Jacques Rivette, member of the French New Wave, dies at 87

Jacques Rivette, a long time French director and member of the French New Wave movement of the ‘60s, has died. He was 87.

Rivette, who was born in Rouen, was reportedly suffering from Alzheimer’s disease for the past few years, reports The Guardian. His death was also confirmed by Le Monde.

Rivette joined the magazine Cahiers du Cinema in 1953, along with Francois Truffaut, Eric Rohmer, Jean-Luc Godard and Claude Chabrol. All of them, like Rivette, became filmmakers after writing about film for years. Rivette made his film debut in 1961 with Paris Nous Appartient (Paris Belongs To Us). He continued to work at the magazine until 1965, when he made The Nun with Anna Karina, a film that was banned until 1967. That was followed by L’Amour Fou.

During the 1970s, Rivette became well-known for making incredibly long films. In 1971, he completed the 12-hour Out 1. He followed that with the acclaimed 1974 film, Celine and Julie Go Boating, which runs over three hours.

Rivette continued making films into the ‘80s and ‘90s and continued working into his 80s. One of his most successful films was 1991’s La Belle Noiseuse, which starred Michel Piccoli and runs almost four hours. His last film was 2009’s Around A Small Mountain, which stars Jane Birkin.