Text/The Paper Reporter Cheng Xiaojun
Even if I am in a hurry, when I pass the entrance of the Debussy Hall of the Cannes Film Palace, I still can’t help but glance at the poster in the middle. Above is a handsome man, with slightly frowning brows and shadowed eyes revealing his serious thoughts. His thin lips add a touch of softness to his delicate face, which not only neutralizes the masculine aggression of men, but also adds more A bit of cynical allure. This man is Alain Delon, the 25-year-old Alain Delon who appeared in "Plein Soleil" directed by René Clément.
This year's Cannes Film Festival designed an exclusive poster for Alain Delon, using a still from his 25-year-old appearance in "The Dead".
After 58 years, on the evening of May 19, 2019, French national treasure movie star Alain Delon was officially awarded the Cannes Palme d'Or for Lifetime Achievement amidst the applause of the audience.
Alain Delon was awarded the Palme d'Or, the highest achievement, with his daughter at his side. Visual China Picture
Earlier in the day, he participated in a "master class" hosted by Samuel Blumenfeld, a reporter from "Le Monde" who visited him last year. These two in-depth conversations can piece together Deron's legendary life with many regrets.
"A superfluous person"
On November 8, 1935, Alain Delon was born in Sceaux, a town not far from Paris. His father, Fabian, was the manager of a local cinema, and his mother, Edith, was an assistant pharmacist. When he was four years old, his parents divorced. This incident completely changed his destiny and even his outlook on life. It also caused him to rush to join the French army and go to the front line in Vietnam when he was just 17 years old.
"I am very happy to go to Vietnam. For personal and family reasons, I have wanted to leave for a long time. I feel very uncomfortable at home. My parents have divorced long ago. After that, I lived with my mother and stepfather for a while. , after a while, I had to live with my father and stepmother again. I became a drag, a redundant person, and I became a trouble for everyone. Originally, I was also the result of their love, but when love became a thing of the past, my father. My mother had reorganized her family and had other children, so they had no idea what to do with me, so at first they left me with the childcare aunt, whose husband was a prison guard. So I spent a lot of time in prison as a child. When they shot Laval, the puppet prime minister, on October 15, 1945, I was there. After that, I started living with my stepfather, who always beat him. I, like he wanted to kill me, he and my mother already had a son and a daughter."
Alain Delon walked down the aisle. Visual China Picture
This stepfather’s name was Paul Boulogne, and he opened a large butcher’s shop in the town of Fort Queen near Sow. Therefore, after the teenage Alain Delon was repeatedly expelled from high school for misbehavior, he simply took the vocational certificate and worked as a laborer in his stepfather's butcher shop.
"In fact, I also did various odd jobs, but I also spent a lot of time wandering on the streets. In this way, until I was sixteen or seventeen years old, I told myself: enough is enough, I want to leave here. It just so happened that, I saw the recruitment advertisement in the newspaper. Joining the army became the only way for me to leave here. I wanted to go to the Air Force, but I couldn't wait for a year and a half, so I went to the Navy. The only thing is that I can leave immediately. "
" After I told my biological father about this decision, he was very happy and approved it on the spot. I was also very grateful to him for his willingness. Let me go. However, I thought about it later, no, how could any parent be so willing to agree to his 17-year-old son going to the front line of the Indochina war? But there is no way, this is my life, so it will be a long time. For a while, I always hated them, especially my father. As for my mother, I owe everything to her. My mother always wanted to be an actress and thought she was born for it.But she failed to do so, but I fulfilled her wish, so she has been very happy and proud of me ever since. She was later called Madame de Long, which she liked, although she should have been called Madame de Boulogne, which was her second husband's surname. "
Alain Delon (right) talks about his artistic life in the "Master Class". Photo by The Paper reporter Cheng Xiaoyun
"If I had not entered the film industry, I would have become a professional pimp"
In the army, Alain Delon majored in communications, but ended up leaving the army with a less than glorious experience. Looking back on that experience now, he still feels a lot.
