Georges Delerue

Composer

About

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Birth Place

France

Born

March 12, 1925

Died

March 20, 1992

Cause of Death

Short Illness

Biography

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Acclaimed international composer who first gained prominence with the emergence of the French New Wave. Delerue's prolific output includes ballets, operas, chamber pieces, orchestral works, a series of vocal melodies for the poems of Paul Eluard, and music for TV and plays.In the 1950s Delerue scored over 20 short films, including some documentaries directed by Alain Resnais. He moved in...

Filmography

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Frances Ha (2012)

Frances Ha (2012)

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

I'm Gonna Explode (2008)

Photos & Videos

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Contempt (1963) -- (Movie Clip) Completely, Tenderly, And Tragically

Contempt (1963) -- (Movie Clip) I'll Take A Taxi

Family & Companions

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Micheline Gautron

Wife

Married in 1959.

Colette Delerue

Wife

Second wife.

Notes

Won the Grand Prix de Rome and First Prize for Musical Composition in 1949.

Named Commander of Arts and Letters.

Biography

Acclaimed international composer who first gained prominence with the emergence of the French New Wave. Delerue's prolific output includes ballets, operas, chamber pieces, orchestral works, a series of vocal melodies for the poems of Paul Eluard, and music for TV and plays.

In the 1950s Delerue scored over 20 short films, including some documentaries directed by Alain Resnais. He moved into features with Pierre Kast's "Le Bel Age" (1959) and contributed memorable, evocative scores to New Wave features like Agnes Varda's "Opera-Mouffe" (1958), Resnais's "Hiroshima Mon Amour" (1959, the waltz theme on the jukebox), Truffaut's "Jules et Jim" (1961) and Godard's "Le Mepris/Contempt" (1963). Delerue's first US film was John Huston's "A Walk with Love and Death" (1969) and highlights of his prolific international career include "A Man for All Seasons" (1966), "Women in Love" (1969), "Julia" (1977) and "Platoon" (1986). His score for "A Little Romance" won the 1979 Oscar. Delerue's most frequent collaborators were Truffaut and Philippe De Broca, for whom he scored 16 films.

Filmography

Music (Feature Film)

Frances Ha (2012)

Frances Ha (2012)

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

The Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)

I'm Gonna Explode (2008)

Song ("Brouillard (Theme From 'Jules & Jim')")

One Hundred and One Nights (1995)

Cinema, de notre temps: Abbas Kiarotsami (1994)

American Friends (1993)

Dien Bien Phu (1992)

Man Trouble (1992)

Rich in Love (1992)

Black Robe (1991)

The Josephine Baker Story (1991)

Curly Sue (1991)

Without Warning: The James Brady Story (1991)

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

Seven Minutes (1990)

Joe Versus the Volcano (1990)

La Revolution Francaise (1990)

A Show Of Force (1990)

Mister Johnson (1990)

Strapless (1989)

Music ("La Nuit Americaine")

Steel Magnolias (1989)

Hard to Be a God (1989)

Her Alibi (1989)

Der Aten (1989)

Heartbreak Hotel (1988)

The House On Carroll Street (1988)

Chouans! (1988)

Paris By Night (1988)

To Kill a Priest (1988)

A Summer Story (1988)

Biloxi Blues (1988)

Memories of Me (1988)

Code Name: Dancer (1987)

Escape From Sobibor (1987)

The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987)

Summer Heat (1987)

Music ("The Heart Must Have A Home")

Family Business (1987)

A Man in Love (1987)

The Pick-Up Artist (1987)

Maid to Order (1987)

Femmes de personne (1986)

Salvador (1986)

Mesmerized (1986)

Sin Of Innocence (1986)

Descente aux enfers (1986)

Music Conductor

Crimes Of The Heart (1986)

Women of Valor (1986)

Sword of Gideon (1986)

The Execution (1985)

Agnes Of God (1985)

Arch Of Triumph (1985)

A Time to Live (1985)

Stone Pillow (1985)

Love Thy Neighbor (1984)

Partir Revenir (1984)

Silence of the Heart (1984)

Silkwood (1983)

Music Conductor

Silkwood (1983)

Vultures (1983)

Liberty Belle (1983)

One Deadly Summer (1983)

Song ("Trois Petites Notes De Musique")

The African (1983)

The Black Stallion Returns (1983)

Man, Woman and Child (1983)

Man, Woman and Child (1983)

One Deadly Summer (1983)

La Passante (1983)

Le Bon Plaisir (1983)

Confidentially Yours (1983)

Partners (1982)

Simone de Beauvoir (1982)

Guy De Maupassant (1982)

The Escape Artist (1982)

La Vie Continue (1982)

Broken English (1981)

A Little Sex (1981)

True Confessions (1981)

All Night Long (1981)

Music Conductor

Richard's Things (1981)

Rich and Famous (1981)

Garde a Vue (1981)

The Woman Next Door (1981)

Willie & Phil (1980)

The Last Metro (1980)

Carne: l'Homme a la Camera (1980)

Love on the Run (1979)

Mijn Vriend (1979)

