In the opening moments of 20 Days in Mariupol, Mstyslav Chernov’s chilling account of the siege of the Ukrainian port city, a Russian tank marked with the ominous ‘Z’ swivels its turret toward a hospital. On an upper floor of the building, Chernov and his small team record as the cannon slowly rotates towards them, preparing to fire.
“The tank did shoot the hospital right above the floor we were at,” he says. “It hit between the fifth and sixth floors and a patient was killed with that shell.”
It was one of many times he put his life at risk to show the Russian army’s destruction of the city and its systematic targeting of civilians. He remembers feeling his life was about to end.
“Exactly in that moment in the film, this moment of uncertainty, the moment when tanks are shooting at the residential areas, when the hospital...
“The tank did shoot the hospital right above the floor we were at,” he says. “It hit between the fifth and sixth floors and a patient was killed with that shell.”
It was one of many times he put his life at risk to show the Russian army’s destruction of the city and its systematic targeting of civilians. He remembers feeling his life was about to end.
“Exactly in that moment in the film, this moment of uncertainty, the moment when tanks are shooting at the residential areas, when the hospital...
- 2/21/2024
- by Matthew Carey
- Deadline Film + TV
French actor, director and producer Jacques Perrin, a fixture for decades in both French and Italian cinema — where he was best known for his role in Giuseppe Tornatore’s Oscar-winning “Cinema Paradiso” — has died. He was 80.
“The family has the immense sadness of informing you of the death of filmmaker Jacques Perrin, who died on Thursday, April 21 in Paris. He passed away peacefully,” Perrin’s family announced in a statement sent to news agency Agence France Press by his son, Mathieu Simonet. The cause of death was not specified.
Born in Paris on July 13, 1941, Perrin, starting in the 1950s, starred in more than 70 films and co-directed others, including the Oscar-nominated “Winged Migration” (2001), in tandem with Philippe Labro, about the voyage of migratory birds which used in-flight cameras and was a box office hit.
The soft-spoken thesp had landed his first leading role starring opposite Italy’s Claudia Cardinale in Valerio Zurlini...
“The family has the immense sadness of informing you of the death of filmmaker Jacques Perrin, who died on Thursday, April 21 in Paris. He passed away peacefully,” Perrin’s family announced in a statement sent to news agency Agence France Press by his son, Mathieu Simonet. The cause of death was not specified.
Born in Paris on July 13, 1941, Perrin, starting in the 1950s, starred in more than 70 films and co-directed others, including the Oscar-nominated “Winged Migration” (2001), in tandem with Philippe Labro, about the voyage of migratory birds which used in-flight cameras and was a box office hit.
The soft-spoken thesp had landed his first leading role starring opposite Italy’s Claudia Cardinale in Valerio Zurlini...
- 4/22/2022
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
This unheralded story of the French retreat in 1954 Vietnam is one of the best films ever about guerilla combat. The professional French soldiers do what they can to avoid capture, but the new Lieutenant won’t abandon their wounded. The Alsatian top sergeant fought with the Germans ten years before, yet is the best and fairest man in the unit. Director Pierre Schoendoerffer knows of what he films — he was captured by the Viet Minh at the fall of Dien Bien Phu. With the able camerawork of the legendary Raoul Coutard, the movie feels very realistic; we’re told that it was used to teach military cadets.
The 317th Platoon
DVD
Icarus Films
1965 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 95 min. / La 317ème section / Street Date June 29, 2021 / Available from Icarus Films / 29.98
Starring: Jacques Perrin, Bruno Cremer, Pierre Fabre, Manuel Zarzo, Boramy Tioulong, Saksi Sbong.
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Film Editor: Armand Psenny
Original Music:...
The 317th Platoon
DVD
Icarus Films
1965 / B&w / 1:66 widescreen / 95 min. / La 317ème section / Street Date June 29, 2021 / Available from Icarus Films / 29.98
Starring: Jacques Perrin, Bruno Cremer, Pierre Fabre, Manuel Zarzo, Boramy Tioulong, Saksi Sbong.