"It was the experience in the army that made me a different person. . I owe my growth as a man to my experience in the military. I went to Vietnam on January 23, 1953, and returned to China on May 1, 1956. I learned discipline in the military, learned how to deal with relationships, and learned what fear is. But because he did some stupid things, he had to leave the army early. There weren't many situations like mine at that time. We called this "sending home." I really let them endure it no longer. I was supposed to serve for five years before it expired, but it ended after only three years and three months. The position I was assigned was quite difficult, and I was responsible for garrisoning the French arsenal in Saigon. Along with some colleagues, I did some stupid things. On November 8, 1955, I was imprisoned in a military prison. After I entered, I remembered: ‘Today happens to be my twentieth birthday! ’ But now I am celebrating my birthday in a single cell, 20,000 kilometers away from home. Thinking of this, I cried. "
In 1956, Delong was stripped of his rank of private first class and discharged from the Navy because he stole a jeep and drove it into a ditch and had a car accident. That summer, he returned to Paris, France. "That was 1956, I Returning to China from the front line, I had no idea what to do next. I was a little gangster at the time, and I thought I wouldn't live long. I was staying in a small hotel in the Pigalle district (that is, the red light district of Paris where the Moulin Rouge is located). The name I still remember is called Hôtel régina (literally translated as Queen's Hotel). All my life, I have always been inseparable from the word Regina (Queen). When I was a child, I lived in Queenstown, and the cinema where my father was the manager was also called Regina (Queen) Cinema. "
When he just returned to Paris, Alain Delon worked various odd jobs, did manual labor, and worked as a waiter in a cafe. What ultimately changed his destiny was his handsome face, charming temperament, and always... Continuous love for women.
“There is a bar near the Regina Hotel, which is a gathering place for the surrounding hooligans, and its name is Les Trois Canards. I often went there at the time, and after about a month or two, eight young girls there already fell in love with me, and they all said they were willing to follow me. So, if I hadn’t been in the film industry, can you imagine what I would have done? I would become a professional pimp. Fortunately, besides Pigalle, I also know other women in other places in Paris. As a result, I became a movie star. The reason why I am in this profession is all thanks to them. They are the ones who let me make movies, they are the ones who want me to make movies, and they are the ones who gave everything for me to make movies. They all love me. The youngest of these women is at least six or seven years older than me. I hope I can become the most handsome man in their eyes, the tallest and strongest man, so I became an actor. "
"My career all came from accidents"
"The specific story is like this. One day, a friend who lived with me said that he would take me to Saint-Germain des Pres. I asked him, where is Saint-Germain-des-Prés? He didn't say anything, and just took me to Rue Saint-Bonovara. It turned out that that area was called the Saint-Germain-des-Prés district, and there was a hotel called the Saint-Germain-des-Prés Hotel. In the hotel, they introduced me to a woman named Qiqi - she has long since passed away.She fell in love with me very quickly and we went to a nightclub together, just across the street from Saint-Bonovara, which was a popular place for actors in Paris at the time. Through Kiki, I met Brigitte Auber, who also fell madly in love with me - she acted in Hitchcock's "To Catch a Thief", she is still alive and ninety years old Well, I really want to thank her for where I am today. In this way, I moved to Aubert's house, and she introduced me to the director Yves Allégret. As a result, the director's wife, Michèle Cordoue, fell madly in love with me. She convinced her husband that I must be used in the next new film. That was Quand la femme s’en mêle (Quand la femme s’en mêle), my first film. "
Alain Delon played a small character named Jo in the movie "When Women Step In" (1957).
"At that time, Yves Allegre called me to his house. I asked him, ‘Why did you ask me to act? I don’t know anything. I’m not an actor, I’m a soldier. ’ So, I turned him down at first, but in the end, it was Michelle Cordu, this woman’s insistence, that finally made me accept the role. After the filming of the movie started, Yves Allegra told me, 'Listen, don't act, just do what you normally do. I hope you can be yourself. How you usually look is how you look; how you usually move is how you move; how you usually talk is how you talk. ’ I have always remembered this sentence, and I will think of it every time I act. So I've never been a performer, I've always been myself. "
In French, the word actor can be expressed in two ways: comédien or acteur. The former prefers stage actors, and the latter prefers film and television actors; the former sounds more stylish and acting, but in recent years, both The semantics of "acting" have become increasingly confusing. If we insist on making a distinction, we can use "acting school" to translate "comédien" and "actor" to correspond to acteur. This distinction seems to be particularly important in Alain Delon's eyes.
"I am not a comédien. Acting is a profession, just like being a taxi driver or a baker is a job. You have to go through the process of taking classes and study in a specialized school. And this is the essential difference between Jean-Paul Belmondo and me - I say this without any intention of disparaging him. I'm a natural actor, and Belmondo is a showman. Actors like him have to study for many years before performing different roles on the screen, while real actors live their lives on the screen and live out their own lives. Therefore, I have always lived in my role and never acted. True Colors actors became actors all by accident. I was an accident. My life is an accident. My career has all come about by accident. "
"I had a feeling that I was born to make movies."
Because of such a series of accidents, Alain Delon was forced to retire from the army in 1956. The next year, he starred in the first movie " "When Women Stepped In" has already been released.
