D.W. Griffith "The Father of Narrative Film"
Filmography
• The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
• Intolerance (1916)
• Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
• Orphans of the Storm (1921)
• Isn't Life Wonderful (1924)
• Abraham Lincoln (1930)
By Aaron Fronda
*See Silent Era tab for more on his two famous films The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance
/silent-era20s.html
• The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
• Intolerance (1916)
• Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl (1919)
• Orphans of the Storm (1921)
• Isn't Life Wonderful (1924)
• Abraham Lincoln (1930)
By Aaron Fronda
*See Silent Era tab for more on his two famous films The Birth of a Nation and Intolerance
/silent-era20s.html
The Life of D.W. Griffith Before and After Being "The Father of Film"
The start of Griffith's great impact in film history all began when he was born in La Grange, Kentucky on January 22, 1875. He was raised and grew up on a small farm with his father who, by the way, was a Confederate soldier. Soon, at the age of 10, his father died. The Griffith family had gotten poor and was forced out of their farm when he was 14. They began their new life together in Louisville. Later on during high school, he dropped out to support his family by having an occupation as a bookseller which led him to quit to follow his passion to be a fantastic playwright.
After his Golden Age of directing, people soon started to lose interest towards his films because many have declined him after his creation of The Birth of a Nation. On the other hand, he has accomplished the following: creating, maximizing, editing very smoothly, and expressing himself within his close ups, cross cutting, and iris shots in a well, dramatic manner. During his 50s, he gave most of his films to the Museum of Modern Art in New York making him one of the silent era artists whose films survived. Griffith spent the rest of his years living from hotel to another in Hollywood, California. Years later, Griffith died on July 23, 1948. After his death, Griffith was recognized for his masterpieces and was awarded for his significant film Birth of a Nation. D.W. Griffith wasn't just a great director back in his day, but has turned film itself into an art to this day.
By Marianne Buena
The start of Griffith's great impact in film history all began when he was born in La Grange, Kentucky on January 22, 1875. He was raised and grew up on a small farm with his father who, by the way, was a Confederate soldier. Soon, at the age of 10, his father died. The Griffith family had gotten poor and was forced out of their farm when he was 14. They began their new life together in Louisville. Later on during high school, he dropped out to support his family by having an occupation as a bookseller which led him to quit to follow his passion to be a fantastic playwright.
After his Golden Age of directing, people soon started to lose interest towards his films because many have declined him after his creation of The Birth of a Nation. On the other hand, he has accomplished the following: creating, maximizing, editing very smoothly, and expressing himself within his close ups, cross cutting, and iris shots in a well, dramatic manner. During his 50s, he gave most of his films to the Museum of Modern Art in New York making him one of the silent era artists whose films survived. Griffith spent the rest of his years living from hotel to another in Hollywood, California. Years later, Griffith died on July 23, 1948. After his death, Griffith was recognized for his masterpieces and was awarded for his significant film Birth of a Nation. D.W. Griffith wasn't just a great director back in his day, but has turned film itself into an art to this day.
By Marianne Buena
Buster Keaton
: Was an American comic actor, filmmaker, producer and writer.
: He was best known for his silent films.
: He was sixth in a line bearing the name Joseph Keaton.
: Keaton acquired the nickname "Buster" at about eighteen months of age
: Most of his films were mostly physical comedy. : His career took a huge turn when he signed with MGM.
: Keaton married Natalie Talmadge in which she co-starred with him in "Our Hospitality".
: Keaton claimed he was having so much fun acting that he would sometimes begin laughing as his father threw him across the stage.
: Keaton served in the army in France in World War I.
: As he got older, he started drinking heavily.
: Keaton died of lung cancer on February 1, 1966, aged 70.
by Nadim Baigzad
: He was best known for his silent films.
: He was sixth in a line bearing the name Joseph Keaton.
: Keaton acquired the nickname "Buster" at about eighteen months of age
: Most of his films were mostly physical comedy. : His career took a huge turn when he signed with MGM.
: Keaton married Natalie Talmadge in which she co-starred with him in "Our Hospitality".
: Keaton claimed he was having so much fun acting that he would sometimes begin laughing as his father threw him across the stage.
: Keaton served in the army in France in World War I.
: As he got older, he started drinking heavily.