Cinematography: Raoul Coutard
Film Editor: Armand Psenny
Original Music:...
- 6/22/2021
- by Glenn Erickson
- Trailers from Hell
Cinema St. Louis presents the 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival which takes place March 8-10, 15-17, and 22-24, 2019. The location this year is Washington University’s Brown Hall Auditorium, Forsyth & Skinker boulevards.
The 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema. The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.” The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
The 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema. The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.” The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
- 3/18/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Cinema St. Louis presents the 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival which takes place March 8-10, 15-17, and 22-24, 2019. The location this year is Washington University’s Brown Hall Auditorium, Forsyth & Skinker boulevards.
The 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema. The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.” The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
The 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema. The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.” The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
- 3/12/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Cinema St. Louis presents the 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival which takes place March 8-10, 15-17, and 22-24, 2019. The location this year is Washington University’s Brown Hall Auditorium, Forsyth & Skinker boulevards.
The 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema. The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.” The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
The 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema. The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.” The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
- 3/4/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Cinema St. Louis presents the 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival which takes place March 8-10, 15-17, and 22-24, 2019. The location this year is Washington University’s Brown Hall Auditorium, Forsyth & Skinker boulevards.
he 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema.
The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.”
The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
he 11th Annual Robert Classic French Film Festival — presented by TV5MONDE and produced by Cinema St. Louis — celebrates St. Louis’ Gallic heritage and France’s cinematic legacy. The featured films span the decades from the 1930s through the 1990s, offering a revealing overview of French cinema.
The fest annually includes significant restorations, and this year features seven such works: Pierre Schoendoerffer “The 317th Platoon,” Marcel Pagnol’s “The Baker’s Wife,” Olivier Assayas’ “Cold Water,” Jacques Becker’s “The Hole,” Jacques Rivette’s “The Nun,” Agnés Varda’s “One Sings, the Other Doesn’t,” and Diane Kurys’ “Peppermint Soda.”
The schedule is rounded out by Robert Bresson’s final film, “L’argent,” and two 1969 films celebrating...
- 2/6/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
French director David Oelhoffen, whose latest film, “Close Enemies,” is competing at the Venice Film Festival, is preparing two new politically minded, internationally driven films: “The Fourth Wall” (“Le quatrieme mur”) and “Les derniers hommes.”
“Les derniers hommes” is being developped by Galatée Films, the company co-founded by French actor-turned-producer Jacques Perrin, whose credits include “The Chorists.” The project is based on Alain Gandy’s autobiographical novel, “Légion étrangère Cavalerie,” which chronicles the hellish journey of foreign soldiers who fought on behalf of the French in March 1945 as they struggled to make their way out of the jungle after being defeated by the Japanese army.
Oelhoffen said the project was brought to him by Perrin, who bought rights to Gandy’s novel and is passionate about the subject, having starred in Pierre Schoendoerffer’s 1965 film “The 317th Platoon,” which is set in Vietnam in 1954.
“It will be a survival drama...
“Les derniers hommes” is being developped by Galatée Films, the company co-founded by French actor-turned-producer Jacques Perrin, whose credits include “The Chorists.” The project is based on Alain Gandy’s autobiographical novel, “Légion étrangère Cavalerie,” which chronicles the hellish journey of foreign soldiers who fought on behalf of the French in March 1945 as they struggled to make their way out of the jungle after being defeated by the Japanese army.
Oelhoffen said the project was brought to him by Perrin, who bought rights to Gandy’s novel and is passionate about the subject, having starred in Pierre Schoendoerffer’s 1965 film “The 317th Platoon,” which is set in Vietnam in 1954.
“It will be a survival drama...
