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Jean Renoir
[1894-1979]
![auteur Jean Renoir [1894-1979] of France](images/jeanrenoir-sweater.jpg "auteur Jean Renoir [1894-1979] of France") | short profile |
“Goodbye Mr. Zanuck: It certainly has been a pleasure working at 16th-Century Fox.”
“Is it possible to succeed without any act of betrayal?”
“A director makes only one movie in his life. Then he breaks it into pieces and makes it again.”
— Jean Renoir
B I O
t e x t
h e r e
Jean Renoir entry at Wikipedia
Jean Renoir credits [1924-94] at Internet Movie Database
 
| Jean Renoir won an Honorary Oscar in 1975 — and one Oscar nomination in 1946 |
He also received
the Prix Louis Delluc in 1936
the rank of Chevalier de Légion d'Honneur in 1936
an award at the Venice Film Festival in 1937
an International Award at the Venice Film Festival in 1951
the rank of Commander in France's Légion d'Honneur in 1975
and a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Movies of Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir credits [1924-94] at Internet Movie Database
 | "Stage and Spectacle: Three Films by Jean Renoir" DVD Box Set [2004]
Criterion color DVD [8/2004] 3 disks for $71.99 contains 3 Technicolor feature films: "The Golden Coach (Le Carrosse d'Or)" [1953] starring Anna Magnani; "French Cancan" [1954] starring Jean Gabin, Françoise Arnoul & María Félix; and "Elena and Her Men" [1956] starring Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais & Mel Ferrer; extras include stills gallery, essays by film critics, video intro-ductions by Martin Scorsese & Peter Bogdanovich, "Jean Renoir: Hollywood & Beyond" BBC documentary [1993], and 3-part 1967 interview with Renoir by director Jacques Rivette |
 | "Jean Renoir 3-Disc Collector's Edition" DVD Box Set [2007]
LionsGate b&w DVD [4/2007] 3 disks for $18.99 contains seven films, panned & scanned, in French with English subtitles: four silent films starring then-wife Catherine Hessling – "Whirlpool of Fate (La Fille de l'Eau)" [1925 silent feature]; "Nana" [1926 silent feature]; "Charleston Parade (Sur un Air de Charleston)" [1927 silent short]; and "La Petite Marchande D'Allumettes (The Little Match Girl)" [1928 silent short] – and three later feature length films: "La Marseillaise" [1938]; "Experiment In Evil" aka "Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier" [TV 1959] starring Jean-Louis Barrault; and "The Elusive Corporal (Le Caporal Épinglé)" [1962] starring Jean-Pierre Cassel; also bonus featurette "Jean Renoir: An Auteur To Remember" with {son} Alain Renoir and Martin Scorsese |
· ·
"Whirlpool of Fate (La Fille de l'Eau)"
[1925 silent feature] starring Catherine Hessling
"Nana" [1926 silent feature] starring Catherine Hessling
"Charleston Parade (Sur un Air de Charleston)"
[1927 silent short] starring Catherine Hessling
"La Petite Marchande D'Allumettes (The Little Match Girl)"
[1928 silent short] starring Catherine Hessling
"La Chienne {The Bitch}"
[France Nov 1931, USA Sept 1975]
 | A cashier rescues a dame from her abusive boyfriend; smitten, he tells her that he is a wealthy artist and sets her up in an apartment (using his shrewish wife's money), where he creates inspired paintings. The boyfriend sells the paintings under the girl's name, with terrible consequences • Co-written & directed by Jean Renoir; based on the novel by Georges de La Fouchardière; starring Michel Simon, Janie Marèse, Georges Flamant & Magdeleine Bérubet