: Keaton died of lung cancer on February 1, 1966, aged 70.
by Nadim Baigzad
F.W. Murnau (director of Sunrise and Nosferatu)
F. W. Murnau was born in 1888 in Germany. He showed a passion for theater early on as he often went to plays as a child. Because of this when he went to college he was able to come in contact with a director that allowed Murnau to join his acting school allowing Murnau to explore his passion of plays leading to his love of film. However, before he was able to start his career he spent several years fighting in World War I.
Shortly after the war Murnau went into filmmaking and started his own studio. During this time he produced a lot of German films such as Nosferatu. In addition, Murnau was also able to propel his career by being one of the prominent men behind the German expressionist movement. At this point his career was so big that he was able to move to Hollywood and continue making films. While in Hollywood Murnau reached the peak of his career while delivering several movies that are considered milestones in American film. However, Murnau’s career was cut short after he died in a car accident shortly before he was about to release one of his films.
Today Murnau’s legacy lives on as he is honored as one of the most influential directors in all of film history. His work not only helped define the German Expressionist movement but also influenced American cinema. His Sunrise is considered a set piece in silent film history. In fact, it was honored at the first academy awards as the winner of the Unique and Artistic Production award. Murnau’s work continues to influence filmmakers today as his work is often studied due to the advancements that he has made to the medium.
by Ryan Thompson
Shortly after the war Murnau went into filmmaking and started his own studio. During this time he produced a lot of German films such as Nosferatu. In addition, Murnau was also able to propel his career by being one of the prominent men behind the German expressionist movement. At this point his career was so big that he was able to move to Hollywood and continue making films. While in Hollywood Murnau reached the peak of his career while delivering several movies that are considered milestones in American film. However, Murnau’s career was cut short after he died in a car accident shortly before he was about to release one of his films.
Today Murnau’s legacy lives on as he is honored as one of the most influential directors in all of film history. His work not only helped define the German Expressionist movement but also influenced American cinema. His Sunrise is considered a set piece in silent film history. In fact, it was honored at the first academy awards as the winner of the Unique and Artistic Production award. Murnau’s work continues to influence filmmakers today as his work is often studied due to the advancements that he has made to the medium.
by Ryan Thompson
Rene Clair (Le Million, 1931)
René Clair was born on November 11, 1898, in Paris France. His reputation started in the 1920’s as he was a director of silent films that had a contrast between comedy and fantasy. He directed twenty-four feature length films, including Le Million (1931), and six short length films.
In the 1930’s Clair was known as one of the greatest directors in France. Because Clair began to work in the United States as well as the UK, he became even better known. In the 1950’s the critics began the French New Wave and Clair’s work became out of date and old fashioned for the new modern day. René Clair died at the age of 82 on March 18, 1981.
In 1956 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cambridge, held the national honors of Grand officer de la Légion d'honneur, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, and Grand-croix de l'ordre national du Mérite. Clair also received an honorary prize at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979 for his contribution to cinema.
by Elizabeth Tait
In the 1930’s Clair was known as one of the greatest directors in France. Because Clair began to work in the United States as well as the UK, he became even better known. In the 1950’s the critics began the French New Wave and Clair’s work became out of date and old fashioned for the new modern day. René Clair died at the age of 82 on March 18, 1981.
In 1956 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cambridge, held the national honors of Grand officer de la Légion d'honneur, Commandeur des Arts et des Lettres, and Grand-croix de l'ordre national du Mérite. Clair also received an honorary prize at the 11th Moscow International Film Festival in 1979 for his contribution to cinema.
by Elizabeth Tait
Werner Herzog (director of Nosferatu - 1979)
Werner herzog, born September 5th, 1942 directed his first short film in 1962 when he was only twenty years old. Still, to this day, he makes films. Herzog was born Werner Herzog Stipetic, to a German father and a Croation mother. When Herzog was only twelve, his father abandoned he, his 2 siblings, and his mother. Later he adapted his fathers surname, because it “sounded more impressive as a film maker”.
That same year he was asked to sing a song in front of his class at school. He openly refused his teacher and was almost expelled this and many other accounts of defiance. At 14 Herzog was inspired by an encyclopedia article about film making. This gave him “everything he needed to get started”. Later that year, he stole a camera from a film school and claimed that he possessed a natural right to own a camera. In his opinion, this was not theft, it was necessity.
