Jean-Jacques Beineix
Encyclopedia
Biography
In 1964, Jean-Jacques Beineix started his career as Jean Becker's assistant director on the famous French TV series, Les saintes chéries until the end of 1967. Then, in 1970 he worked for Claude BerriClaude Berri
Claude Berri , born Claude Berel Langmann, was one of the great all-rounders of French cinema: an actor, writer, producer, director and distributor. "Out of my failure as an actor was born my desire to direct. Then my relative failure as a director forced me to become a producer. In order to get my...
and in 1971 for Claude Zidi
Claude Zidi
Claude Zidi is a French film director and screenwriter who is noted for his mainstream burlesque comedies. Born in Paris, he started as a cameraman and then cinematographer, and made his directorial and screenwriting debut in 1971...
. In 1977, he directed his first short movie Le Chien de M. Michel which won the first prize at the Trouville Festival. In 1980, he directed his first feature film Diva
Diva (film)
Diva is a 1981 film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from a novel of the same name by Daniel Odier . It is one of the first French films to let go of the realist, harsh mood of 1970s French cinema and return to a colourful, melodic style, called cinema du look...
which received four César Award
César Award
The César Award is the national film award of France, first given out in 1975. The nominations are selected by the members of the Académie des arts et techniques du cinéma....
in 1982 followed by Moon in the Gutter
Moon in the Gutter
Moon in the Gutter is a 1983 French drama film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix. It was entered into the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.Although it immediately followed Beineix' big, commercial success Diva and featured two very big stars, Gérard Depardieu and Nastassja Kinski, Moon in the Gutter was...
. This movie was nominated at Cannes Festival in 1983.
In 1986, Jean-Jacques Beineix directed Betty Blue (37°2 le matin) with Béatrice Dalle
Béatrice Dalle
-Biography:Dalle was born in Brest, Finistère, France, as Béatrice Cabarrou. In 1985 she married the painter Jean-François Dalle but they divorced in 1988....
and Jean-Hugues Anglade
Jean-Hugues Anglade
Jean-Hugues Anglade is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Eric in Killing Zoe, Zorg in Betty Blue and Marco, the boyfriend of Nikita, in Nikita....
. This film was nominated for the best foreign movie Oscar. He directed Roselyne et les lions
Roselyne et les lions
Roselyne et les lions is a 1989 French film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix.-Cast:* Isabelle Pasco - Roselyne* Gérard Sandoz - Thierry* Gabriel Monnet - Frazier* Philippe Clévenot - Bracquard* Günter Meisner - Klint...
in 1989, IP5: L'île aux pachydermes in 1992 and Mortel Transfert
Mortel Transfert
Mortel Transfert is a Franco-German thriller, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from the novel of the same name by Jean-Pierre Gattégno. The music was provided by the composer of Roselyne et les lions, Reinhardt Wagner. Some of the paintings in the film were produced by Pierre Peyrolle,...
in 2001.
Beineix is generally seen as the best example of what came to be known as the cinéma du look. The critic Ginette Vincendeau
Ginette Vincendeau
Ginette Vincendeau is a French-born British-based academic who is a Professor of Film Studies at King's College London.Vincendeau was educated at the Université de la Sorbonne Nouvelle, Paris III, gaining a degree in English and at the University of East Anglia, where she completed a doctorate in...
defined the films made by Beineix and others as "youth-oriented films with high production values...The look of the cinéma du look refers to the films' high investment in non-naturalistic, self-conscious aesthetics, notably intense colours and lighting effects. Their spectacular (studio based) and technically brilliant mise-en-scène is usually put to the service of romantic plots." The cinéma du look included the films of Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
and Léos Carax
Leos Carax
Leos Carax is a French-born film director, critic, and writer. Carax is noted for his poetic style and his tortured depictions of love. His first major work was Boy Meets Girl , and his notable works include Lovers on the Bridge and the controversial Pola X...
- Luc Besson, like Beineix much maligned by the critical establishment during the 1980s, while Carax was much admired.
In Fall 2006 he published the first volume of his autobiography, Les Chantiers de la gloire (publishing in French only) This title clearly alludes to the French title of Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick
Stanley Kubrick was an American film director, writer, producer, and photographer who lived in England during most of the last four decades of his career...
's film, Les Sentiers de la gloire (Paths of Glory
Paths of Glory
Paths of Glory is a 1957 American anti-war film by Stanley Kubrick based on the novel of the same name by Humphrey Cobb. Set during World War I, the film stars Kirk Douglas as Colonel Dax, the commanding officer of French soldiers who refused to continue a suicidal attack...
).
Jean-Jacques Beineix created his own production company in 1984, Cargo Films, in order to keep artistic independence. Betty Blue (37°2 le matin) was his first film produced by Cargo Films. Jean-Jacques Beineix is executive producer of all films produced by Cargo Films.