not available on Region 1 DVD or Blu-ray Kino Video b&w VHS [2/2002] out of prodn/used video includes Renoir's short film "A Day In The Country" [1936] full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
remake "Scarlet Street" [Universal Dec 1945]
 | Directed by [blacklistee] Fritz Lang; based on the prior film & novel; starring Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, Dan Duryea, Margaret Lindsay, Jess Barker & Rosalind Ivan Kino Video b&w DVD [11/2005] for $21.99 Alpha Video b&w DVD [2/2002] for $7.98 Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [12/91] for $9.99 full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=954&format=movie&theme=guide
"On Purge Bébé" [1931]
"Night At The Crossroads (La Nuit du Carrefour)" [1932]
"A Day In The Country" short film [1936] /tt0028445/
"The Lower Depths" [1936]
based on the 1902 stageplay by Maxim Gorky
also filmed in 1957 by Akira Kurosawa
"Le Crime de Monsieur Lange" [1936]
"Grand Illusion" [France June 1937, USA Sept 1938]
 | Complex, profound and heartbreakingly human look at the illusions inherent in war & heroism, social class & individual character, romantic love, religion – all are trapped in illusion. • Co-written & directed by Jean Renoir; starring Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim & Marcel Dalio; Oscar nominated for Best Picture
Criterion b&w DVD w/English subtitles [11/99] for $34.76 TimelessVideo b&w VHS w/English subtitles [8/97] for $14.99 Criterion b&w VHS w/English subtitles [11/99] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
http://tesla.liketelevision.com/liketelevision/tuner.php?channel=943&format=movie&theme=guide
"La Marseillaise" [1938]
"La Bête Humaine" [France 1938, USA Feb 1940]
Adaptation of Emile Zola's 1890 novel; adapted & directed by Jean Renoir; starring Jean Gabin, Simone Simon,
Fernand Ledoux, Blanchette Brunoy, Jacques Berlioz
• full credits at IMDb •
movie entry at Wikipedia
"Rules of The Game (La Règle du Jeu}"
[France July 1939, USA April 1950]
 | Banned in France until 1956, Renoir's second masterpiece views life as both a comedy and a tragedy, showing a frenzied hunting weekend in the country against a background of Europe's pending devasta-tion during World War II. Indescribable: What you are left with is the sense that Life makes no sense whatsoever, which conclusion makes perfect sense • Co-written & directed by & co-starring Jean Renoir; also starring Marcel Dalio, Roland Toutain & Nora Gregor
Criterion b&w DVD w/subtitles [1/2004] 2 disks for $29.96 Home Vision b&w VHS w/English subtitles [7/93] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Filmguide To The Rules of The Game" [Indiana Univ Press, 1973]
by Gerald Mast ISBN 0253393116
unproduced "La Dame Blanche"
Working in France on the eve of World War II, Erich von Stroheim was preparing to direct the film "La Dame Blanche" from his own story and screenplay. Max Cossvan was to produce the film for Demo-Film. Jean Renoir wrote the dialogue, Jacques Becker was to be assistant director and Stroheim himself, Louis Jouvet & Jean-Louis Barrault were to be the featured actors. The production was prevented by the outbreak of the war, and Stroheim returned to the United States.
