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Jean-Pierre Melville: Cinéaste du Noir
National Film Archive of Japan
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Artists
Jean Pierre Melville
The name of film director Jean-Pierre Melville shines with a special brightness in French film history. Having devoted himself to American films in his youth, he made his debut with the feature length independent film Le Silence de la Mer (1949) without any training as a film director whatsoever. Melville came to prominence when he was commissioned to direct Les Enfants Terribles (1950) by Jean Cocteau, who wrote the original novel. His independent spirit was loved and respected by young Nouvelle Vague filmmakers.
He gradually gained recognition as a great director of film noir, and built up his reputation in French cinema with hard-boiled crime films such as Le Doulos [The Finger Man] (1962), Le Deuxième Souffle [Second Breath] (1966), Le Samouraï [The Godson] (1967), and Le Cercle Rouge [The Red Circle] (1970), as well as the big budget war film Army of Shadows (1969), based on his own experiences in the Resistance. Notably, it is not too much of a stretch to say that two major film stars, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, broke new ground with Melville’s films. Depicting complicated human beings who have both good and evil sides, and weaving men’s ties of friendship and betrayal into drama, Melville also had a strong influence on Asian films including those from Japan. To commemorate Melville’s centenary in 2017, NFC is looking back at his distinguished life and achievements by showing materials mainly collected over a period of many years by film director Olivier Bohler, who made the documentary “Code Name Melville” (2008).
He gradually gained recognition as a great director of film noir, and built up his reputation in French cinema with hard-boiled crime films such as Le Doulos [The Finger Man] (1962), Le Deuxième Souffle [Second Breath] (1966), Le Samouraï [The Godson] (1967), and Le Cercle Rouge [The Red Circle] (1970), as well as the big budget war film Army of Shadows (1969), based on his own experiences in the Resistance. Notably, it is not too much of a stretch to say that two major film stars, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, broke new ground with Melville’s films. Depicting complicated human beings who have both good and evil sides, and weaving men’s ties of friendship and betrayal into drama, Melville also had a strong influence on Asian films including those from Japan. To commemorate Melville’s centenary in 2017, NFC is looking back at his distinguished life and achievements by showing materials mainly collected over a period of many years by film director Olivier Bohler, who made the documentary “Code Name Melville” (2008).
Schedule | Sep 26 (Tue) 2017-Dec 10 (Sun) 2017 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | Adults ¥250, University Students and Seniors ¥130, High School Students & Under and Persons with Disability Certificates & One Companion Free | ||||||
| Website | http://www.momat.go.jp/english/fc/exhibition/mochinaga/ | ||||||
| Venue | National Film Archive of Japan https://www.nfaj.go.jp/english/ | ||||||
| Location | 3-7-6 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0031 | ||||||
| Access | 1 minute walk from exit 1 at Kyobashi Station on the Ginza line, 1 minute walk from exit A4 at Takaracho Station on the Toei Asakusa line, 5 minute walk from exit 7 at Ginza-itchome Station on the Yurakucho line. | ||||||
| Phone | 050-5541-8600 (Hello Dial) |
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