"This is a clear and comprehensive analysis of the films of Claude Chabrol. It is also the first book length study of Chabrol to be published in English since 1970. It brings back into focus a giant of French cinema, one of the most prolific directors of the modern era and a man recently described by the French film press as 'possibly the greatest living French film-maker'. Claude Chabrol has made more than fifty films in a career spanning forty years. This illuminating account traces the development of his film style from the experimental period of the Nouvelle Vague to the mature thrillers of the 1970s and the critically-acclaimed work of the 1990s. Detailed analyses of the major films are supported by an exploration of Chabrol's concern with genre (particularly the thriller and the melodrama) and an awareness of his work's theoretical and political resonance. Individual chapters cover the Nouvelle Vague, the Hélène cycle, representations of the family, the theme of voyeurism, the portrayal of women and the summation of Chabrol's style in his 1995 hit La Cérémonie (Judgment in Stone). A major contribution to French film studies, this dynamic and lucid book is a must for both students and fans of modern French cinema."--back cover.