While scouting locations for Aguirre, The Wrath Of God, Herzog very closely avoided boarding the infamous LANSA flight 508 which was stuck by lightning and killed all but one on board. Herzog considered himself lucky to be alive, later, in 2001, Werner directed a film called Wings Of Hope, a documentary about the sole survivor of the plane crash.
Herzog's films tend to be largely improvised. He prides himself on never utilizing a storyboard and often making impromptu changes to the script. American film critic Robert Ebert once said “Even his failures are spectacular.”
That same year he was asked to sing a song in front of his class at school. He openly refused his teacher and was almost expelled this and many other accounts of defiance. At 14 Herzog was inspired by an encyclopedia article about film making. This gave him “everything he needed to get started”. Later that year, he stole a camera from a film school and claimed that he possessed a natural right to own a camera. In his opinion, this was not theft, it was necessity.
While scouting locations for Aguirre, The Wrath Of God, Herzog very closely avoided boarding the infamous LANSA flight 508 which was stuck by lightning and killed all but one on board. Herzog considered himself lucky to be alive, later, in 2001, Werner directed a film called Wings Of Hope, a documentary about the sole survivor of the plane crash.
Herzog's films tend to be largely improvised. He prides himself on never utilizing a storyboard and often making impromptu changes to the script. American film critic Robert Ebert once said “Even his failures are spectacular.”
Fritz Lang (director of M - 1931)
The start of Fritz Lang's impact in the history of films began where he was born in Vienna in December 5, 1890. He was the second son of Anton Lang and Pauline Lang, and was born with the name Friedrich Christian Anton Lang. As a young man he attended the Technical University of Vienna where he studied civil engineering to art. He then left Vienna to see the world by traveling. In 1913, he studied painting in Paris, France. When World War I began Lang went back to Vienna to join the Austrian Army but then got severely injured. However in 1918 he started acting in the Viennese theater circuit for a while before being hired as a writer at Decla, Erich Pommer's Berlin-based production company where his career in film began.
Lang started to work as a director at the German film studio Ufa, then Nero-Film. Lang made many memorable films such as Der Mude Tod, and Die Spinnen. In 1920, he met his future wife, Thea von Harbon who was an actress. They co-wrote many popular, memorable films such as Dr. Mabuse der Speiler in 1922, 1924's Die Nibelungen, 1927's Metropolis and the 1931 classic film, M. M was Fritz Lang's first "talking" picture. Soon after his many more success, he left Germany and worked in Hollywood in 1936 to 1957 where he continued his legacy. He made twenty one features in twenty one years working on a variety of genres at every major studio in Hollywood and became one of the biggest directors ever. Some of his work were a well set of noir films.
In 1976 Fritz Lang died. He was buried in the Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills cemetery in Los Angeles. Lang was not only known as a German director, but also one of Hollywood's finest.
by William Butiu
Lang started to work as a director at the German film studio Ufa, then Nero-Film. Lang made many memorable films such as Der Mude Tod, and Die Spinnen. In 1920, he met his future wife, Thea von Harbon who was an actress. They co-wrote many popular, memorable films such as Dr. Mabuse der Speiler in 1922, 1924's Die Nibelungen, 1927's Metropolis and the 1931 classic film, M. M was Fritz Lang's first "talking" picture. Soon after his many more success, he left Germany and worked in Hollywood in 1936 to 1957 where he continued his legacy. He made twenty one features in twenty one years working on a variety of genres at every major studio in Hollywood and became one of the biggest directors ever. Some of his work were a well set of noir films.
In 1976 Fritz Lang died. He was buried in the Forest Lawn-Hollywood Hills cemetery in Los Angeles. Lang was not only known as a German director, but also one of Hollywood's finest.
by William Butiu
René Clair (director of Le Million -1931)
William Wyler (director of Wuthering Heights, 1939)
William Wyler was an American film director, producer, and also a screenwriter who made many memorable films throughout film history. His journey of becoming a director all started when he was born on July 1, 1902 in Mullhouse, Alsace which is a part of a German Empire back then. He was raised by a Jewish family from the aid of his father, Leopold who who was a business owner of a habersashery, and his mother Melanie. As a child, Wyler attended many schools due to expulsions. He was a poor boy and didn't want to take over the family business. So, in 1921 he then then traveled around the world and met Carl Laemmle of Universal Studios. Wyler started working at Universal Studios, which where his interest in directing began. He started off cleaning sets, became a second assistant editor. He then got fired. However he started focusing on being a director and became one in 1925.
