Anouk Aimée
Anouk Aimée | |
---|---|
Born | Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus 27 April 1932 Paris, France |
Years active | 1947–present |
Spouses | Edouard Zimmermann
(m. 1949; div. 1950) |
Children | 1 |
Nicole Françoise Florence Dreyfus[1] (born 27 April 1932), known professionally as Anouk Aimée (French pronunciation: [an'uk ɛm'e]) or Anouk, is a French film actress who has appeared in 70 films since 1947, having begun her film career at age 14. In her early years, she studied acting and dance besides her regular education. Although the majority of her films were French, she also made films in Spain, Great Britain, Italy and Germany, along with some American productions.
Among her films are
She won the
Aimée was known for her "striking features" and beauty, and considered "one of the hundred sexiest stars in film history," according to a 1995 poll conducted by
Early years
Aimée was born in Paris to actor Henri Murray (born Henry Dreyfus; 30 January 1907 – 29 January 1984)
Her early education took place at l'École de la rue Milton, in Paris; École de Barbezieux; Pensionnat de Bandol; and Institution de Megève. She studied dance at Marseille Opera. During
Career
Aimée (then still Françoise Dreyfus) made her film debut, at the age of fourteen, in the role of Anouk in La Maison sous la mer (The House Under the Sea, 1946), and she kept the name afterwards.
Among her films were
Because of her "striking features" and her beauty, she has been compared to
Her abilities as an actress and the photogenic qualities of her face, its "fine lines, expression of elation and a suggestive gaze," helped her achieve success in her early films.
Besides the French cinema, Aimée's career includes films made in Spain, Great Britain, Italy and Germany. She achieved worldwide attention in Fellini's
Aimée's greatest success came with the film A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme, 1966) directed by Claude Lelouch. Primarily due to the excellent acting by its stars, Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant and the beautiful musical score, the film became an international success, winning both the Grand Prize at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966 and two Oscars including Best Foreign Language Film. Tabery states that with her "subtle portrayal of the heroine—self-protective, then succumbing to a new love—Aimée seemed to create a new kind of femme fatale."[6]
Film historian Jurgen Muller adds, "whether one likes the film or not, it's still hard for anyone to resist the melancholy aura of Anouk Aimée."[11] In many of her subsequent films, she would continue to play that type of role, "a woman of sensitivity whose emotions are often kept secret."[6]
She starred in the American film production of Justine (1969), costarring Dirk Bogarde and directed by George Cukor and Joseph Strick. The film contained some nudity, with one writer observing, "Anouk is always impeccable, oozing the sexy, detached air of the elite . . . when she drops these trappings, along with her couture clothing, Anouk's naked perfection will annihilate you."[12] While Aimee garnered some positive reviews, the film itself was a critical and box-office disaster.
Photojournalist Eve Arnold, assigned to photograph and write a story about Aimée and her role, spoke to Dirk Bogarde, who had known her since she was fifteen. He said that "She is never so happy as when she is miserable between love affairs," referencing her recent love affair with Omar Sharif, her co-star in The Appointment (1969).[5] Arnold photographed Aimée, who talked about her role as the character Justine. Justine was also Jewish. Arnold recalls one of their talks:
I am still haunted by two things she quoted. They seemed to say more about her than anything else I experienced with her during the three weeks I knew her on the film:
Quote from Treblinka: 'The Jews are prone to anguish but seldom given to despair.'