"The heroine of "When Women Stepped In" is Edwige Feuillère and the actor is Bernard Blier. They became My movie godfather and godmother. "In the next five years, Delon shot ten films in a row, and soon became a familiar name to French audiences. After filming "When Women Step In", Yves Allegre persuaded his brother Marc Allegra to Director Marc Allégret also cast Jean-Paul Belmont, who was two years older than him and a newcomer at the time, in his new film Sois Belle et Tais-toi. Ta also participated in this work.
Stills from "Christine"
In 1958, on the set of the movie "Christine", 23-year-old Delon and 20-year-old Austrian actress Romy Schneider, also It is "Princess Sissi" who is deeply loved by Chinese audiences and quickly falls in love. A year later, the golden couple of European cinema got engaged.
In 1960, another noble person in Alain Delon's life appeared. The great director Rene Clement, who had filmed "The Forbidden Game", approached him for a new film adapted from the detective novel "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by American writer Patricia Highsmith. This movie was "The Dead" released in 1960. It became Alain Delon's first important work with a global perspective, but he was not originally chosen as the actor for the protagonist Ripley.
Stills from "The Dead"
"I went to Rene Clement's house, and the producers were there too. They explained to me that the play was going to be played by Maurice Ronet. Ripley, I want to play his victim. But I just want to play Ripley. They all told me, 'Who do you think you are?' But I replied. They said, 'I just say what I think. If you don't agree, ask someone else. ' At this moment, Rene Clement came from the other side of the apartment. The voice of Mrs. Bella Clement, she was washing the dishes at the time. 'Rene - the little guy has a point! 'That's it, it's decided that I will play Ripley." "
" "The Sinister" has received good box office results all over the world, especially in Japan, probably because of the word "soleil" in the title. Then, Luchino Visconti also watched it. This movie, he asked me to play "Rocco and his brothers". However, the foundation was laid by Rene Clement, and I have always respected him. For this role, I was indeed too young at the time. Some people think that my acting skills made the audience forget the age gap between me and Maurice Ronet (the age difference between the two is eight years), but I think this is entirely due to my acting skills. Hurene Clément. After all, I had no training as an actor. I just came back from Vietnam and I started making a movie, and they just put the camera in front of me. But then again, it was the first time. Standing in front of the camera, standing in front of Yves Allegre's camera, I really felt that I belonged. I had the confidence that I was born to make movies. It would be impossible for me to be where I am today.”
“The New Wave of French cinema is just a new kind of film, nothing more.”
In March 1960, "The Dead" was officially released, just in time with Jean-Luc Godard. -Luc Godard)'s directorial debut "Breathless" is scheduled for the same period. Including "The 400 Blows" released the previous year, it was the era when the "New Wave" of French films was surging. However, DeLong did not have much interaction with these directors. He and Godard did not collaborate for the first time until 1990, when they made the film Nouvelle Vague.
"New Wave" stills
Regarding this "absence", Delong said: "The reason is actually very simple. They didn't want to use me at the time. That's it. In their eyes, I was a bad boy. I was in France and Those films made in Italy: Clement's, Visconti's... were exactly the kind of films that New Wave directors disliked the most. I also tried to cooperate with them at the time, but they were very prejudiced against me. I feel that Delon in "The Rocko Brothers" is not worthy of the new wave directors. They firmly believe that they represent the new, represent the truth, and represent the only direction of film development. In their view, what I represent is outdated. That kind of movie. Only Truffaut once tried to contact me and said he wanted to talk about cooperation, but nothing happened after that. As for Godard's "New Wave", that was already in 1990. And I feel that the reason why he wanted to find me was also due to business considerations.So I still find it quite funny. How many of those New Wave directors are still remembered today? On the contrary, "The Dead", "Rocko Brothers" and "Leopard" have all withstood the test of time. Not to mention the movies in which I played Jean-Pierre Melville and Joseph Losey. There were indeed some directors who were afraid to work with me because they heard that I was very domineering when filming. Sorry, I never told Visconti, Melville or Clement. But I don't care, that's fine, it saves me having to deal with those idiots. In my opinion, the French New Wave is just a new kind of cinema, nothing more. "
"There is a kind of spiritual connection between me and Melville"
Delon, who had little connection with the New Wave, was not lonely. During this period, he had both acted in "Eclisse" (Eclisse), Art films such as "The Leopard" also produced blockbuster commercial films such as "Mélodie en Sous-sol" and "La Tulipe Noire".
