DELON, ALAIN

Delon, Alain: translation

(1935- )

   Actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. A former member of the French army's parachutists, the French version of commandos, Alain Delon began acting with no formal training. His military background immediately established him as a masculine onscreen tough guy, and that reputation held throughout most of his career. Delon made his film debut in a small part in Yves Allégret's Quand la femme s'en mêle (1957). He later appeared in Marc Allégret's Sois belle et tais-toi (1958) with Jean-Paul Belmondo, the fellow icon with whom he later costarred in Jacques Deray's Borsalino (1970). Belmondo and Delon would participate in the creation of French tropes of masculinity in the French cinema of the 1970s that favored tough, virile, and rebellious playboys.Delon subsequently acted in Pierre Gaspard-Huit's Christine (1958) and Michel Boisrond's Le Chemin des écoliers (1959) and Faibles femmes (1959). He received international attention for his role in René Clement's Plein soleil (1960), adapted from a Patricia Highsmith thriller. He starred in prominent Italian films, including Luchino Visconti's Rocci e i suoi fratelli (1960) and Il gattopardo (1963) and Michelangelo Antonini's L'Eclisse (1962), and won the Étoile de Cristal de l'Académie du Cinéma for Best Actor for his role in Clement's Quelle joie de vivre in 1962.

   Delon's fame soared with his leading roles in Jean-Pierre Melville's gangster film trilogy Le Samouraï (1967), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), and Un flic (1972), which made excellent use of his tough-guy aura. He was cast in other police thrillers, including Deray's Flic Story (1975) and José Pinheiro's Parole de flic (1985), and he also appeared in adventure films such as Christian-Jacque's La Tulipe noire (1963) and Duccio Tessari's Zorro (1974). His portrayal of fictional criminals onscreen was mirrored by his own alleged connection to the mafia.

   Delon also appeared in artistic films, including Joseph Losey's Mr Klein (1976), for which he was nominated for a César Award, and Bertrand Blier's Notre Histoire (1984), for which he won a César for Best Actor. He played in a few American films, for example, in Scorpio (1973) and The Concorde: Airport '79 (1979). He has directed two films to date: Pour la peau d'un flic (1981), in which he stars beside one of French cinema's tough and sexy women, Anne Parillaud, and Le Battant (1983), which features Delon and François Périer. Alain Delon's star status, however, is primarily due to his career as an actor. He has produced a number of films, among them Deray's Doucement les basses (1970), Borsalino, Borsalino & co (1974), Le gang (1977), Trois hommes à abattre (1980), and Un crime (1992). In 1990, Delon was awarded the Legion of Honor. After costarring in Patrice Leconte's Une chance sur deux (1997) with Belmondo, he announced his retirement from film acting. Since then, he has appeared on French television and in Blier's Les Acteurs (1999). Delon made a guest appearance as the mentor of the infamous bank robber, kidnapper, and arms smuggler, Jacques Mesrine (played by Vicent Cassel), in Barbet Schroeder's The Death Instinct (2006).

   Historical Dictionary of French Cinema by Dayna Oscherwitz & Mary Ellen Higgins

Delon, Alain: translation

(1935- )

   Actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. A former member of the French army's parachutists, the French version of commandos, Alain Delon began acting with no formal training. His military background immediately established him as a masculine onscreen tough guy, and that reputation held throughout most of his career. Delon made his film debut in a small part in Yves Allégret's Quand la femme s'en mêle (1957). He later appeared in Marc Allégret's Sois belle et tais-toi (1958) with Jean-Paul Belmondo, the fellow icon with whom he later costarred in Jacques Deray's Borsalino (1970). Belmondo and Delon would participate in the creation of French tropes of masculinity in the French cinema of the 1970s that favored tough, virile, and rebellious playboys.Delon subsequently acted in Pierre Gaspard-Huit's Christine (1958) and Michel Boisrond's Le Chemin des écoliers (1959) and Faibles femmes (1959). He received international attention for his role in René Clement's Plein soleil (1960), adapted from a Patricia Highsmith thriller. He starred in prominent Italian films, including Luchino Visconti's Rocci e i suoi fratelli (1960) and Il gattopardo (1963) and Michelangelo Antonini's L'Eclisse (1962), and won the Étoile de Cristal de l'Académie du Cinéma for Best Actor for his role in Clement's Quelle joie de vivre in 1962.

   Delon's fame soared with his leading roles in Jean-Pierre Melville's gangster film trilogy Le Samouraï (1967), Le Cercle Rouge (1970), and Un flic (1972), which made excellent use of his tough-guy aura. He was cast in other police thrillers, including Deray's Flic Story (1975) and José Pinheiro's Parole de flic (1985), and he also appeared in adventure films such as Christian-Jacque's La Tulipe noire (1963) and Duccio Tessari's Zorro (1974). His portrayal of fictional criminals onscreen was mirrored by his own alleged connection to the mafia.

   Delon also appeared in artistic films, including Joseph Losey's Mr Klein (1976), for which he was nominated for a César Award, and Bertrand Blier's Notre Histoire (1984), for which he won a César for Best Actor. He played in a few American films, for example, in Scorpio (1973) and The Concorde: Airport '79 (1979). He has directed two films to date: Pour la peau d'un flic (1981), in which he stars beside one of French cinema's tough and sexy women, Anne Parillaud, and Le Battant (1983), which features Delon and François Périer. Alain Delon's star status, however, is primarily due to his career as an actor. He has produced a number of films, among them Deray's Doucement les basses (1970), Borsalino, Borsalino & co (1974), Le gang (1977), Trois hommes à abattre (1980), and Un crime (1992). In 1990, Delon was awarded the Legion of Honor. After costarring in Patrice Leconte's Une chance sur deux (1997) with Belmondo, he announced his retirement from film acting. Since then, he has appeared on French television and in Blier's Les Acteurs (1999). Delon made a guest appearance as the mentor of the infamous bank robber, kidnapper, and arms smuggler, Jacques Mesrine (played by Vicent Cassel), in Barbet Schroeder's The Death Instinct (2006).