Melville, Jean-Pierre

Melville, Jean-Pierre

▪ French director
pseudonym  of Jean-pierre Grumbach  
born Oct. 20, 1917, Paris
died Aug. 2, 1973, Paris
 French motion-picture director whose early films strongly influenced the directors of the New Wave, the innovative French film movement of the late 1950s.

      Grumbach's enthusiasm for American culture prompted him to change his name to that of his favourite writer, Herman Melville. He served in the Free French forces during World War II, founded his own film production company in 1946, and built his own studio in 1949. Melville's early films, such as Le Silence de la mer (1947; “The Silence of the Sea”), were made on small budgets and used character actors instead of established stars. His other early films were Les Enfants terribles (1948; “The Little Terrors”), a brilliant screen adaptation of the novel by Jean Cocteau; Bob le flambeur (1955), his first gangster film; and Deux hommes à Manhattan (1958; “Two Men in Manhattan”). Melville's use of location shooting, natural lighting, and improvisational acting in these films strongly influenced such later directors as Claude Chabrol (Chabrol, Claude), François Truffaut (Truffaut, François), and Jean-Luc Godard (Godard, Jean-Luc).

      The stylized decor of Melville's later, more commercial works is strongly reminiscent of the Hollywood products of the 1930s. Léon Morin, prêtre (1961; “Leon Morin, Priest”) was his first major commercial production. It was followed by a series of highly stylized, Hollywood-inspired gangster films: Le Doulos (1962; Doulos—The Finger Man), Le Deuxième Souffle (1966; “Second Wind”), and Le Samourai (1967; “The Samurai”).

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • Melville, Jean-Pierre — (Jean Pierre Grumbach / October 20, 1917, Paris, France August 2, 1973, Paris, France)    The son of a wholesale merchant, he filmed his first movies with a Pathé Baby camera when he was still a child. He began doing his military service in 1937… …   Encyclopedia of French film directors

  • Melville, Jean-Pierre — (1917 1973)    Director, producer, and screenwriter. Born Jean Pierre Grumbach in Paris in 1917, Jean Pierre Melville would only make thirteen films in his career. Nonetheless, like Robert Bresson and Max Ophuls (who were both his contemporaries) …   Guide to cinema

  • Melville, Jean-Pierre — (1917 1973)    Director, producer, and screenwriter. Born Jean Pierre Grumbach in Paris in 1917, Jean Pierre Melville would only make thirteen films in his career. Nonetheless, like Robert Bresson and Max Ophuls (who were both his contemporaries) …   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema

  • Melville, Jean-Pierre — pseud. di Grumbach, Jean Pierre …   Sinonimi e Contrari. Terza edizione

  • Melville, Jean Pierre — • МЕЛЬВИ ЛЬ (Melville) Жан Пьер (наст. фам. Грумбах, Grumbach) (20.10.1917 2.8.1973)    франц. режиссёр, продюсер. В кино с сер. 40 х гг. Первый ф. к/м лента Двадцать четыре часа из жизни клоуна (1946). Известность получил после ф. Молчание моря… …   Кино: Энциклопедический словарь

  • Jean-Pierre Grumbach — Jean Pierre Melville Jean Pierre Melville Nom de naissance Jean Pierre Grumbach Naissance 20 octobre 1917 Paris, France Nationalité(s)  Française …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-pierre melville — Nom de naissance Jean Pierre Grumbach Naissance 20 octobre 1917 Paris, France Nationalité(s)  Française …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-Pierre (prenom) — Jean Pierre Le prénom Jean Pierre, combinant les deux prénoms très courants d origine biblique Jean et Pierre, a connu en France une exceptionnelle et brève popularité au début du baby boom : à la fin des années 1940 et pendant les années… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-Pierre (prénom) — Jean Pierre Le prénom Jean Pierre, combinant les deux prénoms très courants d origine biblique Jean et Pierre, a connu en France une exceptionnelle et brève popularité au début du baby boom : à la fin des années 1940 et pendant les années… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Jean-pierre (prénom) — Jean Pierre Le prénom Jean Pierre, combinant les deux prénoms très courants d origine biblique Jean et Pierre, a connu en France une exceptionnelle et brève popularité au début du baby boom : à la fin des années 1940 et pendant les années… …   Wikipédia en Français

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