- 8/31/2018
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Raoul Coutard, the French director of photography who revolutionized the field of cinematography with his unorthodox camerawork and lighting, has died. Closely associated with the French New Wave, the largely self-taught Coutard collaborated with Jean-Luc Godard in the 1960s, shooting almost all of the Franco-Swiss director’s classics of ageless cool, including Breathless, Band Of Outsiders, Pierrot Le Fou, and Contempt; in the process, he innovated and popularized the use of handheld camerawork and other techniques. Coutard was 92.
A veteran of the French Indochina War, Coutard lived in what is now Vietnam for 11 years, working as a freelance combat and editorial photographer for such magazines as Life and Paris Match. His first credit as a cinematographer is the stuff of film legend. After agreeing to “photograph” Pierre Schoendoerffer and Jacques Dupont’s documentary The Devil’s Pass, Coutard showed up on set believing he had been hired as ...
A veteran of the French Indochina War, Coutard lived in what is now Vietnam for 11 years, working as a freelance combat and editorial photographer for such magazines as Life and Paris Match. His first credit as a cinematographer is the stuff of film legend. After agreeing to “photograph” Pierre Schoendoerffer and Jacques Dupont’s documentary The Devil’s Pass, Coutard showed up on set believing he had been hired as ...
- 11/10/2016
- by Ignatiy Vishnevetsky
- avclub.com
By Anjelica Oswald
Managing Editor
Directed by Rory Kennedy, Last Days in Vietnam focuses on the final weeks of the Vietnam War in April 1975 and the Americans who tried to rescue as many South Vietnamese refugees that they could — against White House orders — as the North Vietnamese Army approached Saigon. Kennedy has never been nominated for an Oscar, but her 2012 documentary Ethel, about Ethel Kennedy (Rory’s mother), was nominated for five Emmys. Last Days in Vietnam, which premiered at Sundance, could garner Kennedy her first Oscar nom.
Historically, Vietnam documentaries have done well in the documentary category at the Oscars, and that may be due to many Academy members having come of age during the war. Here are 11 Vietnam documentaries that have been nominated for best documentary (in chronological order):
The Anderson Platoon
Filmed in 1966 by Pierre Schoendoerffer, a war reporter and cameraman, the film follows a 33-man...
Managing Editor
Directed by Rory Kennedy, Last Days in Vietnam focuses on the final weeks of the Vietnam War in April 1975 and the Americans who tried to rescue as many South Vietnamese refugees that they could — against White House orders — as the North Vietnamese Army approached Saigon. Kennedy has never been nominated for an Oscar, but her 2012 documentary Ethel, about Ethel Kennedy (Rory’s mother), was nominated for five Emmys. Last Days in Vietnam, which premiered at Sundance, could garner Kennedy her first Oscar nom.
Historically, Vietnam documentaries have done well in the documentary category at the Oscars, and that may be due to many Academy members having come of age during the war. Here are 11 Vietnam documentaries that have been nominated for best documentary (in chronological order):
The Anderson Platoon
Filmed in 1966 by Pierre Schoendoerffer, a war reporter and cameraman, the film follows a 33-man...
- 10/24/2014
- by Anjelica Oswald
- Scott Feinberg
Actress, director and screenwriter Nicole Garcia is to preside over the Jury for this year’s Caméra d’or award for the best debut film at Cannes.
Garcia, who has presented a total of seven films at Cannes as both actress and director, first came to attention in Bertrand Tavernier’s Let Joy Reign Supreme in 1975 and subsequently worked with directors Henri Verneuil (Body of My Enemy, 1976) and Laurent Heynemann (The Question, 1977).
In 1979, her performance in Philippe de Broca’s Practice Makes Perfect earned her popular acclaim and a César award for best supporting actress. She went on to work with the greats of French cinema including Alain Resnais (My American Uncle, 1980), Bertrand Blier (Stepfather, 1981), Claude Lelouch (Bolero: Dance of Life, 1981), Pierre Schoendoerffer (A Captain’s Honor, 1982), Claude Sautet (Waiter!, 1983) and Claude Miller (Little Lili, 2003).
