Jacques Deray
Encyclopedia
Jacques Deray was a French
film director
and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime and thriller films.
, France in 1929 to a family of Lyons industrialists. At the age of 12 he went to Paris to study drama under René Simon
. Deray played in minor roles on the stage and in films from the age of 19. From 1952, Deray worked as assistant to a number of directors, including Luis Buñuel
, Gilles Grangier, Jules Dassin
, and Jean Boyer
.
Deray's first film was the drama Le Gigolo released in 1960. Deray was fascinated by American film noir and began to focus on crime stories. Deray's early work includes Du rififi à Tokyo, an homage to Jules Dassin's Rififi
. Deray's reputation was established with the 1969 film La Piscine which starred Romy Schneider
and Alain Delon
. La Piscine was not distributed widely outside France, but the follow-up gave Deray his biggest international hit with Borsalino
, a film starring Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo
about two small-time gangsters who murder their way to the top in bustling 1930s Marseilles.
Deray became dedicated to the genre that won him favor with audiences and continued to make thrillers, action films, and spy films throughout the rest of his career adapting works of both French and English authors including Georges Simenon
, Jean-Patrick Manchette
, and Robin Cook
. Deray's last theatrical release was L'Ours en peluche in 1994. Deray worked professionally in television until his death in 2003. On his death, French President Jacques Chirac
praised Deray, noting his "innate sense of storytelling and action" and adding that "France has lost one of its most talented filmmakers."
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 director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and screenwriter. Deray is prominently known for directing many crime and thriller films.
Biography
Born Jacques Desrayaud in LyonLyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, France in 1929 to a family of Lyons industrialists. At the age of 12 he went to Paris to study drama under René Simon
René Simon
René Simon, , born in Troyes was a French actor and founder in 1925 of the Cours Simon drama school.-External links:...
. Deray played in minor roles on the stage and in films from the age of 19. From 1952, Deray worked as assistant to a number of directors, including Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel
Luis Buñuel Portolés was a Spanish-born filmmaker — later a naturalized citizen of Mexico — who worked in Spain, Mexico, France and the US..-Early years:...
, Gilles Grangier, Jules Dassin
Jules Dassin
Julius "Jules" Dassin , was an American film director, with Jewish-Russian origins. He was a subject of the Hollywood blacklist in the McCarthy era, and subsequently moved to France where he revived his career.-Early life:...
, and Jean Boyer
Jean Boyer
Jean Boyer was a French film director and songwriter.- Songs :* 1930 : Un regardé, dans le film Flagrant délit...
.
Deray's first film was the drama Le Gigolo released in 1960. Deray was fascinated by American film noir and began to focus on crime stories. Deray's early work includes Du rififi à Tokyo, an homage to Jules Dassin's Rififi
Rififi
Rififi is a 1955 French crime film adaptation of Auguste le Breton's novel of the same name. Directed by American filmmaker Jules Dassin, the film stars Jean Servais as the aging gangster Tony le Stéphanois, Carl Möhner as Jo le Suédois, Robert Manuel as Mario Farrati, and Jules Dassin as César le...
. Deray's reputation was established with the 1969 film La Piscine which starred Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider
Romy Schneider was an Austrian-born German film actress who also held French citizenship.-Early life:Schneider was born Rosemarie Magdalena Albach in Nazi-era Vienna, six months after the Anschluss, into a family of actors that included her paternal grandmother Rosa Albach-Retty, her Austrian...
and Alain Delon
Alain Delon
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon is a French actor. He rose quickly to stardom, and by the age of 23 was already being compared to French actors such as Gérard Philipe and Jean Marais, as well as American actor James Dean. He was even called the male Brigitte Bardot...
. La Piscine was not distributed widely outside France, but the follow-up gave Deray his biggest international hit with Borsalino
Borsalino
Borsalino is the name of a hat company known particularly for its fedoras. Established in 1857, Borsalino produces felt from Belgian rabbit fur at its factory in Alessandria, Italy....
, a film starring Delon and Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo
Jean-Paul Belmondo is a French actor initially associated with the New Wave of the 1960s.-Career:Born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, west of Paris, Belmondo did not perform well in school, but developed a passion for boxing and football."Did you box professionally very long?" "Not very long...
about two small-time gangsters who murder their way to the top in bustling 1930s Marseilles.
Deray became dedicated to the genre that won him favor with audiences and continued to make thrillers, action films, and spy films throughout the rest of his career adapting works of both French and English authors including Georges Simenon
Georges Simenon
Georges Joseph Christian Simenon was a Belgian writer. A prolific author who published nearly 200 novels and numerous short works, Simenon is best known for the creation of the fictional detective Maigret.-Early life and education:...
, Jean-Patrick Manchette
Jean-Patrick Manchette
Jean-Patrick Manchette was a French crime novelist credited with reinventing and reinvigorating the genre. He wrote ten short novels in the seventies and early eighties. His stories are violent, existentialist explorations of the human condition and French society...
, and Robin Cook
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....
. Deray's last theatrical release was L'Ours en peluche in 1994. Deray worked professionally in television until his death in 2003. On his death, French President Jacques Chirac
Jacques Chirac
Jacques René Chirac is a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He previously served as Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988 , and as Mayor of Paris from 1977 to 1995.After completing his studies of the DEA's degree at the...
praised Deray, noting his "innate sense of storytelling and action" and adding that "France has lost one of its most talented filmmakers."
Filmography
- 1960 : Le Gigolo
- 1962 : Du rififi à Tokyo
- 1963 : Symphonie pour un massacre
- 1965 : Par un beau matin d'été
- 1966 : Avec la peau des autres
- 1966 : L'Homme de Marrakech
- 1969 : La PiscineLa Piscine (film)La Piscine is a 1969 Italian-French film directed by Jacques Deray. It is set in a villa with a pool in August at the Côte d'Azur...
- 1970 : BorsalinoBorsalino (film)Borsalino is a 1970 gangster film directed by Jacques Deray and starring Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Catherine Rouvel. It was entered into the 20th Berlin International Film Festival....
- 1971 : Doucement les basses
- 1971 : Un peu de soleil dans l'eau froide
- 1972 : Un homme est mort
- 1974 : Borsalino & Co
- 1975 : Flic StoryFlic StoryFlic Story is a French crime thriller released on October 1, 1975, based on the autobiography of the same name written by French police detective Roger Borniche. Both film and book portray Borniche's nine year pursuit of French gangster and murderer Emile Buisson, who was executed on February 28,...
- 1977 : Le Gang
- 1978 : Un papillon sur l'épaule
- 1980 : Trois hommes à abattre
- 1983 : Le Marginal
- 1985 : On ne meurt que 2 fois
- 1987 : Le Solitaire
- 1987 : Maladie d'amour
- 1989 : Les Bois noirs
- 1991 : Contre l'oubli (film collectif)
- 1991 : Netchaïev est de retour
- 1993 : Un crime
- 1994 : 3000 scénarios contre un virus (segment « Arnaud et ses copains »)
- 1994 : L'Ours en peluche
- 1998 : Clarissa (1997 en Italie)
- 2000 : On n'a qu'une vie (film de télévision)
- 2001 : Lettre d'une inconnue (film de télévision) d'après Stefan ZweigStefan ZweigStefan Zweig was an Austrian novelist, playwright, journalist and biographer. At the height of his literary career, in the 1920s and 1930s, he was one of the most famous writers in the world.- Biography :...