In 1963, Delon and Schnee were produced. De Long's love fairy tale came to an end. A year later, he married actress Nathalie Canovas. In September, their son Antoine Delon was born in Los Angeles. France has extended its film tentacles to Hollywood and even around the world. However, Hollywood movies do not seem to be very popular with him. The next director in his life is still from his homeland
1966. Director Melville first approached Alain Delon about working together “He came to my house where my wife Natalie and I were living in Rue Messina at the time. He came to talk to me about the script of "Le Samouraï" (The Lone Killer). He told me the outline of the story. After ten minutes, I asked him to stop. I told him: ‘Jean-Pierre, you don’t have a single line in this movie. You don’t need to say any more, I’ve accepted your role, let’s film it. ’ So, I agreed to take over the filming even before I knew the ending of the story. "
" I feel that there is a kind of spiritual connection between me and Melville. However, outside of work, we have almost no personal relationship. That's because as long as we are together, we are basically working. As soon as he finished one movie, he would start preparing for the next one, such as "The Lonely Man", "Le Cercle Rouge", and "Un Flic". We shot each movie one after another. , very fast. Originally, he was planning to shoot the fourth "Arsène Lupin" (Arsène Lupin), but he passed away before filming. Another thing we have in common is that we both like American movies. The hat I wore in "The Lone Killer" was all based on his own image. At that time, he and his family were living in his studio Jenner in the 13th arrondissement of Paris. During the filming of "The Lone Killer", the place caught fire. I got the call and rushed over. The police were already there. They recognized me and let me in. I saw Jean-Pierre, his wife, and his assistants. He was wearing pajamas, but he still had the hat on his head. I walked up to him, and he grabbed my arm and said to me, 'What about my coco? Our bird... is still in a cage! ’ The studio he had run for many years was currently in flames, but what he was thinking of was the little bird that perished in the flames. If it were me, I would have fainted on the spot. He later suffered a heart attack. In the restaurant, halfway through the meal, he was smiling and had a cardiac arrest. Thank God I wasn't there at that moment, otherwise I would never forget that scene. "
In 2012, Alain Delon and Gong Li attended an event in Shanghai. Visual China Information
"The reason why we wanted to film "Mr. Klein" is because it is a taboo topic"
In 1975, Alain Delon completed the blockbuster Shortly after the film "Zorro" (Zorro), he spent his own money as an independent producer of the film "Monsieur Klein" (Monsieur Klein).The film was directed by American left-wing director Joseph Rossi, with whom he had previously collaborated on "The Assassination of Trotsky."
Shortly after China's reform and opening up, "Zorro" was introduced into the country, and Alain Delon quickly became well-known to Chinese audiences.
"Mr. Klein" tells the history of the persecution of French Jews during World War II. On July 16, 1942, in cooperation with the Nazis' campaign to exterminate the Jews, the French puppet government launched a massive search for Jews throughout Paris, arresting more than 10,000 Jews, including women and children. They were gathered in an indoor sports stadium called the "Winter Velodrome" not far from the Eiffel Tower, and then sent to Auschwitz, where almost all of them died.
"Mr. Klein" stills
After the war, the "Winter Velodrome Arrests" became a scar that the French could not face. After all, most of the people involved in the arrests were French police and civil servants. It was not until 1995 that the French government A formal apology was issued to the suffering Jews for the incident. So in the 1970s, Alain Delon took the lead in uncovering the scars of the French, which indeed required a lot of courage. "The reason why I wanted to make "Mr. Klein" is because it is a tragedy and it is a taboo subject. No one wanted to take on this project, but I was very willing, so I became a producer myself. , I also went to find the director Joseph Rossi. Speaking of "Winter Velodrome Arrest", who in France doesn't know? I was born in 1935, I was 10 years old in 1945, I am not a fool, everything. I see it all, I understand it."
In the film, he plays Mr. Klein, an art collector who bought a lot of art at low prices from Jews who were eager to flee during the fall of France. Treasure. Not long into the film, we see him concentrating on a painting by the Dutch painter Adrian van Ostad. In life, Alain Delon was also an enthusiastic collector of art. "It's an instinct. The first things I bought were sketches, and then those sketches led me to start collecting paintings. I'm very interested in sketches because they are the beginning. No one taught me anything at the beginning. Slowly. Slowly, some friends began to give me advice. At that time, I kept going to all the auctions in London and Paris, mainly works from the 19th and early 20th centuries. , I will keep the others, such as Theodore Géricault, Jean-François Millet, and Eugène Delacroix. I just sold Rembrandt Bouquet not long ago. A group of bronze statues of Gatti and a group of modern art works were sold before. In addition, I also bought the original copy of de Gaulle's "Message to the French People" at the auction out of respect for him. When I heard that someone was auctioning this thing and that it might be taken away by a buyer from South America, I turned pale. I have a lot of feelings for General de Gaulle every year on June 18 (that is, when de Gaulle makes his "Announcement"). On the day of his speech on "The Book of the French People", which is also regarded as the beginning of the French resistance to the Nazis), I would go to the village of Colombey to pay homage to his former residence."