William Wyler became the youngest director in the Universal lot. He started filming Western films. After becoming an American citizen, he directed many films. The film, Anybody Here Seen Kelly? was his first non-Western film. He was nominated for 12 films for 16 Academy Awards. He was nominated for films such as Dogsworth(1936), Wuthering Heghts(1939), The Letter(1940). The Little Foxes(1941), Mrs. Miniver(1942), The Best Years of Our Lives(1946), The Heiress(1949), Detective Story(1952), Roman Holiday(1953), Friendly Persuasion(1957), Ben-Hur(1959), and The Collector(1965). He was nominated for only best director, and best motion picture. He only won four Academy Awards for Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Ben-Hur. He then won the Academy Award of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Eleven years later, he won the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award as he was known for his long accomplishments in film.
On July 27, 1981, William Wyler died of a heart attack. He died in Los Angeles, California. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetary in Glendale, California. For his great work, he will always be known for one of the greatest directors of all time in film history.
by William Butiu
William Wyler became the youngest director in the Universal lot. He started filming Western films. After becoming an American citizen, he directed many films. The film, Anybody Here Seen Kelly? was his first non-Western film. He was nominated for 12 films for 16 Academy Awards. He was nominated for films such as Dogsworth(1936), Wuthering Heghts(1939), The Letter(1940). The Little Foxes(1941), Mrs. Miniver(1942), The Best Years of Our Lives(1946), The Heiress(1949), Detective Story(1952), Roman Holiday(1953), Friendly Persuasion(1957), Ben-Hur(1959), and The Collector(1965). He was nominated for only best director, and best motion picture. He only won four Academy Awards for Mrs. Miniver, The Best Years of Our Lives, and Ben-Hur. He then won the Academy Award of the Irving G. Thalberg Memorial Award. Eleven years later, he won the American Film Institute Life Achievement Award as he was known for his long accomplishments in film.
On July 27, 1981, William Wyler died of a heart attack. He died in Los Angeles, California. He is interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park Cemetary in Glendale, California. For his great work, he will always be known for one of the greatest directors of all time in film history.
by William Butiu
Orson Welles (director of Citizen Kane - 1941)
Orson Welles is one of he most well known directors of the 1940's. He was born May 6, 1915, in Kenosha, Wisconsin. His parents are Richard Hogdgon Welles, who invented a bicycle lamp that many people bought, however like many successful people they end in tragedy and he became a drunk. Welles's mother, Beatrice Ives, was a concert pianist. Orson Welles followed music with his mother when his parents divorced in 1919. However when his mother past away he stopped pursuing music.
He started off when Thorton Wilder introduced Welles to the New York Stage. He did many plays and he gained a lot of attention from the audiences and made him a hit. Soon he got on radio by a man named Paul Stewart. Welles beagan working with many actors and got into the movie business. His first film was "Citizen Kane"
which was made in 1941. It is one of his most well known films up to date. He also starred in the movie as well.
He made various other films as well like Horse Eats Hat, The Cradle Will Rock, and Macbeth. He won many awards such as the one in 1941 for best writing and 1970 academy honorary award. Unfortunately on 1985 the world lost one of it's most influential directors due to a heart attack in Los Angeles.
by Richie Gov
He started off when Thorton Wilder introduced Welles to the New York Stage. He did many plays and he gained a lot of attention from the audiences and made him a hit. Soon he got on radio by a man named Paul Stewart. Welles beagan working with many actors and got into the movie business. His first film was "Citizen Kane"
which was made in 1941. It is one of his most well known films up to date. He also starred in the movie as well.