She made her behind-the-camera debut with Every Other Weekend in 1990, followed by The Favorite Son in 1994. She has directed seven films, of...
Garcia, who has presented a total of seven films at Cannes as both actress and director, first came to attention in Bertrand Tavernier’s Let Joy Reign Supreme in 1975 and subsequently worked with directors Henri Verneuil (Body of My Enemy, 1976) and Laurent Heynemann (The Question, 1977).
In 1979, her performance in Philippe de Broca’s Practice Makes Perfect earned her popular acclaim and a César award for best supporting actress. She went on to work with the greats of French cinema including Alain Resnais (My American Uncle, 1980), Bertrand Blier (Stepfather, 1981), Claude Lelouch (Bolero: Dance of Life, 1981), Pierre Schoendoerffer (A Captain’s Honor, 1982), Claude Sautet (Waiter!, 1983) and Claude Miller (Little Lili, 2003).
She made her behind-the-camera debut with Every Other Weekend in 1990, followed by The Favorite Son in 1994. She has directed seven films, of...
- 4/18/2014
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
He was one of the few directors of war movies with first-hand experience of conflict
Pierre Schoendoerffer, who has died aged 83, was one of the few directors of war films who had actually lived out the adventures of his soldier heroes. The American film-makers William Wellman, Sam Fuller and Oliver Stone did so, but no other director explored the same subject as single-mindedly and doggedly as Schoendoerffer.
His experiences of combat as a military cameraman and as a prisoner of war during the conflict in Indochina marked his output, most directly La 317ème Section (The 317th Platoon, 1965), about a doomed French unit; Le Crabe-Tambour (The Drummer Crab, 1977), about French officers involved in the fall of the French empire after the second world war; his Oscar-winning television documentary La Section Anderson (The Anderson Platoon, 1967), which followed the lives of Us soldiers in Vietnam; and Diên Biên Phú (1992), about a Us war...
Pierre Schoendoerffer, who has died aged 83, was one of the few directors of war films who had actually lived out the adventures of his soldier heroes. The American film-makers William Wellman, Sam Fuller and Oliver Stone did so, but no other director explored the same subject as single-mindedly and doggedly as Schoendoerffer.
His experiences of combat as a military cameraman and as a prisoner of war during the conflict in Indochina marked his output, most directly La 317ème Section (The 317th Platoon, 1965), about a doomed French unit; Le Crabe-Tambour (The Drummer Crab, 1977), about French officers involved in the fall of the French empire after the second world war; his Oscar-winning television documentary La Section Anderson (The Anderson Platoon, 1967), which followed the lives of Us soldiers in Vietnam; and Diên Biên Phú (1992), about a Us war...
- 3/16/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
A day after Greg Smith rattled the financial sector with his New York Times Op-Ed, "Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs," claiming that "the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it," Deadline's Mike Fleming reminds us that Wall Street was pretty toxic and destructive long before Smith even began his 12-year run at the company. Martin Scorsese and Leonardo DiCaprio "are committing to make The Wolf of Wall Street their fifth collaboration. The film is based on the Jordan Belfort memoir of his days as a hard partying, drug addicted stockbroker who was indicted in 1998 for security fraud and money laundering and served a 22-month federal prison stretch. Shooting will begin August in New York." The Playlist's Kevin Jagernauth posts a 2007 interview with Belfort.
Also at the Playlist, Jagernauth reports that Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala) will likely direct Michael Fassbender in J Mills Goodloe...
Also at the Playlist, Jagernauth reports that Gerardo Naranjo (Miss Bala) will likely direct Michael Fassbender in J Mills Goodloe...
- 3/15/2012
- MUBI
He was one of the few directors of war movies with first-hand experience of conflict
Pierre Schoendoerffer, who has died aged 83, was one of the few directors of war films who had actually lived out the adventures of his soldier heroes. The American film-makers William Wellman, Sam Fuller and Oliver Stone did so, but no other director explored the same subject as single-mindedly and doggedly as Schoendoerffer.
