René Clair

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René Clair
René Clair and Eric Satie, 1924
Born	René-Lucien Chomette 11 November 1898 Paris, France
Died	15 March 1981 (aged 82) Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France
Years active	1924 - 1976

René Clair (11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981) born René-Lucien Chomette, was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. He went on to make some of the most innovative early sound films in France, before going abroad to work in the UK and USA for more than a decade. Returning to France after World War II, he continued to make films that were characterised by their elegance and wit, often presenting a nostalgic view of French life in earlier years. He was elected to the Académie française in 1960.

Feature films

Le Fantôme du Moulin-Rouge (1925) The Phantom of the Moulin-Rouge Le Voyage imaginaire (1926) The Imaginary Voyage La Proie du vent (1927) The Prey of the Wind Un chapeau de paille d'Italie (1928) An Italian Straw Hat Les Deux Timides (1928) Two Timid Souls Sous les toits de Paris (1930) Under the Roofs of Paris Le Million (1931) The Million À nous la liberté (1931) Freedom for Us Quatorze Juillet (1933) Bastille Day Le Dernier Milliardaire (1934) The Last Billionaire The Ghost Goes West (1935) Break the News (1938)

The Flame of New Orleans (1941) I Married a Witch (1942) Forever and a Day (1943) It Happened Tomorrow (1944) And Then There Were None (1945) Le silence est d'or (1947) Silence Is Golden Man About Town La Beauté du diable (1950) Beauty of the Devil Les Belles de nuit (1952) Beauties of the Night Les Grandes Manœuvres (1955) The Grand Maneuver Summer Manoeuvres Porte des Lilas (1957) Gate of Lilacs The Gates of Paris Tout l'or du monde (1961) All the Gold in the World Les Fêtes galantes (1965) The Lace Wars

Short films

• Entr'acte (1924)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mpr8mXcX80Q

 In 1924, with the support of the producer Henri Diamant-Berger, Clair got the opportunity to direct his own first film, Paris qui dort (The Crazy Ray), a short comic fantasy. Before it had been shown however, Clair was asked by Francis Picabia and Erik Satie to make a short film to be shown as part of their Dadaist ballet Relâche; he made Entr'acte (1924), and it established Clair as a leading member of the Parisian avant-garde.^[5]

• Paris qui dort (1924)
  • Paris Asleep
  • The Crazy Ray
• La Tour (1928) (documentary)
• Forever and a Day (1943) (segment "1897")
• La Française et l'Amour (1960) (segment "Mariage, Le")
  • Love and the Frenchwoman
• Les Quatre Vérités (1962) (segment "Les Deux Pigeons")
  • Three Fables of Love

Television

• Les Fables de La Fontaine (1964) (episodes "?")