He made various other films as well like Horse Eats Hat, The Cradle Will Rock, and Macbeth. He won many awards such as the one in 1941 for best writing and 1970 academy honorary award. Unfortunately on 1985 the world lost one of it's most influential directors due to a heart attack in Los Angeles.
by Richie Gov
Michael Curtiz (director of Mildred Pierce, 1945)
Michael Curtiz was born in December 1886 to a Jewish family and was a Hungarian/American film director. Michael Curtiz died in April of 1962. In his early life, Curtiz fought during World War One until he went to college and then decided to study acting. Curtiz fled the Nazism that was going on in Europe and ended up in America. He ended up making more than fifty films in Europe and more than one-hundred in America. Michael Curtiz had many great classics and many other great films; after the 1940’s, his career didn’t have as much success but he still ended up making great films until his death. Some of the greatest movies that Michael Curtiz has directed are,
· The Adventures of Robin Hood
· White Christmas
· Casablanca
· Mildred Pierce
· Captain Blood
· The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Michael Curtiz has won one Academy Award nomination which was for best director for the movie Casablanca. He has also created movies with very famous people including Elvis Presley for the movie The Comancheros which was the last movie Curtiz directed six months before he died from cancer. Many of the films that Michael Curtiz directed are still remembered today and the stories are still told today; which makes Michael Curtiz one of the most significant directors of the twentieth century.
By, Araz Merguerian
· The Adventures of Robin Hood
· White Christmas
· Casablanca
· Mildred Pierce
· Captain Blood
· The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Michael Curtiz has won one Academy Award nomination which was for best director for the movie Casablanca. He has also created movies with very famous people including Elvis Presley for the movie The Comancheros which was the last movie Curtiz directed six months before he died from cancer. Many of the films that Michael Curtiz directed are still remembered today and the stories are still told today; which makes Michael Curtiz one of the most significant directors of the twentieth century.
By, Araz Merguerian
Vittorio De Sica (director of Bicycle Thieves, 1948 - Oscar winner)
Vittorio De Sica was born July 7th, of 1901 into a poor family. He started work as an office clerk, using that job to help support his family and keep them fed. However his true interest kept pushing him toward acting. So he joined Tatiana Pavlova’s theatre company in 1923 and made his screen debut. There he was a successful idol of the Italian theatre, and repeated that achievement in Italian movies, mainly light comedies. He turned to directing in 1940, making comedies of the same kind as the ones he had previously acted in. As he made more movies his focus switched to showing the harsh realities of life in Italy after WWII.
Through his career he had a passion for gambling, that was well known. Because of it, he often lost large amounts of money and took in some work that might not have otherwise interested him. His gambling wasn’t a secret from anyone; in fact he projected it on characters in his own movies, like Count Maxand The Gold of Naples. Even though he gambled, he was a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Even four of the films he directed won Academy Awards. Sciuscia and Bicycle Thieves were awarded honorary Oscars, while Ieri, oggi, domani and Il giardino dei Finzi Contini won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Sciuscia was so successful it is the first foreign film to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Bicycle Thieves wasn’t left out either, its fame is well known. It’s even cited by Turner Classic Movies as one of the 15 most influential films in cinema history. Unfortunately, his great success and fame was cut short, Vittorio De Sica died at 73 after a surgery to remove a cyst on his lung. He died at the Neuilly-sur-Seine hospital in Paris.
by Mitchel Cabrera
Through his career he had a passion for gambling, that was well known. Because of it, he often lost large amounts of money and took in some work that might not have otherwise interested him. His gambling wasn’t a secret from anyone; in fact he projected it on characters in his own movies, like Count Maxand The Gold of Naples. Even though he gambled, he was a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Even four of the films he directed won Academy Awards. Sciuscia and Bicycle Thieves were awarded honorary Oscars, while Ieri, oggi, domani and Il giardino dei Finzi Contini won the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar. Sciuscia was so successful it is the first foreign film to be recognized by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Science. Bicycle Thieves wasn’t left out either, its fame is well known. It’s even cited by Turner Classic Movies as one of the 15 most influential films in cinema history. Unfortunately, his great success and fame was cut short, Vittorio De Sica died at 73 after a surgery to remove a cyst on his lung. He died at the Neuilly-sur-Seine hospital in Paris.
by Mitchel Cabrera
Alfred Hitchcock (director of Vertigo, 1958)
Alfred Hitchcock was born August 13, 1899 in Leytonstone, Essex, England. William Hitchcock and Emma Jane Hitchcock had 4 children with Alfred being the youngest. At the age of 15 his father died, he tried entering the military during the First World War but was rejected. He worked for The Henley Telegraph and his first piece published in it was “Gas “published in 1919. He began writing more from 1919 to 1921, and then he became interested in film. He began working for Islington Studios writing titles for silent movies. From writing movie titles to a director took 5 years.