His experiences of combat as a military cameraman and as a prisoner of war during the conflict in Indochina marked his output, most directly La 317ème Section, about a doomed French unit; Le Crabe-Tambour, about French officers involved in the fall of the French empire after the second world war; his Oscar-winning television documentary La Section Anderson, which followed the lives of Us soldiers in Vietnam; and Diên Biên Phú (1992), about a Us war correspondent covering the climactic battle between the French Far...
Pierre Schoendoerffer, who has died aged 83, was one of the few directors of war films who had actually lived out the adventures of his soldier heroes. The American film-makers William Wellman, Sam Fuller and Oliver Stone did so, but no other director explored the same subject as single-mindedly and doggedly as Schoendoerffer.
His experiences of combat as a military cameraman and as a prisoner of war during the conflict in Indochina marked his output, most directly La 317ème Section, about a doomed French unit; Le Crabe-Tambour, about French officers involved in the fall of the French empire after the second world war; his Oscar-winning television documentary La Section Anderson, which followed the lives of Us soldiers in Vietnam; and Diên Biên Phú (1992), about a Us war correspondent covering the climactic battle between the French Far...
- 3/15/2012
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Pierre Schoendoerffer, who won an Oscar for the 1967 Vietnam War documentary The Anderson Platoon, died following an operation at a hospital outside Paris. The exact cause of death remains unclear. He was 83. While still in his 20s, Schoendoerffer served as a cameraman with the French army in the 1950s. As a result, he was present when the crucial fortress of Dien Bien Phu fell to the Vietnamese guerrilla army in May 1954, thus signaling the end of French rule in Indochina. Following his capture, Schoendoerffer spent four months in a Pow camp before being sent back to France. From the late '50s on, Schoendoerffer directed ten films, both narrative and documentary features, most of them related to his war experiences. As quoted in the New York Times, in 1994 Schoendoerffer explained that “the earth of Indochina still clings to my soul, just like the mud of the trenches used to stick to my boots.
- 3/15/2012
- by Andre Soares
- Alt Film Guide
Oscar-winning director Pierre Schoendoerffer has died at the age of 83.
He passed away in his native France on Wednesday.
The filmmaker served as a cameraman in the French army during the 1950s and he spent four months in Indochina as a prisoner of war after being captured by the Vietnamese guerrillas in 1954.
Upon his release, Schoendoerffer became a war correspondent and then embarked on a film career winning acclaim for his gritty movie The 317th Platoon. He also wrote and directed Drummer Crab and A Captain's Honor, and, in 1968, he earned an Academy Award for his documentary The Anderson Platoon.
Paying tribute to the director, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called him "one of the very rare French directors who, thanks to the universality of his message, won an Oscar."...
He passed away in his native France on Wednesday.
The filmmaker served as a cameraman in the French army during the 1950s and he spent four months in Indochina as a prisoner of war after being captured by the Vietnamese guerrillas in 1954.
Upon his release, Schoendoerffer became a war correspondent and then embarked on a film career winning acclaim for his gritty movie The 317th Platoon. He also wrote and directed Drummer Crab and A Captain's Honor, and, in 1968, he earned an Academy Award for his documentary The Anderson Platoon.
Paying tribute to the director, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has called him "one of the very rare French directors who, thanks to the universality of his message, won an Oscar."...
- 3/14/2012
- WENN
Paris — Pierre Schoendoerffer, an Oscar-winning French filmmaker who was held prisoner in Indochina and chronicled the pain of war on screen and on the page, has died. He was 83.
The French military health service confirmed that he died Wednesday. France's Le Figaro newspaper said Schoendoerffer died in a hospital outside Paris after an operation.
"France will miss him," President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement that praised the "legendary filmmaker and novelist" for risking his life for France and "helping us better understand our collective history."