Talking about the identity of the producer, Alain Delon said. : "That's because I haven't read for a few years and can't write the stories I like, so I can only be a producer."
August 3, 2012, 65th Locarno International Film Festival, Alan · Delon won the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Locarno Film Festival. Visual China Information
"For me, the movie is over"
Entering the 1980s, Alain Delon's filmmaking slowed down, although he also starred in international films such as "Tegeran-43" production and art-house masterpieces such as "Un Amour de Swann" (Un Amour de Swann), but most of the other works have failed to gain global attention.
After entering the new century, he has even fewer works. In 2008, "Astérix aux jeux olympiques" (Heroes of Gaul vs. Prince Caesar) became the last major work in which he participated.
Stills of "Heroes of Gaul vs. Prince Caesar"
In this regard, Alain Delon naturally has something to say. "Cinema has changed, and things have changed for traditional movie stars like me. Before me, France had stars like Jean Overtime and Yves Montand, and there were movies written specifically for them. By my time In this era, stars are no longer so high-ranking, but there are also directors like Michel Audiard who are willing to write plays specifically for stars. Let's put it this way, when I entered the film industry, we had five friends. , like five fingers on a hand. Belmondo, jean-pierre cassel, jean-louis trintignant, Jean-Claude Brialy, and the youngest Alain Delon. Now, Jean-Claude is gone. Niang was in bad health. Belmondo was in good health, but his career was over long ago. When Jean-Claude and Jean-Pierre passed away, I felt very sad about what would happen next. No matter who I am, I will definitely feel more uncomfortable. Nowadays, is there anyone who is willing to write movies specifically for celebrities? It’s impossible for them to write movies based on a certain theme. I think Odia would do that back then. I write plays specifically to work overtime. I don’t know whether it’s because times have changed, or because the movie itself has changed. When I was young, everyone loved to go to the cinema, sit down and watch the movie on the screen with their significant other. Dreaming together. Everyone is willing to watch the movie, hoping to become Ingrid Bergman. The purpose of everyone going to the cinema is to see their impossible dreams. When the movie ends, everyone is satisfied. Because I saw something extraordinary. But now the movies are all the same. "
" There are no stars like us anymore. Among the French actors who appeared later, I like Patrick Dewaer the most, but He's dead too. And Depardieu, that's for sure. I also like Vincent Cassel, Jean-Pierre's son... and they said to me, 'This. It's normal. Don't worry. In two hundred years, there will be another group of great actors. But I will be gone by then! They explained to me that there is no way, this kind of thing takes time and needs to be separated. It will take a few generations. It's really good, but I definitely won't see it. Forget it, I'm already lucky enough to have worked with those geniuses. For me, the movie is over. There is a saying in the boxing world called 'superfluous fights', and this sentence has always impressed me. I don't want to fight in 'superfluous fights'. My film career is already good enough, and I don't want to make any more. There are no more movies. Moreover, all the directors I could work with are dead. I stopped filming "Heroes of Gaul vs. Prince Caesar" ten years ago. In fact, no one is looking for me anymore. Who can I collaborate with? Luc Besson? He knew early on that I wanted to work with him, but I heard he had concerns. Is he afraid of me? I don't know either. Who else? Polanski? He never contacted me. "
Looking at Alain Delon, who looked a little tired from the long conversation, he suddenly realized that he was already an 83-year-old man. His loose skin obscured the sharp edges and corners of the past, and the deep-set bags under his eyes took away the blue eyes. The look in his eyes and the slight frown on his face never let go. The women who loved him madly back then have long since disappeared, and now when he appears in a public place, probably no women will leave. Come close to him and tell him: “I love your battered face now more than I loved your face then. "However, in the movie world, whether it is the desperate Ripley with shining wheat-colored skin, or the ascetic atmosphere of Rocko who endures the tragedy of his fate, or the unsmiling and lonely Jeff, they have all been set for eternity. , will not grow old or fade away.
When asked why many of the movies he has acted in end with death, Alain Delon replied: "Yes, people always tell me, why do you have to die at the end of every movie?" What I want to say is that it is because I know what death is. I like death because it is a period. "
Source: The Paper
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