His directing career began in 1921 with his first filming being “No. 13 “which was never finished. He created a total of 54 films throughout his career. In 1926 he married Alma Reville who a child in 1928 had named Patricia Hitchcock. In 1929 Hitchcock directed the first British talkie “Blackmail” which was a hit. In 1939 Hitchcock was the number one British director. He accepted a contract then moved to Hollywood. His first American Movie was “Rebecca” (1940), a psychological thriller. Some of Alfred’s most successful films were “ Psycho “, “ Rear Window “ , “Spell Bound “ , and “ Notorious”. The final film that he released was “Family Plot “released in 1976. Hitchcock died in his house in Bel Air from renal Failure in 1980.
by Cameron Estrada
His directing career began in 1921 with his first filming being “No. 13 “which was never finished. He created a total of 54 films throughout his career. In 1926 he married Alma Reville who a child in 1928 had named Patricia Hitchcock. In 1929 Hitchcock directed the first British talkie “Blackmail” which was a hit. In 1939 Hitchcock was the number one British director. He accepted a contract then moved to Hollywood. His first American Movie was “Rebecca” (1940), a psychological thriller. Some of Alfred’s most successful films were “ Psycho “, “ Rear Window “ , “Spell Bound “ , and “ Notorious”. The final film that he released was “Family Plot “released in 1976. Hitchcock died in his house in Bel Air from renal Failure in 1980.
by Cameron Estrada
François Truffaut (director of 400 Blows, 1959)
François Truffaut was a very famous French Film director who helped to found the French New Wave. When he was born on February 6, 1932, his mother was not married and his biological father was unknown. His mother came to know a man named Roland Truffaut, who she married shortly after François’ birth. They did not want him, so he was always on the move, living with different nannies for a period of years and then his grandmother. She was the one who taught him to appreciate literature and the arts. The legacy that François Truffaut would leave behind was sparked when he watched his first film at the age of eight and became fascinated with the medium. When his grandmother died, he was only ten, so he had to go live with his mother and stepfather for a while. Here, he was unhappy, so he distanced himself from his home and his family as much as possible, spending time with friends and getting into trouble, but most importantly, watching movies. Although he could not pay to see most movies, his cleverness allowed him to do so nonetheless, exposing him to many foreign films and films of differing styles.
As François grew into a young adult, things became increasingly difficult and complicated for him. He often skipped school and was expelled from several different schools because of his actions. He came to believe that public schools were not worth his time; he stopped going to school and started teaching himself. He read books and watched many films, and, after gaining considerable knowledge and experience, decided to start a film club in 1948. Two years later, when François was aged eighteen, he joined the army. Quickly realizing that this was the last place he belonged, he made countless efforts to escape and was arrested. A friend of his, André Bazin, whom he had met earlier around the time he had started his film club, used his political connections and power to bail Truffaut out of jail. Bazin even gave François a job at his film magazine as a film critic. François took to this with a passion, writing articulate and complicated film reviews which were distinguished by their harshness and unforgiving derision.
When his years as a film critic came to a close, he figured he might as well begin making films of his own. In 1955, he made his first short film, which was simply an experiment for him. He made a more complicated film two years later, and then, two years after that, he made his debut film, The 400 Blows. This was his biggest accomplishment; it won him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, even though he could not physically be there to receive it on account of being banned because of prior film critiques he had written. The 400 Blows is largely a biography of Truffaut’s own childhood. The main character in the film is a boy named Antoine Doinel who is played by Jean-Pierre Leaud. Just like François, Antoine has a rough childhood. His parents are always fighting, and he is always getting in trouble, especially at his school. Antoine’s best friend in the film is known to represent François’ own childhood best friend, and his actions largely mirror those of François when he was a child: skipping school, committing small crimes, and even trying to escape the army. The 400 Blows marked the start of the French New Wave, a time in French film history when directors rejected the traditional style of cinema. After filming The 400 Blows, François lived on for many more years, making films and meeting several different women, some of whom he had children with. He made several more films featuring Antoine Doinel, which portrayed his life as he got older. The same actor portrayed Antoine in all of these films. In 1983, in Normandy, France, François had his first stroke. The doctors discovered he had severe tumors in his brain. The next year, at the American Hospital in France, he passed away, with several films still in preparation. He was just short of his goal of making 30 films before his death.