Born in central Franceo on May 5, 1928, Schoendoerffer served as a cameraman in the French army in the 1950s and volunteered to be parachuted into the besieged fortress of Dien Bien Phu, where the decisive battle of the French war in Indochina was fought.
When the stronghold fell to the Vietnamese guerrilla army in May 1954, Schoendoerffer was captured and spent four months in a Pow camp before being repatriated.
The French military health service confirmed that he died Wednesday. France's Le Figaro newspaper said Schoendoerffer died in a hospital outside Paris after an operation.
"France will miss him," President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a statement that praised the "legendary filmmaker and novelist" for risking his life for France and "helping us better understand our collective history."
Born in central Franceo on May 5, 1928, Schoendoerffer served as a cameraman in the French army in the 1950s and volunteered to be parachuted into the besieged fortress of Dien Bien Phu, where the decisive battle of the French war in Indochina was fought.
When the stronghold fell to the Vietnamese guerrilla army in May 1954, Schoendoerffer was captured and spent four months in a Pow camp before being repatriated.
- 3/14/2012
- by AP
- Huffington Post
Whether they are glossy or gritty, embedded or independent, the best war documentaries still reveal the sheer savagery of combat, says film-maker Kevin Macdonald
When was real combat first recorded on film? Probably almost as soon as the "cinematograph" camera was invented. They say that around 1916, Mexican revolutionary general Pancho Villa used to stage battles for his cameramen to record when the light was good. During the second world war, John Ford and John Huston were just two of the great Hollywood directors who picked up 16mm cameras to film real action for, respectively, The Battle of Midway and Report from the Aleutians. But these were straightforward propaganda movies for the most part: they made no pretences of showing what combat was really like for a soldier – what it felt like physiologically and psychologically. Their aim was to stir the patriotic fervour of the audience and to soothe their anxieties about the conflict.
When was real combat first recorded on film? Probably almost as soon as the "cinematograph" camera was invented. They say that around 1916, Mexican revolutionary general Pancho Villa used to stage battles for his cameramen to record when the light was good. During the second world war, John Ford and John Huston were just two of the great Hollywood directors who picked up 16mm cameras to film real action for, respectively, The Battle of Midway and Report from the Aleutians. But these were straightforward propaganda movies for the most part: they made no pretences of showing what combat was really like for a soldier – what it felt like physiologically and psychologically. Their aim was to stir the patriotic fervour of the audience and to soothe their anxieties about the conflict.
- 4/5/2011
- by Kevin Macdonald
- The Guardian - Film News
With 2010 only a week over, it already feels like best-of and top-ten lists have been pouring in for months, and we’re already tired of them: the ranking, the exclusions (and inclusions), the rules and the qualifiers. Some people got to see films at festivals, others only catch movies on video; and the ability for us, or any publication, to come up with a system to fairly determine who saw what when and what they thought was the best seems an impossible feat. That doesn’t stop most people from doing it, but we liked the fantasy double features we did last year and for our 3rd Writers Poll we thought we'd do it again.
I asked our contributors to pick a single new film they saw in 2010—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they saw in 2010 to create a unique double feature.
I asked our contributors to pick a single new film they saw in 2010—in theaters or at a festival—and creatively pair it with an old film they saw in 2010 to create a unique double feature.
- 1/10/2011
- MUBI
French actor famed for his long-running role as Simenon's Maigret
Georges Simenon described his creation Jules Maigret, the gruff, pipe-smoking, Parisian police inspector, thus: "His build was plebeian. He was enormous and bony. Hard muscles stood out beneath his jacket… Above all, he had his very own way of planting himself in a spot… He was a solid block and everything had to break against it." Simenon could have been describing the French actor Bruno Crémer, who has died of cancer aged 80. Crémer, who played Maigret on French television in 54 episodes over 14 years (from 1991 to 2005), had hard acts to follow in Pierre Renoir, Jean Gabin and Jean Richard in France, but the role fitted him as perfectly as the hat and heavy overcoat he wore most of the time.
