Claude Autant-lara
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
He was named a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur.
He was also named a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres.
Biography
Left-leaning director who established himself in the 1940s with a string of impressive films including "Lettres d'amour" (1942), the wistful fantasy "Sylvie et la Fantome" (1945), and the superb first screen adaptation of Raymond Radiguet's "Devil in the Flesh" (1947). Though some of Autant-Lara's later works appeared traditional and a bit dated alongside those of the New Wave, the criticism of his whole body of work by that generation of filmmakers seems in retrospect to be somewhat unjust. Autant-Lara's own career had in fact begun with a series of avant-garde shorts, including "Construire un feu" (1926), the first film to achieve a "widescreen" effect through the use of an anamorphic lens.
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Life Events
1919
Entered films as set designer on "Le Carnaval des verites"
1923
First short film as director, "Fait divers"
1926
Directed first film to employ Chretien's anamorphic lens in creating a widescreen image, "Construire un feu" (a short based on the Jack London story "To Build a Fire")
1926
Created the costumes for "Nana", directed by Rene Clair
1930
Lived in Hollywood
1933
Feature film directing debut, "Ciboulette"
1942
First film with Odette Joyeux, "Le Mariage de Chiffon"
1943
Helmed "Douce/Love Story", starring Joyeux
1945
Teamed Joyeux and Jacques Tati in "Sylive et le fantome/Sylvie and the Phantom"
1947
Made what is arguably his masterpiece "Le Diable au corps/The Devil in the Flesh"
1949
Enjoyed an international success with "Occupe-toi d'Amelie/Oh Amelia!"
1951
Directed the black comedy "L'Auberge rouge/The Red Inn"
1955
Helmed a featured adaptation of "Le Rouge et le noir/The Red and the Black"
1956
Directed the comedy "Pig Across Paris/La Traversee de Paris", set during the 1942 German Occupation
1961
Directed "Tu ne tueras point/Thou Shalt Not Kill", about conscientious objectors during WWII; banned from shooting film in France and Italy because of subject matter; filmed in Yugoslavia
1973
Adapted Stendahl's "Lucien Leuwen" for French TV
1977
Final film, "Gloria"
1988
Courted controversy by supporting the right-wing politician Jean-Marie Le Pen
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
He was named a Chevalier de la Legion d'honneur.
He was also named a Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres.