by Nick Sichau
As François grew into a young adult, things became increasingly difficult and complicated for him. He often skipped school and was expelled from several different schools because of his actions. He came to believe that public schools were not worth his time; he stopped going to school and started teaching himself. He read books and watched many films, and, after gaining considerable knowledge and experience, decided to start a film club in 1948. Two years later, when François was aged eighteen, he joined the army. Quickly realizing that this was the last place he belonged, he made countless efforts to escape and was arrested. A friend of his, André Bazin, whom he had met earlier around the time he had started his film club, used his political connections and power to bail Truffaut out of jail. Bazin even gave François a job at his film magazine as a film critic. François took to this with a passion, writing articulate and complicated film reviews which were distinguished by their harshness and unforgiving derision.
When his years as a film critic came to a close, he figured he might as well begin making films of his own. In 1955, he made his first short film, which was simply an experiment for him. He made a more complicated film two years later, and then, two years after that, he made his debut film, The 400 Blows. This was his biggest accomplishment; it won him the Best Director award at the Cannes Film Festival, even though he could not physically be there to receive it on account of being banned because of prior film critiques he had written. The 400 Blows is largely a biography of Truffaut’s own childhood. The main character in the film is a boy named Antoine Doinel who is played by Jean-Pierre Leaud. Just like François, Antoine has a rough childhood. His parents are always fighting, and he is always getting in trouble, especially at his school. Antoine’s best friend in the film is known to represent François’ own childhood best friend, and his actions largely mirror those of François when he was a child: skipping school, committing small crimes, and even trying to escape the army. The 400 Blows marked the start of the French New Wave, a time in French film history when directors rejected the traditional style of cinema. After filming The 400 Blows, François lived on for many more years, making films and meeting several different women, some of whom he had children with. He made several more films featuring Antoine Doinel, which portrayed his life as he got older. The same actor portrayed Antoine in all of these films. In 1983, in Normandy, France, François had his first stroke. The doctors discovered he had severe tumors in his brain. The next year, at the American Hospital in France, he passed away, with several films still in preparation. He was just short of his goal of making 30 films before his death.
by Nick Sichau
Ingmar Bergman (Wild Strawberries, 1957)
Ernst Ingmar Bergman was born in Uppsala, Sweden 14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007. He grew up to be a director, writer, and producer. He is one of the most great film directors of all time. In his life time he has directed over 60 films. He also directed over 170 plays. Most of his films were set in Sweden. His films had death, illness, faith, betrayal, bleakness and insanity. His film carrier began in 1941 most of his success full films were made in 1944. He began worldwide known because of his film Smiles of a Summer Night which won for best poetic humor. His film Wild Strawberries won multiple awards.
by Makayla Rowe
by Makayla Rowe
Don Siegel (The Shootist, 1976)
On October 26, 1912 the legendary Don Siegel was born. Siegel was raised in a Jewish family who lived in New York. He studied at Jesus College, Cambridge in England, Which lead to him studying briefly at Beaux Arts in France. When Siegel hit the age of 20 he moved to Los Angeles where he met a producer named Hal Wallis who helped him get Siegel into his career. Siegel became a director at Warner bros. and he produced several notorious films: Dirty Harry, The Shootist, and Escape from Alcatraz. Siegel had married three times and had several children.
Siegel and Clint Eastwood had made many films together. Their most notorious film was Dirty Harry. Don could be considered the western film king because he had made so many classic western films. Unfortunately, on April 20, 1991 Don Siegel at the age of 78 had passed away in Nipomo due to cancer. Siegel was buried near Highway 1 in the coastal Cayucos-Morro Bay District Cemetary.
by Richie Gov
Siegel and Clint Eastwood had made many films together. Their most notorious film was Dirty Harry. Don could be considered the western film king because he had made so many classic western films. Unfortunately, on April 20, 1991 Don Siegel at the age of 78 had passed away in Nipomo due to cancer. Siegel was buried near Highway 1 in the coastal Cayucos-Morro Bay District Cemetary.
by Richie Gov