Henri Alekan
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
He was a Commander in the Legion of Honor of Arts and Letters.
Biography
One of France's most distinguished, and versatile, cinematographers, Henri Alekan became an assistant camera operator in 1929 and graduated to director of photography as a member of the French Resistance (he had escaped from a German prisoner-of-war camp in 1940). He made his mark in black and white in the 1940s. Rene Clement's "Battle of the Rails" (1945), an expansion of Clement's short documentary, allowed Alekan to beautifully capture the acts of sabotage and fights between the railway workers and Germans. His lyrical precision and sober yet sensitive abilities achieved their apotheosis with Jean Cocteau's "La Belle et le bete/Beauty and the Beast" (1945), in which he created a poetic atmosphere that was a perfect harmony of images, using contrasts to create plays of light and shadows in ways that invoked artists like de Hooch and Vermeer.
Alekan shot several American features, notably Billy Wilder's "Roman Holiday" (1953). Switching to color, he earned notice for his work on Abel Gance's "Austerlitz" and Jean Delannoy's "La Princess de Cleves" (both 1960). For his work on Joseph Losey's "The Trout" (1982), Alekan earned a Cesar and contemporary audiences may best know him for his lyrical return to black-and-white in Wim Wenders' "Wings of Desire" (1987). More recently, Alekan collaborated with Amos Gitai on four films: "Esther" (1986), that used the harsh desert sun for dramatic effect through contrasts of light and shadow; and the thematic trilogy, "Berlin/Jerusalem" (1989), which employed German expressionism giving way to an almost travelogue-like view of Israel; "Golem-L'Esprit de l'exil" (1992), employing a multi-exposure technique to create poetic effects; and "Golem-Le Jardin petrifie" (1993), which used landscape photography as symbolism of the central character's search for lost family heirlooms.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Feature Film)
Film Production - Main (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cinematography (Short)
Cinematography (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1929
Worked as camera operator's assistant at Billancourt Studio
1932
Helped organize what became the union of assistant cameramen
1940
Imprisoned by the Germans
1941
Debuted as director of photography on the short "Le Chariot de Thespis" and Yves Allegret's feature "Tobie est un ange" (no longer extant)
1944
Was a founding member of IDHEC
1946
Co-founded Academie du Cinema
1946
Garnered international attention for work on "La Bataille du rail/Battle of the Railway", helmed by Rene Clement, and "La Belle et le bete/Beauty and the Beast", directed by Jean Cocteau
1948
Shot the British-produced "Anna Karenina", directed by Julien Duvivier and starring Vivien Leigh
1950
Reunited with Carne to shoot "La Marie du Port
1952
Short film co-directing debut (with Henri Bonniere), "La Sarre, pleins feux"
1953
Hired to replace Franz Planer on "Roman Holiday", directed by William Wyler
1957
Solo short film directing debut, "L'enfer de Rodin"
1964
Was director of photography on "Topkapi"
1968
Served as cinematographer on "Mayerling"
1981
Shot both "The Territory" for director Raul Ruiz and "The State of Things" for Wim Wenders
1982
Earned acclaim for "The Trout"
1986
Began collaboration with director Amos Gitai on "Esther"
1987
Received the lion's share of critical praise for the glorious black and white cinematography of "Wings of Desire", directed by Wenders
1993
Acting debut in Wenders' "Faraway, So Close"
1993
Shot last feature, "Petrified Garden", directed by Gitai
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
He was a Commander in the Legion of Honor of Arts and Letters.