Maigret was the hero of 75 novels, 28 short stories, many films and endless TV series in numerous languages, including Japanese. In the two British series,...
Georges Simenon described his creation Jules Maigret, the gruff, pipe-smoking, Parisian police inspector, thus: "His build was plebeian. He was enormous and bony. Hard muscles stood out beneath his jacket… Above all, he had his very own way of planting himself in a spot… He was a solid block and everything had to break against it." Simenon could have been describing the French actor Bruno Crémer, who has died of cancer aged 80. Crémer, who played Maigret on French television in 54 episodes over 14 years (from 1991 to 2005), had hard acts to follow in Pierre Renoir, Jean Gabin and Jean Richard in France, but the role fitted him as perfectly as the hat and heavy overcoat he wore most of the time.
Maigret was the hero of 75 novels, 28 short stories, many films and endless TV series in numerous languages, including Japanese. In the two British series,...
- 8/25/2010
- by Ronald Bergan
- The Guardian - Film News
Since the announcement of this year’s selected films, the Cannes film festival machine has whirred on, with additions to that line-up and confirmation of some of the Out of Competition activities that attendees can look forward to.
One particular highlight is the Cannes Classics programme of films, a selection of restored films and rediscovered lost films, as part of the build up to their re-release in cinemas or on DVD. The programme traditionally includes some massively important films: the 2009 fest offered the mouth-watering triptych of Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes (1948), Leone’s A Fistful of Dynamite (1971) and Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959), and this year’s line-up is just as eye-catching.
This year’s Cannes Classic programme lines up as follows (with additional detail of their restoration, and the ceremony attached to the screening):
- La Bataille Du Rail (The Battle of the Rails) (France,...
One particular highlight is the Cannes Classics programme of films, a selection of restored films and rediscovered lost films, as part of the build up to their re-release in cinemas or on DVD. The programme traditionally includes some massively important films: the 2009 fest offered the mouth-watering triptych of Powell and Pressburger’s The Red Shoes (1948), Leone’s A Fistful of Dynamite (1971) and Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959), and this year’s line-up is just as eye-catching.
This year’s Cannes Classic programme lines up as follows (with additional detail of their restoration, and the ceremony attached to the screening):
- La Bataille Du Rail (The Battle of the Rails) (France,...
- 5/1/2010
- by Simon Gallagher
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Mrinal Sen’s Khandahar will be screened in Cannes Classics 2010. Cannes Classics, created in 2004, accompanies contemporary films from the Official Selection with a programme of restored films and lost films that have been found again, as part of their re-release in cinemas or on DVD.
The film has been restored by Reliance MediaWorks with the support of the National Film Archive of India. Mrinal Sen will attend the screening of Khandahar at Cannes.
Programme - La Bataille Du Rail (The Battle of the Rails) (France, 1946, 82’) by René Clément, awarded the Jury Prize in 1946, restored by Ina and Full Images, will be screened in the presence of Mrs. Johanna Clément.- Boudu Sauve Des Eaux (Boudu Saved from Drowning) by Jean Renoir (France, 85’, 1932), a restoration presented by Pathé in a never-before-seen version that includes scenes that were cut in the original. A Pathé restoration in association with the laboratries L’immagine...
The film has been restored by Reliance MediaWorks with the support of the National Film Archive of India. Mrinal Sen will attend the screening of Khandahar at Cannes.
Programme - La Bataille Du Rail (The Battle of the Rails) (France, 1946, 82’) by René Clément, awarded the Jury Prize in 1946, restored by Ina and Full Images, will be screened in the presence of Mrs. Johanna Clément.- Boudu Sauve Des Eaux (Boudu Saved from Drowning) by Jean Renoir (France, 85’, 1932), a restoration presented by Pathé in a never-before-seen version that includes scenes that were cut in the original. A Pathé restoration in association with the laboratries L’immagine...
- 4/27/2010
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
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