A Little Romance (1979)

Le Mouton Noir (1979)

An Almost Perfect Affair (1979)

Premier Voyage (1979)

Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978)

Dear Detective (1978)

Va Voir Maman, Papa Travaille (1978)

La Petite fille en velours bleu (1978)

Le Cavaleur (1978)

Photo Souvenir (1977)

Le Point de mire (1977)

That Most Important Thing: Love (1977)

Julie pot de colle (1977)

Le Grand Escogriffe (1977)

L'Incorrigible (1975)

Police Python.357 (1975)

La Gifle (1974)

Day for Night (1973)

The Day of the Dolphin (1973)

The Day of the Jackal (1973)

Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me (1972)

Chere Louise (1972)

Malpertuis: Histoire d'une maison Maudite (1972)

Quelque part, quelqu'un (1972)

L' Ingenu (1972)

The Horsemen (1971)

Music Composition and Conducting

Two English Girls (1971)

Alex in Wonderland (1970)

Promise at Dawn (1970)

Give Her the Moon (1970)

Promise at Dawn (1970)

Music comp & Conductor

Women in Love (1970)

Music comp & Conductor

The Conformist (1970)

A Walk with Love and Death (1969)

A Walk with Love and Death (1969)

Music comp & Conductor

L'immortelle (1969)

The Brain (1969)

The Devil by the Tail (1969)

Anne of the Thousand Days (1969)

Interlude (1968)

Original Music comp & Conductor

The High Commissioner (1968)

Music comp & Director

The Two of Us (1968)

The Uninhibited (1968)

The 25th Hour (1967)

Music comp & Conductor

The Immoral Moment (1967)

King of Hearts (1967)

Our Mother's House (1967)

Music comp & Conductor

Mata Hari, Agent H-21 (1967)

The Sucker (1966)

Male Companion (1966)

Up to His Ears (1966)

Tight Skirts, Loose Pleasures (1966)

Enough Rope (1966)

Music Conductor

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Music comp & Conductor

Viva Maria (1965)

Original Music comp

Greed in the Sun (1965)

Women and War (1965)

Highway Pickup (1965)

The Winner (1965)

Additional Music

Music comp & Conductor

A Mistress for the Summer (1964)

The Pumpkin Eater (1964)

Contempt (1964)

That Man From Rio (1964)

The Soft Skin (1964)

Cartouche (1964)

The Big Risk (1963)

Paris Pick-Up (1963)

The Season for Love (1963)

Rififi in Tokyo (1963)

Playtime (1963)

Love at Twenty (1963)

French Dressing (1963)

L'aine des Ferchaux (1963)

Have I The Right To Kill (1963)

The Passion of Slow Fire (1962)

The Long Absence (1962)

Crime Does Not Pay (1962)

Nude in His Pocket (1962)

Jules and Jim (1962)

Love and the Frenchwoman (1961)

Music for "A Woman Alone"

The Five Day Lover (1961)

The Joker (1961)

Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1960)

The Love Game (1960)

Music (Special)

Memento Mori (1992)

Music (Short)

Vive le Tour! (1962)

Le Chant du Styrene (1958)

La Mer et les jours (1958)

Le Mystere de l'atelier Quinze (1957)

Toute la Memoire du Monde (1956)

Music (TV Mini-Series)

Life Events

1950

Scored first short, Henri Lacoste's "Le Mystere du Quai Conti"

1950

Scored over 20 short films

1950

Commisioned by Jean Vilar for the music of his stage production, "La Mort de Danton" (date approximate)

1950

Conducted Darius Milhaud's score for "Scheherazade" at Avignon Festival

1959

First feature as composer, Pierre Kast's "Le Bel Age"

1966

Subject of Ken Russell TV documentary, "Don't Shoot the Composer"

1969

First US film, John Huston's "A Walk with Love and Death"

1971

Appeared as a conductor in Truffaut's "Two English Girls" (also wrote score)

1979

Received Oscar for score to "A Little Romance"

1992

Scored final film, Pierre Schoendoerfer's "Dien Bien Phu"

Videos

Contempt (1963) -- (Movie Clip) Completely, Tenderly, And Tragically Artsy director Jean-Luc Godard makes no explanation for his lighting in this scene introducing principals Camille (Brigitte Bardot) and Paul (Michel Piccoli) in Contempt, 1963, from a novel by Alberto Moravia.

Contempt (1963) -- (Movie Clip) I'll Take A Taxi Big-shot Prokosch (Jack Palance) insists that Camille (Brigitte Bardot) ride with him and husband Paul (Michel Piccoli) is happy to grab a cab, in a key moment in Jean-Luc Godard's Contempt, 1963.

Contempt (1963) -- (Movie Clip) I Like Gods Unhappy producer Prokosch (Jack Palance) and writer Paul (Michel Piccoli) drop in on Fritz Lang (playing himself) and screening his fictional "Odysseus," in Jean-Luc Godard's movie-business commentary Contempt, 1963.

