Jacques Demy
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Notes
"There is in the best of his work an underlying strain of melancholy, a unique fusion of lust and wanderlust, an intensity one has no right to expect from material as fey as this." --Critic Gilbert Adair
Demy's films often began with an iris opening, a signature he chose because "I'd seen it at the cinema, especially in silent films, and...I found it very fascinating, this little circle that encompasses a face, isolates it, and makes the picture disappear. The fade-in is really a picture that you remove, that you erase, whereas what I like with the iris shot is that the picture stays behind it, it's not quite finished."
Biography
Versatile director whose films such as "Lola" (1961) are generally noted for their stylish, bittersweet yet often optimistic romanticism. Demy made several musicals, including "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg" (1964)--in which all the dialogue was sung--and worked often with actress Catherine Deneuve and composer Michel Legrand. He married fellow New Wave director Agnes Varda in 1962. Varda paid tribute to her ailing husband with the wistful, biographical "Jacquot/Jacquot de Nantes" (1991). Demy grew up in Nantes, and originally was expected to follow in his father's footsteps and trained as a mechanic. Instead, he headed into the arts. After earning a degree from L'Ecole Technique de Photographie et de Cinematographie, Demy worked on publicity films and as an assistant to animator Paul Grimault, then as assistant to director Georges Rouquier on "Lourdes et ses miracles" (1954). In 1955, he also secured the backing of Pathe for his own short film, "Le Sabotier du Val du Loire," which was a slow-paced documentary about the family of clog makers with who Demy had lived when he was a child during World War II. He made his first short fiction film "Le Bel indifferent" in 1957, based on a short play by Jean Cocteau. After several other short films came "Lola" in 1960, set in his own home town and starring Anouk Aimee as a beautiful, fearless nightclub singer. Though not a commercial success, "Lola" won the Prix de L'Academie du Cinema and critic Eric Rohmer called it the "most original film of the New Wave" in France. (Although technically, Demy was not a New Wave director. Having worked his way up as an assistant on other's films and not as a critic, he was considered one of the "Left Bank School" director.) Demy's next feature was "La Baie des anges/Bay of Angels" (1962), written in three days and telling the story of a bank employee who becomes fascinated with gambling and Jeanne Moreau, the woman he meets in the casino. "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," starring Catherine Denueve, followed in 1964, gaining Demy an international reputation. In the film all the dialogue is sung, amidst imaginative use of color and design. Also with Deneuve -- and her sister, Francoise Dorleac -- Demy did the all-sung "Les Demoiselles de Rochefort" (1967), but the reception was not as strong. Still, "The Young Girls of Rochefort" (as it was called in English), includes a performance by Gene Kelly whose work on the screen as a director and performer greatly influenced Demy. Demy made "Model Shop" in English, in which Anouk Aimee reappears as Lola, but then flopped with "Peau d'Ane" (1967), "The Pied Piper of Hamelin" (U.S./1972), and "A Slightly Pregnant Man" (1973). It was not until 1979 -- a six year absence -- that Demy again directed. He chose "Lady Oscar" (1979), financed by Japanese interests and based on a Japanese comic strip. He then turned to TV, directing "La Naissance du jour," a adaptation of a story by Colette. Demy bounced back in feature films in 1982, again with sung dialogue, with "Une Chambre en ville." Like "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg," it was about an ill-fated love affair, this time starring Dominique Sanda. Although honored with the Grand Prix du Cinema, Demy failed to impress the critics in France with the effort. His work after showed a decline in originality. "Parking" (1985), was a retelling of the Orpheus tale, and was a disappointment, even with its score by Michel Legrand. Three years later, Demy made his final film, "Trois place pour le 26." Demy can also be seen briefly in the films of other directors. He played a policeman for Francois Truffaut in "400 Blows" (1959), and also appears in "Paris nous appointment" (1960).
Filmography
Director (Feature Film)
Cast (Feature Film)
Writer (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Production Companies (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Director (Short)
Writer (Short)
Life Events
1945
At age 14, tried to make first feature "L'Aventure de Solange" using neighborhood children; film returned from the processing lab was overexposed (date approximate)
1952
Worked as assistant to Paul Grimault making advertising cartoons
1952
First film as assistant director, "Lourdes et ses miracles", directed by Georges Rouquier
1955
First short film as director, "Le sabotier du Val de Loire"; also scripted
1959
Acted in Truffaut's "The 400 Blows"; played bit part of a policeman
1961
Feature directing debut, "Lola"
1964
Had greatest success with the all-sung, color feature "Les parapluis de Cherbourg/The Umbrellas of Cherbourg"; wrote, directed and supplied lyrics to Michel Legrand's music; received Oscar nomination as Best Foreign-Language Film, Best Screenplay, Best Score and Best Song
1967
Stumbled at the box-office with "Les demoiselles de Rochefort/The Young Ladies of Rochefort", another all-sung film
1970
Directed Catherine Deneuve in the fairy tale-inspired "Peau d'ane/Donkey Skin/The Magic Donkey"
1972
Co-wrote and directed "The Pied Piper", starring Danny Kaye; film made for UNICEF; first-English language film
1976
Staged first Cesar Awards ceremony
1979
Made English-language film "Lady Oscar"
1981
Turned briefly to TV, directing "La Naissance du jour"
1982
After several years of critical decline, bounced back somewhat with the musical tragedy "Une chambre en ville",
1983
Hired to direct the cable TV-movie "Louisiana" (Cinemax), withdrew for "personal and family reasons" and was replaced by Philippe de Broca
1985
Reinterpreted the Orpheus myth as "Parking"
1988
Last film, "Trois Places Pour le 26"
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"There is in the best of his work an underlying strain of melancholy, a unique fusion of lust and wanderlust, an intensity one has no right to expect from material as fey as this." --Critic Gilbert Adair
Demy's films often began with an iris opening, a signature he chose because "I'd seen it at the cinema, especially in silent films, and...I found it very fascinating, this little circle that encompasses a face, isolates it, and makes the picture disappear. The fade-in is really a picture that you remove, that you erase, whereas what I like with the iris shot is that the picture stays behind it, it's not quite finished."
"In New York I met Warhol and the Factory people, and I must say that all those people were much more interesting than the major companies that weren't producing much of interest at the time. In fact, Warhol was reinventing cinema in his way, like Godard, going back to the beginning. I was very tempted (to work with them), but I think the differences between their culture and civilization, and mine were too big, and although I was fascinated by the underground movement, there was no place for me in it. Maybe I was mistaken but that I felt at the time." --Demy in Film Dope, Number 10
"Perhaps I would not have remained in films or pursued acting if it hadn't been for Jacques Demy. He was a single-minded man who never let me think about anything but my career." --actress Catherine Deneuve to columnist Liz Smith in August 1998
