Director Eric Rohmer Dies at Age 89.

Legendary filmmaker Eric Rohmer, responsible for popular arthouse works such as My Night at Maud’s and Claire’s Knee, died in Paris today after being hospitalized for the past week. He was 89 years old.

Rohmer is frequently cited as one of the founding fathers of French New Wave cinema, and along with Francois Truffaut and Jean Luc Godard he founded and wrote for the Cahiers du Cinema for several years. Rohmer also had a hand in launching the careers of both directors, writing the script for Godard’s first French film All the Boys Are Named Patrick. Despite being a dear friend and comrade to Truffaut and Godard however, Rohmer struggled in his early years to step out of the shadow that the other two had cast on him. His first few films went relatively unnoticed in the aftermath of Truffaut’s 400 Blows and Godard’s Breathless, both of which played key roles in the establishment of the French New Wave as a force to be reckoned with in world cinema. It wasn’t until Rohmer’s “Six Moral Tales” series that he found major success and critical acclaim. Films such as The Collector and Love In The Afternoon propelled the filmmaker to new heights and gave him the leverage and credibility he truly deserved. He immediately found a fanbase amongst arthouse audiences during the 1970’s and continued to make films which catered to the cinephile all the way into the new millenium.

Here’s to a truly brilliant filmmaker. A free thinking man completely in tune with the complex psychology of the intellectual middle class, and one whose works entirely reflect that understanding. He will be missed dearly, though I have no doubt his legacy will continue to grow. Check out a trailer below and read more about Eric Rohmer over at BusinessWeek.

-William Gutheil