"Swamp Water (L'Étang Tragique)" [1941]
"This Land Is Mine (Vivre Libre)" [1943]
"The Southerner (L'Homme du Sud)" [1945]
"The Diary of A Chambermaid (Le Journal d'une Femme de Chambre)" [1945]
"The Woman On The Beach (La Femme Sur la Plage)" [1947]
"The River (Le Fleuve)"
[United Artists; U.S.A. Sept 1951, France Dec 1951]
 | Three teenage girls – a daughter of English settlers, a daughter of an American industrialist, and a Bengali-American – vie for the innocent affections of a dashing Captain. Renoir, as usual, brings his poetic sensibilities to another view of the human condition. Co-produced, co-written & directed by Jean Renoir [1894-1979]; assistant director Satyajit Ray [1921-92]; co-written by Rumer Godden, from her novel; starring Patricia Walters, Radha, Adrienne Corri, Thomas E. Breen, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight, Arthur Shields & Suprova Mukerjee
Criterion Special Edition color DVD [3/2005] for $24.99 HomeVision color VHS [6/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
 | based on the 1946 novel by Rumer Godden, OBE [1907-98] Pan 7½x5 pb [4/2004] for $11.67 Viking 8¾x5¾ hardcover [9/88] for $22.95 |
"The Golden Coach (Le Carrosse d'Or)" [1953] /tt0044487/
co-written & directed by Jean Renoir; starring Anna Magnani, Odoardo Spadaro, Dante & Duncan Lamont
"French Cancan" [1954] /tt0046998/
written & directed by Jean Renoir; starring Jean Gabin, Françoise Arnoul & María Félix
http://www.amazon.com/French-Cancan-VHS-Jean-Gabin/dp/B00005LE3Q/
"Elena and Her Men (Elena et les Hommes)"
[France Sept 1956, USA March 1957]
co-written & directed by Jean Renoir; starring Ingrid Bergman, Jean Marais & Mel Ferrer
http://www.amazon.com/Jean-Renoirs-Elena-Her-Men/dp/B0000560QF/
"Experiment In Evil" aka "Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier"
[TV 1959] starring Jean-Louis Barrault
Renoir's version of the Robert Louis Stevenson "Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde" tale, set in 1950s Paris
"Picnic On The Grass (Le Déjeuner sur l'Herbe)" [1959]
http://www.amazon.com/Picnic-Grass-D%C3%A9jeuner-sur-lherbe/dp/6301910303/
"The Elusive Corporal (Le Caporal Épinglé)" [1962]
starring Jean-Pierre Cassel
"The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir (Le Petit Théâtre de Jean Renoir)"
[France ORTF-TV Dec 1970, USA May 1974] /tt0067571/
Written & directed by Jean Renoir
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Theatre-Jean-Renoir-VHS/dp/B00005UWBM/
"Les Valseuses" aka "Going Places" [1974] Director: Jean Renoir /tt0072353/
Other Works by Jean Renoir
Jean Renoir Bibliography at Amazon
"Renoir, My Father" [1962] biography of his father, painter Pierre Renoir
"Renoir, My Father" [BBC-2 Dec 1978] /tt0814288/
"Les Cahiers du Capitaine Georges (The Notebooks of Captain George)" novel [Gallimard 1966]
"Carola" stageplay & teleplay [P.B.S./KCET-TV Feb 1973] /tt0275998/
Written by Jean Renoir, adapted by James Bridges; directed by Norman Lloyd
http://www.amazon.com/Carola-Broadway-Theatre-Archive-Michael/dp/B00006CXGU/
http://www.amazon.com/Carola-Broadway-Theatre-Archive-VHS/dp/B0000639JC/
"My Life and My Films" autobiography [Da Capo Press 1974]
"Écrits (Writing), 1926-1971" [Pierre Belfond, 1974] edited by Claude Gauteur
"Julienne et son Amour" et suivi d'en "Avant Rosalie!" screenplays
aka "Julienne and Her Love" and the sequel "Ahead Rosalie!"
