“We didn’t need dialogue. We had faces,” proclaimed former silent film queen Norma Desmond (Gloria Swanson) in Billy Wilder’s 1950 masterwork “Sunset Boulevard.” One of the greatest faces of the era belonged to French actor Albert Dieudonne who starred in Abel Gance’s breathtaking 1927 epic “Napoleon.” With this dark eyes, distinct nose and rock star style hair, Dieudonne channels the infamous French military leader and emperor who conquered most of Europe in the early 19th century until his disastrous 1812 invasion of Russia. Exiled to Elba in 1814, he emerged once again and suffered a massive defeat at Waterloo in 1815. He died in exile six years later at the age of 51.
Dieudonne commands the 5 ½ hour film restored by Kevin Brownlow which features the jaw-dropping triptych finale that is as exciting now as it was 96 years ago. BFI states that the film is “monumental and visionary, the story’s chapters play out...
Dieudonne commands the 5 ½ hour film restored by Kevin Brownlow which features the jaw-dropping triptych finale that is as exciting now as it was 96 years ago. BFI states that the film is “monumental and visionary, the story’s chapters play out...
- 12/1/2023
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
French composer Francis Lai, who won an Oscar for “Love Story” and penned the beguiling theme for “A Man and a Woman,” has died at the age of 86, the mayor of Nice announced on Wednesday. No cause of death was reported.
Lai’s plaintive piano melody for “Love Story,” the 1970 tearjerker that made stars of Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, was his biggest hit, earning him an Oscar and a Golden Globe. His soundtrack recording was all over radio in early 1971, reaching no. 37 as a single and no. 2 as a soundtrack album. When lyrics were added to the melody, Andy Williams sang “Where Do I Begin” to no. 7 on the charts that same year.
The score almost didn’t happen. Lai initially turned down the assignment, he told the Los Angeles Times in 2001. But French actor Alain Delon, who had seen a cut of the film, called Lai and...
Lai’s plaintive piano melody for “Love Story,” the 1970 tearjerker that made stars of Ryan O’Neal and Ali MacGraw, was his biggest hit, earning him an Oscar and a Golden Globe. His soundtrack recording was all over radio in early 1971, reaching no. 37 as a single and no. 2 as a soundtrack album. When lyrics were added to the melody, Andy Williams sang “Where Do I Begin” to no. 7 on the charts that same year.
The score almost didn’t happen. Lai initially turned down the assignment, he told the Los Angeles Times in 2001. But French actor Alain Delon, who had seen a cut of the film, called Lai and...
- 11/8/2018
- by Jon Burlingame
- Variety Film + TV
Actor best known for roles in Lawrence of Arabia and Doctor Zhivago.
Actor Omar Sharif has died aged 83. The Egypt-born actor, who had stepped away from acting since being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, died following a heart attack this afternoon in a hospital in Cairo.
Sharif won two Golden Globes and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia.
He won a further Golden Globe three years later for Doctor Zhivago.
Sharif was born Michel Demetri Chalhoub in Alexandria on April 10, 1932, and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Sharif began his acting career in 1953 with a role in romantic drama Sira` Fi al-Wadi before appearing in more than 20 Egyptian productions, including Ayyamna el helwa with singer Abdel Halim Hafez, La anam (1958), Sayedat el kasr (1959) and Anna Karenina adaptation Nahr el hub (1961). He also starred with his wife, Egyptian actress...
Actor Omar Sharif has died aged 83. The Egypt-born actor, who had stepped away from acting since being diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease, died following a heart attack this afternoon in a hospital in Cairo.
Sharif won two Golden Globes and an Oscar nomination for his role as Sherif Ali in David Lean’s 1962 epic Lawrence of Arabia.
He won a further Golden Globe three years later for Doctor Zhivago.
Sharif was born Michel Demetri Chalhoub in Alexandria on April 10, 1932, and studied acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Sharif began his acting career in 1953 with a role in romantic drama Sira` Fi al-Wadi before appearing in more than 20 Egyptian productions, including Ayyamna el helwa with singer Abdel Halim Hafez, La anam (1958), Sayedat el kasr (1959) and Anna Karenina adaptation Nahr el hub (1961). He also starred with his wife, Egyptian actress...
- 7/10/2015
- by michael.rosser@screendaily.com (Michael Rosser)
- ScreenDaily
Omar Sharif, the Egyptian actor who broke through barriers to become a major international star, has died in Cairo from a heart attack at age 83. In recent months, he had been battling the onset of Alzheimer's Disease. Sharif and Peter O'Toole were virtual unknowns when they were cast as the leads by director David Lean in his 1962 masterpiece "Lawrence of Arabia". Both received Oscar nominations for the film and went on to become two of the biggest stars to emerge in the 1960s. Sharif reunited with Lean for another blockbuster, the 1965 production of "Doctor Zhivago" in which Sharif played the title role. He also co-starred with Barbra Streisand in her Oscar-winning 1968 film "Funny Girl" and appeared with her in the 1975 sequel "Funny Lady". Other prominent films Sharif appeared in during the 1960s include Samuel Bronston's ill-fated but underrated "The Fall of the Roman Empire", "Behold a Pale Horse", the...
