Spine 578: The Complete Jean Vigo - Part 1

This week we're covering the first part of Criterion's The Complete Jean Vigo set. There's just enough material in this set that we felt like we should do two episodes on it to give Jean Vigo his due. And what due this director deserves! Before dying of complication of tuberculosis at the age of 29 in 1934, Vigo produced only four works but they are each innovative and influential. This week we cover his first three works: a newsreel/travelogue look at class distinctions in a port town in À propos de Nice (1930), a "Tokyo Olympiad" style look at a swimming star in Taris (1931), and a narrative about schoolboy revolution in Zéro de conduite (1933). And it's a good thing we decided to split this up because just covering these three shorter works led to a nearly 2 hour episode. Next week is our annual holiday special, so we'll finish up the Jean Vigo set with L'Atalante (1934) in two weeks.