[Henri Veyrier, 1978] by Jean Renoir
http://www.amazon.fr/Julienne-son-amour-Jean-Renoir/dp/285199140X/
http://www.amazon.fr/Julienne-Son-Amour-Avant-Rosalie/dp/2876232014/
"Le Coeur à l'Aise" novel [Flammarion, 1978]
"Le Crime de l'Anglais" novel [Flammarion, 1979]
"Geneviève" novel [Flammarion, 1980]
"Lettres d'Amérique" [Presses de la Renaissance, 1984]
edited by Dido Renoir & Alexander Sesonske ISBN 2856162878,
"Renoir on Renoir: Interviews, Essays, and Remarks" [Cambridge Univ Press, 1989]
Carol Volk, tr. ISBN 0521351510
"Jean Renoir: Letters" [Faber 1994] edited by David Thompson & Lorraine LoBianco
Works About Jean Renoir
browse books by & about Jean Renoir at Amazon
"Jean Renoir" [Éditions Universitaires, 1962] by Armand Jean Cauliez
"Jean Renoir: The Boss" docufilm [1966]
"Jean Renoir Parle de Son Art" docufilm [1967]
3-part interview with Renoir by French New Wave director Jacques Rivette
part 1 = /tt0985222/; part 2 = /tt0060556/; part 3 = /tt0985221/
"La Direction d'Acteur par Jean Renoir" [1968] /tt0163603/
"Jean Renoir" [Editions Champ Libre, 1971] by André Bazin
"Jean Renoir: Essays, Conversations & Reviews" [McGraw-Hill, 1975]
by Penelope Gilliatt ISBN 0070232245
"Jean Renoir" [Univ CA Press, 1976] by Raymond Durgnat
ISBN 0520027434 & 0520022831
Los Angeles Times article, "Jean Renoir: The Greatest of All Directors"
by Orson Welles [1915-85], Feb 1979
http://www.wellesnet.com/?p=120
"Jean Renoir" [Librairie Académique Perrin, 1986] by Célia Bertin ISBN 2262004226
"Jean Renoir: The World of His Films" [Columbia Univ Press, 1989]
by Leo Braudy ISBN 9780231071000
 | "Jean Renoir: Projections of Paradise" [1992] by Ronald Bergan Overlook Press 9x6 pb [6/95] out of print/many used Overlook Press 9x6 hardcover [9/94] out of print/used |
"Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque To World War II" TV docu [1993] /tt0447221/
"Jean Renoir: Part Two - Hollywood and Beyond" TV documentary [1993] /tt0107258/
"Renoir à Hollywood" TV documentary [1999]
"Jean Renoir" [Manchester Univ Press, 2000] by Martin O’Shaughnessy ISBN 0719050626
"Renoir(s) en Suivant les Fils de l'Eau" documentary [2005] /tt1069243/
"Jean Renoir: Interviews" [Univ Press MS, 2005] edited by Bert Cardullo ISBN 1578067308
"Jean Renoir" [Taschen, 2007] edited by Christopher Faulkner & Paul Duncan ISBN 97838228309
"Jean Renoir: An Auteur To Remember" [2007? featurette]
with {son} Alain Renoir and Martin Scorsese
"Renoir" [France July 2012, Samuel Goldwyn Films March 2013]
 | Dramatic biopic, a love story that takes place in Côte d’Azur, France in 1915 (or 1918), when widowed painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and his future film-director son Jean both became entranced by new muse Andrée, who {is said to have} inspired Renoir pere’s painting "The Bathers" (1918-19)
Produced by Olivier Delbosc & Marc Missonnier & Christine De Jekel; directed by Gilles Bourdos; starring Michel Bouquet, Vincent Rottiers, Christa Theret, Romane Bohringer, Thomas Doret & Michèle Gleizer
full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia watch 2/2013 official trailer [2:09] at YouTube |
Family & Friends
his father was the Impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir [1841-1919]
older brother actor Pierre Renoir [1885-1952]
nephew cinematographer Claude Renoir [1913-93]
first wife Catherine Hessling Renoir [1900-79] - married 1920, divorced 1930
real name Andrée Madeleine Heuschling
son Alain Renoir, PhD [1921-2008]
Marguerite Heulle {Renoir}, mistress 1932-39
second wife Dido Freire Renoir [] - married 1944, widowed 1979
L i n k s
Jean Renoir entry at Wikipedia
Jean Renoir credits [1924-94] at Internet Movie Database
browse Jean Renoir on DVD at Amazon
browse books by & about Jean Renoir at Amazon
Jean Renoir Bibliography at Amazon
search Jean Renoir posters at AllPosters.com
http://www.jeanrenoir.com/
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Jean_Renoir
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