Henri Langlois

Henri Langlois

Henri Langlois (November 13, 1914 - January 13, 1977) was a pioneer of film preservation and restoration. [ [http://www.allmovie.com/cg/avg.dll?p=avg&sql=2:187992~T1 AllMovieGuide: Henri Langlois] ] He was one of the co-founders of the Cinémathèque Française

Biography

Langlois was born in İzmir, Turkey. He started his archives with private funds and only a handful of films, but over the next few decades the collection grew to many thousands of titles, and the French government started financing it.

Career at the Cinémathèque Française

Henri Langlois, Georges Franju, and Jean Mitry founded the "Cinémathèque Française", their Paris-based film theater and museum, in 1936 [ [http://www.francemagazine.org/articles/issue75/article131.asp?issue_id=75&article_id=131 FFrance Magazine: La Cinémathèque Française] ] . It grew from ten films in 1936 to more than 60,000 films by the early 70s. More than just an archivist, Langlois saved, restored and showed many films that were at risk of disintegration. Besides films, Langlois also helped to preserve other items related to cinema such as cameras, projection machines, costumes and vintage theater programmes. These items would evolve into Langlois' museum collection, which was a two-mile span of film artifacts and memorabilia in the Palais de Chaillot. The collection was relocated due to damage from a fire in 1997.

During the Second World War, Langlois and his colleagues helped to save many films that were at risk of being destroyed due to the Nazi occupation of France, including a reel of Chaplin's The Great Dictator.

Langlois made an important impact on the French 1960s New Wave directors, including François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette, Claude Chabrol and Alain Resnais among others, and the generation of filmmakers that followed. Some of these filmmakers were called "les enfants de la cinémathèque" ("children of the cinémathèque"), as they could often be found in the front row of packed screenings.

Firing and Reinstatement

In 1968, French culture minister Andre Malraux tried to fire Langlois by stopping funding of the project, allegedly due to Langlois' arrogance and iron-fisted rule. Local and international uproar ensued, and even the prestigious Cannes Film Festival was halted in protest that year. Protests in Paris included the New Wave film-makers and activist Daniel Cohn-Bendit. Support came in telegrams from renowned directors, from Hitchcock to Kurosawa to Fellini. Malraux eventually backtracked and reinstated Langlois after intense debate, while reducing museum funding.

Later life

In 1974, Langlois received an honorary Academy Award for his lifetime work with the Cinémathèque. He passed away three years later and is interred in the Cimetière du Montparnasse in Paris.

Place Henri Langlois in the 13th arrondissement in Paris is named in his honour.

Documentaries About His Work

In 1970, an English language documentary entitled "Henri Langlois" was made about his life's work, featuring inteviews with Ingrid Bergman, Lillian Gish, François Truffaut, Catherine Deneuve, Jeanne Moreau and others.

In 2004–2005, Jacques Richard directed another documentary of Langlois's career, "The Phantom of the Cinémathèque". It features interviews with friends, colleagues, academics, and such movie luminaries as Simone Signoret, Godard, Chabrol, and Truffaut.

In popular culture

Bernardo Bertolucci weaved the closing of the Cinémathèque into the beginning of his 2003 film "The Dreamers" — a film about young lovers amidst the 1968 French uprisings.

ee also

* Musée du Cinema - Henri Langlois (no longer in existence)

References

External links

* [http://youtube.com/watch?v=B3tIRCYQi3I A video tribute to Henri Langlois]
*Find A Grave|id=1234


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем решить контрольную работу

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Henri Langlois — (* 13. November 1914 in Smyrna, heute İzmir; † 13. Januar 1977 in Paris) war ein bedeutender Filmarchivar und der Gründer und langjährige Leiter der Cinémathèque Française. Leben und Werk Henri Langlois wurde als Sohn eines französischen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Henri Langlois — Pour les articles homonymes, voir Langlois. Photographie d Henri Langlois, à l entrée de la Cinémathèque française 2004 Henri Langlois né le 13 novembre …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Prix Henri-Langlois — Le trophée Henri Langlois Les Prix Henri Langlois ont été décernés pour la première fois le 23 janvier 2006 à Vincennes à l issue des premières Rencontres internationales du cinéma de patrimoine et de films restaurés de Vincennes[1] Ces prix… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Prix henri-langlois — Le trophée Henri Langlois Conçus et réalisés par le sculpteur Joëlle Isnardon, les Prix Henri Langlois ont été décernés pour la première fois le 23 janvier 2006 à Vincennes à l issue des premières Rencontres internationales du cinéma de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Musée du Cinema - Henri Langlois — The Musée du Cinema Henri Langlois was a museum of cinema history located in the Palais de Chaillot, 1, place du Trocadéro, Paris, France. It was destroyed by fire in 1997.The museum was created in 1972 by Henri Langlois (1914 1977), a cinema… …   Wikipedia

  • Rencontres henri langlois — Les Rencontres Henri Langlois sont un Festival international des écoles de cinéma créé en 1977 par Henri Langlois. Chaque année, en décembre à Poitiers, elles mettent à l honneur les œuvres de jeunes auteurs issus d écoles, d universités et d… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Place Henri-Langlois — 13e arrt …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Rencontres Henri-Langlois — Les Rencontres Henri Langlois sont un Festival international des écoles de cinéma créé en 1977 par Henri Langlois, également fondateur de la Cinémathèque française. Chaque année, en décembre à Poitiers, elles mettent à l honneur les œuvres de… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • LANGLOIS (H.) — LANGLOIS HENRI (1914 1977) Né à Smyrne, mort à Paris, Henri Langlois a plus fortement et plus durablement influencé le cinéma que s’il avait été réalisateur, scénariste ou producteur. Dès son adolescence, la passion pour le cinéma, en quoi il… …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Langlois — is a surname, and may refer to:* Al Langlois (born 1934), Canadian ice hockey player * Anabelle Langlois (born 1981), Canadian pairs figure skater * Charlie Langlois (1894–1965), Canadian professional hockey player * Daniel Langlois, Canadian… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”