The company produces feature films and documentaries on a wide variety of themes from science to art, to women’s rights to social problems. Several films have been made in partnership with national scientific organization such as CNES
CNES
The is the French government space agency . Established under President Charles de Gaulle in 1961, its headquarters are located in central Paris and it is under the supervision of the French Ministries of Defence and Research...
and CNRS.
In 2008, Jean-Jacques Beineix directed a corporate film of CNRS, 2 infinities (L2i). This film was presented at the New York Imagine science film Festival in October 2008.
Filmography
- 1977 - Le Chien de Monsieur Michel, short movie
- 1981 - DivaDiva (film)Diva is a 1981 film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from a novel of the same name by Daniel Odier . It is one of the first French films to let go of the realist, harsh mood of 1970s French cinema and return to a colourful, melodic style, called cinema du look...
- starring Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, Frédéric AndreiFrédéric AndréiFrédéric Andréi is a French actor. In 1980 he starred in Le Voyage en douce under director Michel Deville. The next year he played the lead in Jean-Jacques Beineix's Diva, as Jules, a moped-riding postman, obsessed with an American opera singer.-References:... - 1983 - La Lune dans le caniveau - starring Gérard DepardieuGérard DepardieuGérard Xavier Marcel Depardieu is a French actor and filmmaker. He is a Chevalier of the Légion d'honneur, Chevalier of the Ordre national du Mérite and has twice won the César Award for Best Actor...
, Nastassja KinskiNastassja KinskiNastassja Kinski is a German-born American-based actress who has appeared in more than 60 films. Her starring roles include her Golden Globe Award-winning portrayal of the title character in Tess and her roles in two erotic films , as well as parts in Wim Wenders' films The Wrong Move; Paris,... - 1986 - 37°2 le matin37°2 le matinBetty Blue is a 1986 French film. Its original French title is 37°2 le matin, which means "37.2°C in the Morning". The film was directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix and stars Béatrice Dalle as Betty...
/ Betty Blue - starring Jean-Hugues AngladeJean-Hugues AngladeJean-Hugues Anglade is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Eric in Killing Zoe, Zorg in Betty Blue and Marco, the boyfriend of Nikita, in Nikita....
, Béatrice DalleBéatrice Dalle-Biography:Dalle was born in Brest, Finistère, France, as Béatrice Cabarrou. In 1985 she married the painter Jean-François Dalle but they divorced in 1988.... - 1989 - Roselyne et les lionsRoselyne et les lionsRoselyne et les lions is a 1989 French film directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix.-Cast:* Isabelle Pasco - Roselyne* Gérard Sandoz - Thierry* Gabriel Monnet - Frazier* Philippe Clévenot - Bracquard* Günter Meisner - Klint...
- starring Isabelle PascoIsabelle PascoIsabelle Pasco is a French actress and model.She was married to the actor Tchéky Karyo.-Films:*2006 - Intimità*2003 - Drôle de genre *2003 - Clandestino...
, Philippe Clévenot - 1992 - Les Enfants de Roumanie documentary
- 1992 - IP5: L'île aux pachydermes - starring Yves MontandYves Montand-Early life:Montand was born Ivo Livi in Monsummano Terme, Italy, the son of poor peasants Giuseppina and Giovanni Livi, a broommaker. Montand's mother was a devout Catholic, while his father held strong Communist beliefs. Because of the Fascist regime in Italy, Montand's family left for France in...
, Olivier MartinezOlivier MartinezOlivier Martinez is a French film actor. He became known after roles in several French films such as Un, deux, trois, soleil , which garnered him the César Award for "Most Promising Actor", The Horseman on the Roof , and The Chambermaid on the Titanic... - 1994 - Otaku: fils de l'empire du virtuel
- 1994 - Place Clichy...sans complexe documentary
- 1997 - Assigné à résidence
- 2001 - Mortel transfertMortel TransfertMortel Transfert is a Franco-German thriller, directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, adapted from the novel of the same name by Jean-Pierre Gattégno. The music was provided by the composer of Roselyne et les lions, Reinhardt Wagner. Some of the paintings in the film were produced by Pierre Peyrolle,...
- starring Jean-Hugues AngladeJean-Hugues AngladeJean-Hugues Anglade is a French actor, film director and screenwriter, best known for his roles as Eric in Killing Zoe, Zorg in Betty Blue and Marco, the boyfriend of Nikita, in Nikita....
, Hélène de FougerollesHélène de FougerollesHélène Christine Rigoine de Fougerolles is a French actress. She is the daughter of Alain Rigoine de Fougerolles and Anne Saumay de Laval. Initially planning to become a beautician, she began to study acting at age 15. She later attended acting classes in Paris and briefly at the Actors Studio...