Agnes Of God (1985) -- (Movie Clip) Open, Mon Dieu! Plausible enough that this is Norman Jewison directing, on Quebec locations, with camera by Sven Nykvist and design by Ken Adam, opening the 1985 adaptation of the widely-praised play (and screenplay) by John Pielmeier, only Anne Bancroft among the three stars seen here, in Agnes Of God, 1985, with Jane Fonda and Meg Tilly.

That Man From Rio (1964) -- (Movie Clip) A Week's Leave Chomping baguettes and cheese, cloaks but no daggers, director Philippe De Broca introduces his leading man Jean-Paul Belmondo, the famous Musee de l’Homme in Paris, an unknown thief and Francoise Dorleac as Agnes, opening the international hit That Man From Rio, 1964.

That Man From Rio (1964) -- (Movie Clip) Stop Shaking Me! Intrepid on-leave airman Adrien (Jean-Paul Belmondo) has followed his kidnapped and drugged archeologist girl Agnes (Francoise Dorleac) from Paris to Rio, improvising to rescue her from maybe cultish thugs, in Philippe De Broca’s That Man From Rio, 1964.

Jules and Jim (1962) -- (Movie Clip) And A French Girl Early 1900's, college pals German Jules (Oskar Werner) and French Jim (Henri Serre) discover a statue while vacationing in Greece, return to Paris, then meet a girl, Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) in Francois Truffaut's Jules and Jim, 1962.

Jules And Jim (1962) -- (Movie Clip) Our Friend Thomas Jules (Oskar Werner) re-introduces Jim (Henri Serre) to Catherine (Jeanne Moreau) who then masquerades as "Thomas," as the friends romp in early 1900's Paris in Francois Truffaut's Jules and Jim, 1962.

Man for All Seasons, A (1966) -- (Movie Clip) Opening Sequence Majestic music by Georges Delerue accompanies the opening sequence and credits from the 1966 Best Picture winner A Man for All Seasons, directed by Fred Zinnemann, starring Paul Scofield, Robert Shaw and Leo McKern, from the play and screenplay by Robert Bolt.

Day For Night (1973) -- (Movie Clip) Why Can't The Secretary Be Pregnant? Francois Truffaut directs himself as director Ferrand, dealing with a casting crisis with his producer (Jean Bertrand), a contribution from composer Georges Delerue, a cavalcade of tributes to Truffaut’s idols and friends, and Jacqueline Bisset arriving as Julie, the star, in Day For Night, 1973.

Love On The Run (1979) -- (Movie Clip) Like An Old Maid After credits over a tasteful bedroom romp, Jean-Pierre Leaud as Antoine Doinel, waking with his latest girl Sabine (Dorothee, a well-known French TV hostess), in the final film in Francois Truffaut's series based on the character from The Four Hundred Blows, Love On The Run, 1979.

Devil By The Tail (1969) -- (Movie Cilp) Turn Around And Look Innocent! Amelie (Marthe Keller) delivers a fixed Cadillac to Maricorne (Yves Montand), a gangster posing as a diplomat, who feigns reluctance to leave her family's estate-turned-inn, then runs into a dragnet, in Philippe de Broca's Devil By The Tail, 1969.

Our Mother's House - (Original Trailer) Afraid of being separated, a family of children keep their mother's death a secret in Our Mother's House (1967) starring Dick Bogarde.

25th Hour, The - (Original Trailer) A Romanian peasant (Anthony Quinn) fights to get back to his family after he's imprisoned by the Nazis in The 25th Hour (1967).

King of Hearts, The - (Original Trailer) Alan Bates stars as a Scottish World War I soldier in an abandoned town full of whimsical lunatics in The King of Hearts (1967).

Little Romance, A - (Original Trailer) Teenagers elope with the help of an aging pickpocket in A Little Romance (1979), starring Diane Lane and Laurence Olivier.

Anne of the Thousand Days - (Original Trailer) Anne Boleyn (Genevieve Bujold) fights to keep Henry VIII's love and her head in the midst of palace intrigue in Anne of the Thousand Days (1969).

Pumpkin Eater, The - (Original Trailer) Anne Bancroft won best actress at the Cannes Film Festival as a wife having a nervous breakdown in Harold Pinter's The Pumpkin Eater (1964).

Day Of The Jackal, The - (Original Trailer) British and French agents join forces to save President De Gaulle from a deadly assassin in The Day Of The Jackal (1973).

Have I The Right to Kill - (U.S. release trailer) A French army deserter (Alain Delon) takes on OAS terrorists to rescue a beautiful woman in Have I The Right To Kill (1964).

Steel Magnolias - (Original Trailer) Small-town Southern women help each other through the trials of life in Steel Magnolias (1989) starring Sally Field and Julia Roberts.

Family

Claire Delerue

Daughter

Mother, Micheline Gautron.

Emmanuelle Delerue

Step-Daughter

Daughter from Micheline Gautron's previous marriage.

Companions

Micheline Gautron

Wife

Married in 1959.

Colette Delerue

Wife

Second wife.

Bibliography

Notes

Won the Grand Prix de Rome and First Prize for Musical Composition in 1949.

Named Commander of Arts and Letters.

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