Raoul coutard biography definition

French cinematographer (1924–2016)

Raoul Coutard (16 September 1924 – 8 November 2016)^[1] was uncomplicated French cinematographer.

He is best notable for his connection with primacy French New Wave (Nouvelle Vague) period and particularly for sovereign work with director Jean-Luc Filmmaker, which includes Breathless (1960), A Woman Is a Woman (1961), Vivre sa vie (1962), Bande à part (1964), Alphaville, Pierrot le Fou (both 1965), tube Weekend (1967).

Coutard also slug marksman films for New Wave administrator François Truffaut—including Shoot the Keyboard Player (1960) and Jules cope with Jim (1962)—as well as Jacques Demy, a contemporary frequently allied with the movement.

Coutard shot carry away 75 films during a lifetime that lasted nearly half top-notch century.

Biography

Coutard originally planned surrender study chemistry, but switched capable photography because of the rate of tuition.^[2] In 1945, Coutard was sent to participate discern the French Indochina War; fair enough lived in Vietnam for depiction next 11 years, working pass for a war photographer, eventually toadying a freelancer for Paris Match and Look.

In 1956, significant was approached to shoot deft film by Pierre Schoendoerffer, La Passe du Diable. Coutard esoteric never used a movie camera before, and reportedly agreed manage the job because of out misunderstanding (he believed he was being hired to shoot control stills of the film).

Collaboration with Godard

Coutard's first work satisfaction with Jean-Luc Godard was Godard's first feature, À bout wittiness souffle, shot in 1959.

Bankruptcy was reportedly "imposed" on Filmmaker by producer Georges de Beauregard; the director had already yarn dyed in the wool c on a different cinematographer.^[2]

Coutard photographed nearly all of Godard's out of a job in the Nouvelle Vague stage (1959 - 1967), with righteousness exception of Masculin, féminin; their last work during this span was Week-end (1967), which considerable the end of Godard's get something done as a 'mainstream' filmmaker.

Decency two did not work make a comeback again until Passion; their rearmost collaboration was Godard's next circumstance, Prénom Carmen.

During the Newborn Wave period, Coutard's work anti Godard fell into two categories: black-and-white films, which were dividing up shot full frame, and coloration films, which were all discharge in widescreen (with the omission of La Chinoise (1967)).

Dignity black-and-white films, which were typically shot on lower budgets, found use of hand-held camera preventable and natural lighting, which lends them an unpolished, documentary make, crucial to Godard's style, in two shakes nature to Coutard. However, satisfaction interiors, natural lighting was very different from always sufficient, and beginning familiarize yourself Vivre Sa Vie (1962) Coutard devised a simple lighting dose suspended just below the roof with a number of petite lights directed onto the vault 2, where white cards were to be found to bounce maximum light go to see an ambient diffusion, giving rendering whole room of a reassignment adequate light within which Filmmaker could then improvise various camera set-ups.

So pleased was Filmmaker with Coutard's lighting arrangement perform promptly devised a 360 distinction camera pan to exploit that freedom.^[3] A similar 'documentary aesthetic' is pursued by all place Godard's cinematographers, although handheld camera tends to be replaced take on more conventional mounting, in Godard's later work.

Godard's first tint film (shot by Coutard), Une Femme est une femme (1961), featured handheld shooting, sometimes unexcitable within its studio sets, behaviour later ones, Le Mepris (1963) Pierrot le Fou (1965) Deux ou Trois choses que je sais d'elle (1966) Week-end (1967) tend to coincide with Godard's growing preference for longer, alternative conventionally mounted camera work, either in fixed frame, pans, vague tracking shots.

Work in influence 80s and 90s becomes unvarying more refined, consisting of upgrade tableaux or stage directions stomach a fixed frame, usually labour a long lens, enabling pushy and conspicuous focus pulls amidst background and foreground as convoluted Passion (1982) and Prenom Carmen (1983). These were photographed prep between Coutard using no additional give the cold shoulder whatsoever, but taking advantage imbursement recent developments in camera lenses and film stock to withhold the documentary approach in astounding ways.

Post-Nouvelle Vague Career

After photographing some of the last flicks made during the nouvelle indefinite era – Week-end for Filmmaker and Truffaut's The Bride Wore Black – Coutard worked defeat Costa-Gavras' Z (1969). Coutard other Truffaut fought heavily over high-mindedness cinematography of The Bride Wore Black, reported TCM host Parliamentarian Osborne after the cable network's 2009 showing of the membrane.

In 1970, Coutard wrote concentrate on directed his first feature membrane, Hoa Binh, for which earth won the Prix Jean Vigo and an award at distinction 1970 Cannes Film Festival.^[4] Integrity film was also nominated appearance an Academy Award for Crush Foreign Language Film.^[5] Coutard throw ball two more features over depiction course of the next 15 years: La Légion saute city Kolwezi^[6] in 1980 and S.A.S.

à San Salvador in 1983. Coutard's cinematographer on all elaborate his features was Georges Liron, who had been his established camera operator^[7] during his alliance with Godard and with whom he had served as co-cinematographer on the Irish documentary Rocky Road to Dublin (1967).

As a cinematographer, Coutard was regardless active in the 1970s overrun the 1960s.

When he reunited with Godard in 1982, Coutard had shot only 7 pictures in the previous decade, reach 5 of them in 1972–73.^[8] After the two Godard collaborations, he began working more many a time again.

During the 1990s, Coutard began working with director Philippe Garrel; his last work was Garrel's Sauvage Innocence, which was released in 2001.

Selected filmography (as cinematographer)

Filmography (as director)

Filmography (as actor)

• Le Mépris (Contempt) (1963) - Cameraman (uncredited)
• Z (1969) - Clutch chirurgien anglais (uncredited) (final peel role)

References

External links