Louis Malle
Louis Malle | |
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Beverly Hills, California, U.S. | |
Alma mater | Sciences Po La Fémis |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1953–1995 |
Spouses | |
Children | 3 |
Louis Marie Malle (French: [lwi mal]; 30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer who worked in both French cinema and Hollywood. Described as "eclectic" and "a filmmaker difficult to pin down", Malle made documentaries, romances, period dramas, and thrillers. He often depicted provocative or controversial subject matter.[2]
Malle's most famous works include the crime thriller Elevator to the Gallows (1958), the romantic drama The Lovers (1958), the World War II drama Lacombe, Lucien (1974), the period drama Pretty Baby (1978), the romantic crime film Atlantic City (1980), the dramedy My Dinner with Andre (1981), and the autobiographical Au revoir les enfants (1987). He also co-directed the landmark underwater documentary The Silent World with Jacques Cousteau, which won the 1956 Palme d'Or and the 1957 Academy Award for Best Documentary.
Malle is one of only four directors to have won the Golden Lion twice. His other accolades include three Césars, two BAFTAs, and three Oscar nominations. He was made a Fellow of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts in 1991.[3]
Early life
Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries, Nord, France, the son of Françoise (Béghin) and Pierre Malle.[4]
During World War II, Malle attended a Catholic boarding school near Fontainebleau. As an 11-year-old he witnessed a
As a young man, Malle studied political science at Sciences Po from 1950 to 1952 (some sources incorrectly state that he studied at the Sorbonne) before turning to film studies at IDHEC.
Career
Malle worked as co-director and cameraman with
Malle's The Lovers (Les Amants, 1958), which also starred Moreau, caused major controversy due to its sexual content, leading to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case about the legal definition of obscenity. In Jacobellis v. Ohio, a theater owner was fined $2,500 for obscenity. The Supreme Court overturned the decision, finding that the film was not obscene and hence constitutionally protected. But the court could not agree on a definition of "obscene", with Justice Potter Stewart famously saying, "I know it when I see it".
Malle is sometimes associated with the
Other films also tackled taboo subjects:
Documentary on India
Malle visited India in 1968, and made the seven-part documentary series L'Inde fantôme: Reflexions sur un voyage and the documentary film Calcutta, which was released in cinemas.[5] Concentrating on real India, its rituals and festivities, Malle fell afoul of the Indian government, which disliked his portrayal of the country, in its fascination with the pre-modern, and consequently banned the BBC from filming in India for several years.[6] Malle later said his documentary on India was his favorite film.[6]
Move to the U.S.
Malle later moved to the United States and continued to direct there. His later films include
Towards the end of his life, cultural correspondent Melinda Camber Porter interviewed Malle extensively for The Times. In 1993, the interviews were included in her book Through Parisian Eyes: Reflections On Contemporary French Arts And Culture.
Personal life
Malle was married to actress Anne-Marie Deschodt from 1965 to 1967. He later had a son, Manuel Cuotemoc Malle (born 1971), with German actress Gila von Weitershausen, and a daughter, filmmaker Justine Malle (born 1974), with Canadian actress Alexandra Stewart.[7] From mid-1977 until early 1980, he was in a relationship with Susan Sarandon.[8]
Malle married actress Candice Bergen in 1980. They had one child, Chloé Françoise Malle, on 8 November 1985.[9] Malle died of lymphoma, aged 63, at their home in Beverly Hills, California, on November 23, 1995.[10]
Filmography
Feature films
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Other | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1953 | Crazeologie | Yes | Yes | Short film | ||
1954 | Station 307 | Yes | Yes | Yes | Short film; Also cinematographer | |
1958 | Elevator to the Gallows | Yes | Yes | |||
1958 | The Lovers | Yes | ||||
1960 | Zazie in the Metro | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
1962 | A Very Private Affair | Yes | Yes | Yes | Appeared as a journalist | |
1963 | The Fire Within | Yes | Yes | |||
1965 | Viva Maria! | Yes | Yes | |||
1967 | The Thief of Paris | Yes | Yes | |||
1968 | Spirits of the Dead | Yes | Yes | Segment: "William Wilson" | ||
1969 | A Very Curious Girl | Yes | Appeared as Jésus | |||
1971 | Murmur of the Heart | Yes | Yes | |||
1974 | Lacombe, Lucien | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
1975 | Black Moon | Yes | Yes | |||
1978 | Pretty Baby | Yes | Yes | |||
1980 | Atlantic City | Yes | ||||
1981 | My Dinner with Andre | Yes | ||||
1984 | Crackers | Yes | ||||
