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l like making films
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with a guy l don't know,
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and if l know him
l don't want to see his previous films.
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l want to understand
what he's after,
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and that's why l like
to understand his language.
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lt allows me to hear
what he doesn't say,
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what's hidden behind the words.
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Observing how he works
with actors,
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you come to see what he's after.
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That's how it was with Costa.
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Jacques Perrin
contacted me.
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l'dalreadymade
several films with him.
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He was producing this one.
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l was interested
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since l'd found The Sleeping Car Murders
to be well-made.
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A cinematographer
is there to serve the director
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to create the image he wants.
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Costa wanted movement,
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sequence shots requiring
four or five camera movements.
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No long static shots.
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l didn't mind
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because l was used to working
with people like Jean-Luc Godard,
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who loved that kind of chaos.
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But these moving shots...
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were nothing Iike Godard's.
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These were meticulously craned.
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lf he does a shot a certain way,
it's in relation to the next shot.
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Hence the climate of violence.
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Obviously, Costa's and Godard's
methods are totally different.
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Godard walks in holding a script
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for what he'l lshoot the next day,
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or even the same day,
so no one ever saw the script.
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Costa's films
were more structured.
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He'd give us
a rough idea of the scene
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so we knew how
to create what he wanted.
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We'd set to work
and the plan didn't change.
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He was organized enough
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that we could ask him questions
practically anytime.
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He's a nice guy.
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He's one of the few
who doesn't throw fits.
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He doesn't stomp on his hat
or things like that.
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l never heard Costa get mad.
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There they are.
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The advantage of working
with people Iike those on Z
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is that all the actors
were of high caliber
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in nice meaty roles.
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Guys Iike Yves Montand.
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He'd had experience in Hollywood,
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so he'd arrive in makeup,
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a tissue under his collar
to keep his shirt clean,
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and he knew all his lines.
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Nothing like the French actors
who show up not knowing their lines,
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who arrive late and leave early.
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Yves Montand and Costa
had a close rapport.
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They'd discussed the dialogue,
what they wanted to do,
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so when we redid things -
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because of course
we did several takes -
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there were
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no big problems.
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Compared to other directors -
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For example,
François Truffaut is more exacting.
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He'd have long discussions
with his actors
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about how they should
deliver their lines.
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''lt'd be better to say this line
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before you puff on the cigarette,''
or vice versa.
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Costa's approach was
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a more straightforward efficiency.
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lt was fashionable then
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to have crew members act,
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so he asked me to operate
on Yves Montand.
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Just my luck- he died.
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The funny thing was he wanted
Irene Papas facing the camera,
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but l said, ''lt's my only part.
The camera stays on me,''
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and she went along with it.
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The problem was l had to say,
''He's gone,''
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and l flubbed it.
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lt took me 45 tries
to dub ''He's gone'' correctly.
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We took maybe three or four nights
for the night scenes.
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There were tons of people,
at least 300 or 400.
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Lots of them were students
and some were police.
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We'd modified their Algerian uniforms,
painted the helmets blue.
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Costa wanted the scene
to be very powerful.
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Everything went smoothly,
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probably because
there were so many cops there.
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You'd just have to say,
''Stand there,''
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and everyone would obey.
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lt still took a long time,
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because if you want 150 people
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to move 10 feet, it takes time.
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Costa had experience
as an assistant director
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before becoming a director,
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so he knew
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how to get people moving,
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and he'd ask his assistant
to do what he'd have done.
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Costa handled
that scene perfectly.
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l thought we'd get bogged down,
but it really went well.
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Costa is a real technician.
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For example, back then
we still had to insure the film
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but you needed two good takes
for the insurance,
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in case one was a mess.
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Once we had a good take,
we'd change reels.
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We'd do one take, and then
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''lt's good, print it.''
Reload the camera.
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''Let's do the second one.''
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''Damn, it's no good.''
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Take 10, take 11, take 12...
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You shoot another dozen
before getting another good one.
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Costa hit on a little trick.
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He said, ''We'll do a second take
but not identical.''
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That way he had two good takes
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but also two choices for editing.
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You have to be really good
to get away with that.
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As for The Confession...
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Costa must have been satisfied
with my work,
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since he asked me to shoot it.
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lt was a different,
more complicated film.
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Because even though Z
required lots of setup,
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it was more documentary-like
in its style.
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l didn't have to rack my brains
overlighting choices and effects.
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Lighting on The Confession
was more elaborate and complex.
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lt was set in a prison,
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so the Iighting style
was very harsh,
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which poses technical complications.
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The Iit parts
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had to be almost overexposed
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in order to get deep blacks
in the shadows.
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That was hard to control
with film stock back then.
128
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lt'd be easier now, because
modern film stock is more flexible.
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Z deals with fascism,
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a good excuse
for knocking the right wing,
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but The Confession involves
the CommunistParty.
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You're not supposed
to mess with that,
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especially in France,
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where the Communist Party
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has always
remained vaguely Stalinist.
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People weren't thrilled
about the trial and all that.
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lt did well
but not as well as Z.
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Z was a film
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that resonated with the times.
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We were surprised
that it was such a huge hit.
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Of course we thought it'd do well,
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but it was a smash hit.