Anatole Dauman
Encyclopedia
Anatole Dauman was a French
film producer. He produced films by Jean-Luc Godard
, Robert Bresson
, Wim Wenders
, Nagisa Oshima
, Andrei Tarkovsky
, Chris Marker
, Volker Schlöndorff
, Walerian Borowczyk
, and Alain Resnais
.
He was a principal figure in Argos Films, a company that was a very important vehicle in creating opportunities for the "Left bank
" filmmakers to emerge from the overall Nouvelle Vague.
in 1925 to a Russian Jewish family and later emigrated to France.
In 1951, he formed Argos Films with Philippe Lifchitz. It was a niche production company with the aim of making films on art which were inspired by the work of the Italian documentary filmmaker Luciano Emmer
. Dauman produced the first films of Pierre Kast
, Jean Aurel
and Chris Marker
. In 1953, they gained an advance from a distributor that enabled them to produce Alexander Astruc's Crimson Curtain, which received a prime a la qualite. After that they produced Alain Resnais
' Night and Fog and two films by Chris Marker, Sunday in Peking and Letter from Siberia.
In 1959, Argos initiated the production of Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour
. They also produced Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad
. They also produced Chronique d'un été
(Chronicle of a Summer) by Jean Rouch
and the sociologist Edgar Morin
, a documentary which pioneered cinéma vérité
. Morin wrote an article describing the film as neither a documentary nor sociology in the January 1960 France-Observateur, he explained that it wasn't intended to describe, rather it is an experience lived by its authors and actors. Dauman went on to produce two films for Jean-Luc Godard
- Masculin, féminin
(1966) and Two or Three Things I Know About Her
(1967). Argos also produced two by Robert Bresson
, Au Hasard Balthazar
(1966) and Mouchette
(1967).
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film producer. He produced films by Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
, Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson
-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
, Wim Wenders
Wim Wenders
Ernst Wilhelm "Wim" Wenders is a German film director, playwright, author, photographer and producer.-Early life:Wenders was born in Düsseldorf. He graduated from high school in Oberhausen in the Ruhr area. He then studied medicine and philosophy in Freiburg and Düsseldorf...
, Nagisa Oshima
Nagisa Oshima
is a Japanese film director and screenwriter. After graduating from Kyoto University he was hired by Shochiku Ltd. and quickly progressed to directing his own movies, making his debut feature A Town of Love and Hope in 1959....
, Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Tarkovsky
Andrei Arsenyevich Tarkovsky was a Soviet and Russian filmmaker, writer, film editor, film theorist, theatre and opera director, widely regarded as one of the finest filmmakers of the 20th century....
, Chris Marker
Chris Marker
Chris Marker is a French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and film essayist. His best known films are La jetée , A Grin Without a Cat , Sans Soleil and AK , an essay film on the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa...
, Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff
Volker Schlöndorff is a Berlin-based German filmmaker who has worked in Germany, France and the United States...
, Walerian Borowczyk
Walerian Borowczyk
Walerian Borowczyk was a Polish film director. He directed 40 films between 1946 and 1988. His career as a film director was mainly in France.-Biography:...
, and Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
.
He was a principal figure in Argos Films, a company that was a very important vehicle in creating opportunities for the "Left bank
Rive Gauche
La Rive Gauche is the southern bank of the river Seine in Paris. Here the river flows roughly westward, cutting the city in two: looking downstream, the southern bank is to the left, and the northern bank is to the right....
" filmmakers to emerge from the overall Nouvelle Vague.
Early life and career
Anatole Dauman was born in WarsawWarsaw
Warsaw is the capital and largest city of Poland. It is located on the Vistula River, roughly from the Baltic Sea and from the Carpathian Mountains. Its population in 2010 was estimated at 1,716,855 residents with a greater metropolitan area of 2,631,902 residents, making Warsaw the 10th most...
in 1925 to a Russian Jewish family and later emigrated to France.
In 1951, he formed Argos Films with Philippe Lifchitz. It was a niche production company with the aim of making films on art which were inspired by the work of the Italian documentary filmmaker Luciano Emmer
Luciano Emmer
Luciano Emmer was an Italian film director. He was born in Milan. He won a Golden Globe in 1951 for Pictura...
. Dauman produced the first films of Pierre Kast
Pierre Kast
Pierre Kast was a French screenwriter and film and television director.Kast died from a heart attack on board an aircraft on 20 October 1984, aged 64.- Director :...
