand Illusion or The Rules of the Game for the first time and not have huge expectations? I can't say they delivered. I chalk my underwhelming response to hype caused by greatest-of-all-time lists and college film classes. So this new exploration I'm about to undertake is an attempt to give Renoir his fair shake.

I've got three main objectives:
1) To explore Renoir's films, reading and viewing as much as I can
2) To create an online resource for anyone interested in the man, his work, and where his films can be seen
3) To start a discussion of Renoir and his films

That's where the followers of this blog play a part. This isn't intended to be the self-absorbed ramblings of a film lover - it's a public space, and comments are invited!

So wish me luck. I'm notorious for starting projects and never finishing them - but I have a feeling this one will be different.

For now, I'll answer one last question. Why Renoir? I suppose the answer lies in his reputation, and my general lack of experience with his films. I've always been drawn to the obscure, and that's pretty much what Renoir is to most Americans: an obscurity, one of the names-you've-never-heard-of on film critics' lists. I don't know that this will ever change, but I'm determined to make a difference for myself.