- 7/10/2015
- by nospam@example.com (Cinema Retro)
- Cinemaretro.com
Legendary Egyptian-born, British trained actor Omar Sharif has died at the age of 83.
Though studying maths and physics at University, and working in the family business of precious woods, Sharif felt the lure of performing and ended up appearing in more than twenty productions in Egypt from 1953.
His big international break came in 1962 when he joined David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and scored both a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination for his work as Sherif Ali Ben El Kharish. He went on to roles in various major movies including "Doctor Zhivago," "Funny Girl," "Behold a Pale Horse," "Che!," "Top Secret," "Hidalgo," "The Fall of the Roman Empire ," "The Pink Panther Strikes Again," "The Mysterious Island," "The Last Valley," "The Baltimore Bullet," "Mayerling," "The Night of the Generals," "Genghis Khan," "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna," "One Night with the King " and "Monsieur Ibrahim".
Surprisingly he also became famous...
Though studying maths and physics at University, and working in the family business of precious woods, Sharif felt the lure of performing and ended up appearing in more than twenty productions in Egypt from 1953.
His big international break came in 1962 when he joined David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" and scored both a Golden Globe award and an Oscar nomination for his work as Sherif Ali Ben El Kharish. He went on to roles in various major movies including "Doctor Zhivago," "Funny Girl," "Behold a Pale Horse," "Che!," "Top Secret," "Hidalgo," "The Fall of the Roman Empire ," "The Pink Panther Strikes Again," "The Mysterious Island," "The Last Valley," "The Baltimore Bullet," "Mayerling," "The Night of the Generals," "Genghis Khan," "Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna," "One Night with the King " and "Monsieur Ibrahim".
Surprisingly he also became famous...
- 7/10/2015
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
Above: Us poster for Le Sauvage (Jean-Paul Rappeneau, France/Italy, 1975).
Since my column last week on the lesser-known posters of Jean-Luc Godard got so much attention, and since this week the great Catherine Deneuve turned 70 years old, I thought I’d do the same for the grand diva of French cinema. Deneuve—“the most beautiful woman in the world”—has graced well-known posters for numerous masterpieces, whether for Bunuel’s Tristana or Belle de Jour, Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg or Donkey Skin, Truffaut’s Mississippi Mermaid or Polanski’s Repulsion, and when I was searching for a poster to mark her birthday last Tuesday, these were the films that kept popping up. But Deneuve has been making films for over 50 years and has appeared in over 110 of them so there should be a lot more to choose from. So that is what I want to focus on here to celebrate Ms.
Since my column last week on the lesser-known posters of Jean-Luc Godard got so much attention, and since this week the great Catherine Deneuve turned 70 years old, I thought I’d do the same for the grand diva of French cinema. Deneuve—“the most beautiful woman in the world”—has graced well-known posters for numerous masterpieces, whether for Bunuel’s Tristana or Belle de Jour, Demy’s Umbrellas of Cherbourg or Donkey Skin, Truffaut’s Mississippi Mermaid or Polanski’s Repulsion, and when I was searching for a poster to mark her birthday last Tuesday, these were the films that kept popping up. But Deneuve has been making films for over 50 years and has appeared in over 110 of them so there should be a lot more to choose from. So that is what I want to focus on here to celebrate Ms.
- 10/26/2013
- by Adrian Curry
- MUBI
Michael Munn claims to have had astoundingly eventful friendships with Frank Sinatra, Ava Gardner, Steve McQueen and a host of other stars. Those who doubt him include their families – and his own
Sitting with Michael Munn, biographer to the stars, in a somewhat bleak pub near his home in Sudbury, Suffolk, I can't get out of my head that classic Pete 'n' Dud sketch in which the flat-capped Peter Cook reveals to Dudley Moore the problems he is having being harassed by the likes of "bloody Greta Garbo". Munn, an affable man of 57, has long been a stalwart of Sudbury amateur dramatics; he still harbours ambitions of moving to Colchester, "just for the buzz". As he sips at a lunchtime half of lager, and tucks into his chicken salad, he is telling me of the time that Ava Gardner wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Ava was a brief but very intense relationship,...
Sitting with Michael Munn, biographer to the stars, in a somewhat bleak pub near his home in Sudbury, Suffolk, I can't get out of my head that classic Pete 'n' Dud sketch in which the flat-capped Peter Cook reveals to Dudley Moore the problems he is having being harassed by the likes of "bloody Greta Garbo". Munn, an affable man of 57, has long been a stalwart of Sudbury amateur dramatics; he still harbours ambitions of moving to Colchester, "just for the buzz". As he sips at a lunchtime half of lager, and tucks into his chicken salad, he is telling me of the time that Ava Gardner wouldn't take no for an answer.
"Ava was a brief but very intense relationship,...
- 7/24/2010
- by Tim Adams
- The Guardian - Film News
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