, Jean Aurel
Jean Aurel
Jean Aurel was a French film director and scriptwriter.-Selected filmography:* 14-18 * De l'amour * Lamiel * Manon 70 * Les femmes...
and Chris Marker
Chris Marker
Chris Marker is a French writer, photographer, documentary film director, multimedia artist and film essayist. His best known films are La jetée , A Grin Without a Cat , Sans Soleil and AK , an essay film on the Japanese filmmaker Akira Kurosawa...
. In 1953, they gained an advance from a distributor that enabled them to produce Alexander Astruc's Crimson Curtain, which received a prime a la qualite. After that they produced Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais
Alain Resnais is a French film director whose career has extended over more than six decades. After training as a film editor in the mid-1940s, he went on to direct a number of short films which included Nuit et Brouillard , an influential documentary about the Nazi concentration camps.He began...
' Night and Fog and two films by Chris Marker, Sunday in Peking and Letter from Siberia.
In 1959, Argos initiated the production of Resnais' Hiroshima mon amour
Hiroshima Mon Amour
Hiroshima mon amour is an acclaimed 1959 drama film directed by French film director Alain Resnais, with a screenplay by Marguerite Duras. It is the documentation of an intensely personal conversation between a French-Japanese couple about memory and forgetfulness...
. They also produced Resnais' Last Year at Marienbad
Last Year at Marienbad
L'Année dernière à Marienbad is a 1961 French film directed by Alain Resnais from a screenplay by Alain Robbe-Grillet....
. They also produced Chronique d'un été
Chronique d'un été
Chronique d'un été is a documentary film made during the summer of 1960 by sociologist Edgar Morin and anthropologist and filmmaker Jean Rouch, with the esthetic collaboration of director cameraman Michel Brault. The film begins with a discussion between Rouch and Morin on whether or not it is...
(Chronicle of a Summer) by Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch
Jean Rouch was a French filmmaker and anthropologist.He is considered to be one of the founders of the cinéma vérité in France, which shared the aesthetics of the direct cinema spearheaded by Richard Leacock, D.A. Pennebaker and Albert and David Maysles...
and the sociologist Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin
Edgar Morin is a French philosopher and sociologist born Edgar Nahoum in Paris on July 8, 1921. He is of Judeo-Spanish origin. He is known for the transdisciplinarity of his works.- Biography :...
, a documentary which pioneered cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité
Cinéma vérité is a style of documentary filmmaking, combining naturalistic techniques with stylized cinematic devices of editing and camerawork, staged set-ups, and the use of the camera to provoke subjects. It is also known for taking a provocative stance toward its topics.There are subtle yet...
. Morin wrote an article describing the film as neither a documentary nor sociology in the January 1960 France-Observateur, he explained that it wasn't intended to describe, rather it is an experience lived by its authors and actors. Dauman went on to produce two films for Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard is a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter and film critic. He is often identified with the 1960s French film movement, French Nouvelle Vague, or "New Wave"....
- Masculin, féminin
Masculin, féminin
Masculin, féminin is a 1966 black-and-white French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard.The film stars French New Wave icon Jean-Pierre Léaud as Paul, a romantic young idealist and literary lion-wannabe who chases budding pop star, Madeleine...
(1966) and Two or Three Things I Know About Her
Two or Three Things I Know About Her
Two or Three Things I Know About Her is a French film directed by Jean-Luc Godard, one of three features he completed that year. Like the other two , it is considered both socially and stylistically radical. Many American critics, including Village Voice critics Amy Taubin and J...
(1967). Argos also produced two by Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson
-Life and career:Bresson was born at Bromont-Lamothe, Puy-de-Dôme, the son of Marie-Élisabeth and Léon Bresson. Little is known of his early life and the year of his birth, 1901 or 1907, varies depending on the source. He was educated at Lycée Lakanal in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, close to Paris, and...
, Au Hasard Balthazar
Au hasard Balthazar
Au hasard Balthazar, , also known as Balthazar, is a 1966 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Anne Wiazemsky.-Plot:...
(1966) and Mouchette
Mouchette
Mouchette is a 1967 French film directed by Robert Bresson, starring Nadine Nortier, and Jean-Claude Guilbert. It is based on the novel by Georges Bernanos. "Mouchette" means "little fly" in French...
(1967).