Louis Malle

Personal Info

Known For Director

Gender Male

Birthday 1932-10-30

Deathday 1995-11-23 (63 years old)

Place of Birth Thumeries, Nord, France

Also Known As 루이 말, Louis Marie Malle, 루이 말레, 루이스 말레

Louis Malle

Biography

Louis Marie Malle (30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. His film "The Silent World" won the Palme d'Or in 1956 and the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1957, although he was not credited at the ceremony with the award instead being presented to the film's co-director Jacques Cousteau. Later in his career he was nominated multiple times for Academy Awards. Malle is also one of the few directors to have won the Golden Lion multiple times. Malle worked in both French cinema and Hollywood, and he produced both French and English language films. His most famous films include the crime film "Elevator to the Gallows" (1958), the World War II drama "Lacombe, Lucien" (1974), the romantic crime film "Atlantic City" (1980), the comedy-drama "My Dinner with Andre" (1981), and the autobiographical film "Au Revoir les Enfants" (1987). Malle was born into a wealthy industrialist family in Thumeries, Nord, France. He initially studied political science at Sciences Po before turning to film studies at IDHEC instead. He assisted Robert Bresson on "A Man Escaped" (1956) before making his first feature, "Elevator to the Gallows" (1958), a taut thriller featuring an original score by Miles Davis, which made an international film star of Jeanne Moreau, at the time a leading stage actress of the Comédie-Française. Malle was 24 years old. Malle's "The Lovers" (1958), which also starred Moreau, caused major controversy due to its sexual content, leading to a landmark U.S. Supreme Court case regarding the legal definition of obscenity. Malle is sometimes associated with the nouvelle vague movement, and while Malle's work does not directly fit in with or correspond to the auteurist theories that apply to the work of Godard, Truffaut, Chabrol, Rohmer and others, and he had nothing whatsoever to do with the Cahiers du cinéma, his films do exemplify many of the characteristics of the movement, such as using natural light and shooting on location, and his film "Zazie dans le Métro" (1960), an adaptation of the Raymond Queneau novel, inspired Truffaut to write an enthusiastic letter to Malle. In 1968 Malle visited India and made a seven-part documentary series "Phantom India" (1969), which was released in cinemas. Concentrating on real India, its rituals and festivities, Malle fell afoul of the Indian government, which disliked his portrayal of the country, in its fascination with the pre-modern, and consequently banned the BBC from filming in India for several years. Malle later claimed his documentary on India was his favorite film. Malle later moved to the United States and continued to direct there. Just as his earlier films such as "The Lovers" helped popularize French films in the United States, "My Dinner with Andre" was at the forefront of the rise of American independent cinema in the 1980s.

Known For

Director

1994
1992
Damage

as Director

1990
May Fools

as Director

1987
1985
God's Country

as Director

1985
Alamo Bay

as Director

1984
Crackers

as Director

1981
1980
Atlantic City

as Director

1978
Pretty Baby

as Director

1975
Black Moon

as Director

1974
Lacombe, Lucien

as Director

1974
A Human Condition

as Director

1974
1971
1969
Calcutta

as Director

1969
Phantom India

as Director

1968
1968
William Wilson

as Director

1967
The Thief of Paris

as Director

1965
Viva Maria!

as Director

1963
The Fire Within

as Director

1962
Vive Le Tour

as Director

1962
1960
1958
1958
The Lovers

as Director

1956
The Silent World

as Director

1955
1955
Station 307

as Director

1954
Crazeologie

as Director

Actor

2023
Pretty Baby: Brooke Shields

as Self (archive footage)

2021
Becoming Cousteau

as Self (archive footage)

2020
L'affaire Matzneff

as Self (archive footage)

2019
Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool

as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

2018
Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit

as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)

2016
Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown

as Self (archive footage)

2015
Louis Malle, le rebelle

as Self (archiveFootage)

2009
On the Trail of the New Wave

as Self (archive footage)

1992
La Vie de Bohème

as Gentleman

1986
1985
God's Country

as Narrator (voice)

1984
My Dinner with Louis

as Interviewee

1982
Before the Nickelodeon: The Cinema of Edwin S. Porter

as Reader - Melies Catalogue (voice)

1975
The Lion Roars Again

as Self (uncredited)

1974
1971
Samedi soir

as Self

1969
1969
Calcutta

as Narrator (voice)

1969
Phantom India

as Self - Narrator

1967
The Thief of Paris

as Un figurant (uncredited)

1962
A Very Private Affair

as Le journaliste (uncredited)

1959
Discorama

as Self

1956

Writer

2010
Elevator to the Gallows

as Original Story

1990
May Fools

as Screenplay

1987
Au Revoir les Enfants

as Screenplay

1978
Pretty Baby

as Story

1975
Black Moon

as Writer

1974
Lacombe, Lucien

as Writer

1971
1969
Calcutta

as Writer

1969
Phantom India

as Writer

1968
Spirits of the Dead

as Screenplay

1968
Spirits of the Dead

as Adaptation

1967
The Thief of Paris

as Screenplay

1965
Viva Maria!

as Screenplay

1963
The Fire Within

as Screenplay

1962
Vive Le Tour

as Writer

1962
1960
Zazie dans le Métro

as Screenplay

1958
1955
Station 307

as Writer

Producer

1992
Damage

as Producer

1990
May Fools

as Producer

1987
1985
Alamo Bay

as Producer

1978
Pretty Baby

as Producer

1974
Lacombe, Lucien

as Producer

1973
Français, si vous saviez

as Delegated Producer

1966
Young Törless

as Producer

1960

Camera

1986
… And the Pursuit of Happiness

as Director of Photography

1985
God's Country

as Director of Photography

1962
Vive Le Tour

as Director of Photography

1956
The Silent World

as Director of Photography

1955
Station 307

as Director of Photography

Crew

1996
The Ogre

as In Memory Of

1956
The Silent World

as Cinematography