Claude Lelouch

Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (French: [klod ləluʃ]; born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critical acclaim for his 1966 romantic melodrama film A Man and A Woman.[1] At the 39th Academy Awards in 1967, A Man and a Woman won Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film.[2] Lelouch was also nominated for Best Director.[2] While his films have gained him international recognition since the 1960s, Lelouch's methods and style of film are known for attracting criticism.[3][4]

Claude Lelouch
Lelouch in 2019
Born
Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch

(1937-10-30) 30 October 1937
Paris, France
Occupation(s)Film director, screenwriter, cinematographer, actor, film producer
Spouse(s)Christine Cochet (1968–1972)
Gunilla Friden (197?–197?)
Évelyne Bouix (1980–1985)
Marie-Sophie L. (1986–1992)
Alessandra Martines (1993–2009)
Children7
Signature

Life and career

Lelouch was born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris to Charlotte (née Abeilard) and Simon Lelouch.[5]

His father was born to an Algerian Jewish family while his mother was a convert to Judaism.[6][7] Lelouch says that his first contact with cinema was very young: "My mother hid me in movie theaters when I was little. We were wanted by the Gestapo. [...] Cinema, for starters, saved my life."[8] Of his personal faith, he says "Today I believe in God. My faith was sparked when I made a film in Israel. Over there, it is impossible not to believe in God. I loved the places of worship of all the religions. Everything which happens is for the best. I sometimes have the feeling that my inspiration comes from heaven. I think it is wonderful to be Jewish."[9]

His father bought him a camera as a fresh start after his failure in the baccalaureat. He started his career with a reportage – one of the first to film daily life in the Soviet Union, with the camera hidden under his coat as he made his personal journey. He also filmed sporting events, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Tour de France.[10]

Lelouch served in the French Army working in the film unit where he made over 100 films. He was demobbed in 1960.[11]

His first full-length film as director, Le Propre de l'homme, was decried by the critics: "Claude Lelouch, remember this name well, because you will not hear it again" – Cahiers du cinéma said. La femme spectacle (1963), following prostitutes, women shopping, going for nose-jobs, was censored for its misogynist tendency. A Man and a Woman changed his fortunes and was met with favour even by the Cahiers group.

The 1981 musical epic Les Uns et les Autres is widely considered as his masterpiece, and his credits now add up to 50 or so films. His 1976 film, C'était un rendez-vous purportedly features a Ferrari 275 GTB being driven at extreme speed through the streets of Paris at dawn. The entire short is shot from the point of view of the car. Legend has it that Lelouch was arrested after it was first shown publicly.[12]

In a 2006 interview, Lelouch stated that he drove his own Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 in the film and created a soundtrack of the radically different sounding Italian sports car for effect.[13]

He collaborated more than two dozen times with composer Francis Lai. They scored a great hit with the theme song for the film A Man and a Woman sung by Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh, and more than 300 versions of the song exist.

In 1993 he was the President of the Jury at the 18th Moscow International Film Festival.[14]

In 2020 Lelouch filmed his own modern 'remake' of his 1976 short film (in collaboration with Ferrari) C'était un rendez-vous entitled Le Grand Rendez-vous, set in Monaco instead of Paris and starring Monegasque racing driver Charles Leclerc.[15] Filming for the new version took place on the Circuit de Monaco on 24 May 2020 and features Leclerc driving a Ferrari SF90 Stradale. It was released on 13 June 2020.[16] The film was criticised by The Verge as 'lifeless'.[17] Top Gear's Chris Harris said on Twitter this version was 'lazy and badly executed'.[18]

Honours
  • 2016: Commander in the Order of the Crown[19]
  • 2005: Doctor of Philosophy Honoris Causa, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Awards

Lelouch's A Man and a Woman won the Palme d'Or at the 1966 Cannes Film Festival,[20] as well as two Oscars including Best Foreign Language Film.[21]

His 1967 film Vivre pour vivre, was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar.[22] In 1971, he won the David di Donatello for Best Foreign Directing for Le Voyou.

Filmography

References
  1. "Rotten Tomatoes: Movies | TV Shows | Movie Trailers | Reviews - Rotten Tomatoes". www.rottentomatoes.com. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  2. "Claude Lelouch". IMDb. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  3. Churchill, David (22 July 2010). "Claude Lelouch's C'était un rendez-vous (1976)". Critics at Large. Archived from the original on 13 October 2010. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  4. Daoust, Phil (13 February 2009). "Phil Daoust meets film director Claude Lelouch". the Guardian. Archived from the original on 6 September 2018. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
  5. "Claude Lelouch biography". Filmreference.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2011. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  6. Joseph Tolédano, Les Juifs maghrébins, Brepols, 1989, p. 287
  7. Assoun, Rebecca (11 January 2006). "Claude Lelouch: Life as a movie - Israel Culture". Ynetnews. Ynetnews.com. Archived from the original on 31 August 2012. Retrieved 14 November 2011.
  8. INA, Claude Lelouch (26 October 2017). "Le cinéma de Claude Lelouch en 13 vidéos" (in French). INA. "Passeurs d'histoires: vidéo "2011 - Lycée : la section cinéma reçoit Claude Lelouch". Retrieved 15 November 2018. Ma mère me cachait dans les salles de cinéma quand j'étais tout petit. On était recherché par le Gestapo. [...] Je pense que le cinéma a commencé par me sauver la vie.
  9. Assoun, Rebecca (1 November 2006). "Claude Lelouch: Life as a movie". Ynetnews.
  10. AlloCine, Pour un maillot jaune (in French), retrieved 8 June 2022
  11. Claude Lelouch, Bio Amazon. Retrieved July 20, 2023.
  12. "C'était un Rendez-vous Review (1976)". Thespinningimage.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  13. IMDB Trivia Archived 26 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine, imdb.com; accessed 21 February 2016.
  14. "18th Moscow International Film Festival (1993)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 3 April 2014. Retrieved 9 March 2013.
  15. "F1's Charles Leclerc set for C'etait un Rendezvous remake". www.motorsport.com. 21 May 2020.
  16. "F1's Charles Leclerc drives Monaco for controversial film remake". www.motorsport.com. 24 May 2020.
  17. "Ferrari ruined its 'Rendez-vous' revival with digital image stabilization". 15 June 2020.
  18. @harrismonkey (15 June 2020). "All of us content creators who have..." (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  19. "Franse cineast Claude Lelouch geridderd in Brussel". deredactie.be. 25 November 2016. Archived from the original on 10 February 2018. Retrieved 30 April 2018.
  20. "Festival de Cannes: A Man and a Woman". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 7 August 2012. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  21. "The 39th Academy Awards (1967) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
  22. "The 40th Academy Awards (1968) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 12 November 2011.
  23. "VIDEO. Claude Lelouch retrouve Anouk Aimée et Jean-Louis Trintignant pour l'épilogue d'"Un homme et une femme"". Franceinfo. 15 March 2019.
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