He was born in Angers, Maine-et-Loire, France.
Two of his translated collections of criticism are mainstays of college film courses; What is Cinema, volumes 1 & 2. Bazin is known as a proponent of "appreciative criticism," wherein only critics who like a film can write a review of it, thus encouraging constructive criticism.
André Bazin died at Nogent-sur-Marne, Île-de-France.