1985 | Alamo Bay | Yes | Yes | |||
1987 | Au revoir les enfants | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
1990 | May Fools | Yes | Yes | Yes | ||
1992 | La Vie de Bohème
|
Yes | Appeared in a cameo | |||
1992 | Damage | Yes | Yes | |||
1994 | Vanya on 42nd Street | Yes | Yes |
Documentary films
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Other | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1956 | The Silent World | Yes | Co-directed with Jacques Cousteau | |||
1962 | Vive le Tour | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer | |
1969 | Calcutta | Yes | Yes | Yes | Also narrator | |
1973 | Human, Too Human | Yes | ||||
1974 | Place de la République | Yes | Yes | Appeared as himself | ||
1976 | Close Up | Yes | Short film | |||
1986 | And the Pursuit of Happiness | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer and narrator |
Television
Year | Title | Director | Writer | Producer | Other | Notes |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1964 | Bons baisers de Bangkok | Yes | Short film | |||
1969 | Phantom India | Yes | Yes | Miniseries; Also narrator | ||
1985 | God's Country | Yes | Yes | Also cinematographer and narrator | ||
1994 | Murphy Brown | Yes | Appeared as himself; Episode: "My Movie with Louis" |
Awards and nominations
- Le Monde du silence(1956)
- Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Winner
- The Lovers (1958)
- Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize Winner
- Le Feu follet(1963)
- Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize Winner
- Venice Film Festival Italian Film Critics Award Winner
- The Thief of Paris (1967)
- 5th Moscow International Film Festival official selection[11]
- Calcutta (1969)
- Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
- Melbourne International Film Festival: Grand Prix Winner
- Murmur of the Heart (1971)
- Cannes Film Festival Official Selection
- Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nomination
- Lacombe, Lucien (1974)
- Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film Nomination[12]
- Golden GlobesBest Foreign Film Nomination
- BAFTA Best Foreign Language Film Winner
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Director Nomination
- Pretty Baby (1978)
- Cannes Film Festival Technical Grand Prize Winner
- Atlantic City (1981)
- Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Winner
- Academy Award for Best Director Nomination
- Academy Award for Best Picture Nomination
- Golden GlobesBest Foreign Film Nomination
- Golden GlobesBest Director Nomination
- BAFTA Best Director Winner
- Crackers (1984)
- Berlin Film Festival Official Selection[13]
- Goodbye, Children (1987)
- Venice Film Festival Golden Lion Winner
- Venice Film Festival OCIC Award Winner
- Academy Award for Best Foreign Language FilmNomination
- Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay Nomination
- Golden GlobesBest Foreign Film Nomination
- BAFTA Best Director Winner
- BAFTA Best Film Nomination
- BAFTA Best Screenplay Nomination
- Cesar AwardsBest Film Winner
- Cesar AwardsBest Director Winner
- Cesar AwardsBest Screenplay Winner
- European Film Awards Best Screenwriter Winner
- European Film Awards Best Film Nomination
- European Film Awards Best Director Nomination
- May Fools (1990)
- British Academy of Film and Television Arts Best Foreign Film Nomination
References
- ^ [1] Archived February 8, 2015, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Where to begin with Louis Malle". BFI. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
- ^ "1991 Film Fellowship | BAFTA Awards". awards.bafta.org. Retrieved 2021-11-04.
- ISBN 978-0-307-27542-4.
- ^ [2] Archived April 16, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ a b "BBC iPlayer". Bbc.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2004-09-17. Retrieved 2015-12-01.
- ^ "Louis Malle – Films & Bio". newwavefilm.com. Retrieved 22 July 2015.
- ^ Smith, Liz (April 3, 1980). "Love's Magic Spell". The Baltimore Sun. p. 25.
- ISBN 978-0-684-80827-7.
- ^ Severo, Richard (25 November 1995). "Louis Malle, Film Director Equally at Home in France and America, Is Dead at 63". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 July 2015.
- ^ "5th Moscow International Film Festival (1967)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 January 2013. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
- ^ "The 47th Academy Awards (1975) Nominees and Winners". oscars.org. Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- ^ "Berlinale: 1984 Programme". berlinale.de. Retrieved 26 November 2010.
Further reading
- Billard, Pierre (2003). Louis Malle: Le rebel solitaire. Paris: ISBN 2-259-19243-2.
- French, Philip, ed. (1992). Malle on Malle. London: ISBN 0-571-16237-1.
- Frey, Hugo (2004). Louis Malle. Manchester: ISBN 0-719-06456-2.
- Southern, Nathan; Weissgerber, Jacques (2005). The Films of Louis Malle: A Critical Analysis. ISBN 0-786-42300-5.
External links
- Louis Malle at IMDb