Henri Verneuil | |
|---|---|
 Verneuil on a 2020 stamp of Armenia | |
| Born | Ashot Malakian (1920-10-15)15 October 1920 |
| Died | 11 January 2002(2002-01-11) (aged 81) |
| Occupation | Director |
| Years active | 1940s – 2000s |
| Spouse(s) | Françoise Bonnot, Veronique |
| Children | Patric, Sophie, Sevan, Gayane |
| Awards | Cannes Film Festival, Golden Palm 1964Cent mille dollars au soleil César Awards 1996 Golden Globe Award 1961Mélodie en sous-sol (1961) |
Henri Verneuil (French:[ɑ̃ʁivɛʁnœj]; bornAshot Malakian; 15 October 1920 – 11 January 2002) was aFrench-Armenianplaywright andfilmmaker, who made a successful career inFrance. He was nominated forOscar andPalme d'Or awards, and wonLocarno International Film Festival,Edgar Allan Poe Awards,French Legion of Honor,Golden Globe Award, French National Academy of Cinema andHonorary Cesar awards.
According to one obituary:
For exactly 40 years, the prolific Verneuil made movies as mainstream and commercial as any to be found inAmerica orBritain. In his best period – the 1950s and 1960s – he delivered films in the "tradition of quality" so despised by theNouvelle Vague. Many of them proved excellent vehicles for old-timersJean Gabin andFernandel, and newcomers such asJean-Paul Belmondo andAlain Delon.[1]
Verneuil was born Ashot Malakian (Armenian:Աշոտ Մալաքեան) toArmenian parents inRodosto,East Thrace,Turkey.[2] In 1924, when Ashot was a little child his family fled toMarseille in France,[3] to escape persecution after theArmenian genocide.[2][1] He later recounted his childhood experience in the novelMayrig, which he dedicated to his mother and made intoa 1991 film with the same name, which was followed by a sequel,588 Rue Paradis, the following year.[4]
Verneuil entered theÉcole Nationale d'Arts et Metiers in Aix-en-Provence in 1942. After graduation, he worked as a journalist, then became editor of Horizon Armenian magazine.
In 1947, Verneuil managed to convince the established European film actorFernandel to appear in his first film.[5]
In 1951 he directed his first feature, the black comedyLa Table aux crevés. His second film,Forbidden Fruit (1952), based on aGeorges Simenon novel, was even more acclaimed.
Later he also directed other movie stars includingJean Gabin,Alain Delon,Lino Ventura (all together acting for him in "Le clan des siciliens" in 1969[6]),Jean-Paul Belmondo ("Le Corps de mon ennemi" in 1976[7] and other films),Omar Sharif,Claudia Cardinale (Mayrig),[8]Yves Montand andMichèle Morgan. Verneuil has filmed almost all the great figures of French cinema, with the exception ofBourvil, as evenLouis de Funès has a small role in one of his films.
After the American experience (he was called the "most American of French directors"), in 1969 Verneuil "found" France. He was awarded aCésar[9] in 1996 and he was elected a member of the Academy of Fine Arts in 2000. He died atBagnolet, a suburb of Paris, in 2002.
The opening of the seventh annualGolden Apricot International Film Festival inYerevan paid tribute to Verneuil. His son, television director Patrick Malakian, who reclaimed the name of his historical ancestors, received the posthumous award, theParajanov's Thaler, for his father's contribution to cinema.