And a quote by an anonymous Jewish poet to his wife when the Nazis came to get them: 'Till now we have lived with fear, now we can know hope.'[5]
Another American film, La Brava, starring Dustin Hoffman, was set to be made in 1984 but was never completed. Hoffman at first decided it would play better if he were in love with a younger girl rather than the original story's older woman. "Where are you going to get a good-looking older woman?" he asked. He rejected Faye Dunaway, feeling she was "too obvious." A month later, after a chance meeting with Aimée in Paris, he changed his mind, telling his producer, "I can fall in love with the older woman. I met Anouk Aimée over the weekend. She looks great." He begged his producer to at least talk to her: "Come on, get on the phone, say hello to her. . . Just listen to her voice, it's great."[13]
I do remember he was like a bomb. He had a strong personality. He was tall, and he had a big voice. 'I want this,' and 'I want that.' I remember thinking it would be very difficult to work with him, and we didn't make the film.[14]
In 2002, she received an honorary
In late 2013, the Cinemania film festival in Montreal, Canada, paid tribute to Aimée's career.[16]
Aimée reunited with director Claude Lelouch and co-star Jean-Louis Trintignant for a follow-up to Un homme et une femme and its sequel, A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later (Un homme et une femme, 20 ans deja, 1986).[17] The result, The Best Years of a Life (Les plus belles années d'une vie, 2019), was shown at Cannes out of competition.[18]
Personal life
Aimée has been married and divorced four times: Edouard Zimmermann (1949–1950), director
Selected filmography
Year | Title | Role | Director |
---|---|---|---|
1947 | La Maison sous la mer | Anouk | Henri Calef |
1949 | Les amants de Vérone ("The Lovers Of Verona")
|
Georgia (a modern Juliet) | André Cayatte |
1950 | Golden Salamander | Anna | Ronald Neame |
1952 | La Bergère et le ramoneur (animation film)
|
Voice (the female shepherd) | Paul Grimault |
Le Rideau cramoisi
|
Albertine | Alexandre Astruc | |
1955 | Contraband Spain | Elena Vargas | Lawrence Huntington |
Les Mauvaises rencontres ("Bad Liaisons")
|
Catherine Racan | Alexandre Astruc | |
1956 | Ich suche Dich | Francoise Maurer | O.W. Fischer
|
Nina | Nina Iwanowa | Rudolf Jugert | |
1957 | Pot-Bouille | Marie | Julien Duvivier |
Anyone Can Kill Me | Isabelle | Henri Decoin | |
1958 | Les Amants de Montparnasse (Montparnasse 19)
|
Jeanne Hébuterne | Jacques Becker |
1959 | The Journey | Eva | Anatole Litvak |
La tête contre les murs
|
Stéphanie | Georges Franju | |
Les Dragueurs | Jeanne | Jean-Pierre Mocky | |
1960 | La Dolce Vita
|
Maddalena | Federico Fellini |
The Joker | Hélène Laroche | Philippe de Broca | |
1961 | Il giudizio universale ("The Last Judgement")
|
Irene | Vittorio De Sica |
Lola | Lola | Jacques Demy | |
1962 | Sodom and Gomorrah | Queen Bera | Robert Aldrich |
Il giorno più corto ("The shortest Day")
|
cameo appearance | Sergio Corbucci | |
1963 | Fellini's 8½ | Luisa Anselmi | Federico Fellini |
1964 | Le voci bianche ("White Voices") | Lorenza | Pasquale Festa Campanile |
La fuga ("The Escape") | Luisa | Paolo Spinola | |
1965 | The Dreamer | Valeria | Massimo Franciosa |
1966 | Un homme et une femme ("A Man and a Woman") | Anne Gauthier | Claude Lelouch |
1968 | Un soir, un train (One Night... A Train) | Anne | André Delvaux |
1969 | Model Shop | Lola | Jacques Demy |
The Appointment | Carla | Sidney Lumet | |
Justine | Justine | George Cukor | |
1976 | Si c'était à refaire ("Second Chance") | Sarah Gordon | Claude Lelouch |
1978 | Mon premier amour | Jane Romain (the mother) | Elie Chouraqui
|
1979 | (Salto nel vuoto) ("A Leap in the Dark") | Marta Ponticelli | Marco Bellocchio |
1981 | La Tragedia di un uomo ridicolo ("Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man") | Barbara Spaggiari | Bernardo Bertolucci |
1983 | Il generale dell'armata morte ("The General of the Dead Army") | Countess Betsy Mirafiore | Luciano Tovoli |
Viva la vie | Anouk | Claude Lelouch | |
1984 | Success Is the Best Revenge | Monique | Jerzy Skolimowski |
1986 | Un Homme et une femme : vingt ans déjà ("A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later") | Anne Gauthier | Claude Lelouch |
1990 | Bethune: The Making of a Hero | Marie-France Coudaire | Phillip Borsos |
Il y a des jours... et des lunes
|
as herself | Claude Lelouch | |
1994 | Les Cent et une nuits ("A Hundred and One Nights")
|
Anouk | Agnès Varda |
Prêt-à-Porter | Simone Lowenthal | Robert Altman | |
1996 | Hommes, femmes : mode d'emploi
|
the widow | Claude Lelouch |
1997 | Solomon | Bathsheba | Roger Young |
1998 | L.A. Without a Map | as herself | Mika Kaurismäki |
1999 | Une pour toutes ("One 4 All") | the musician's wife | Claude Lelouch |
2001 | Festival in Cannes | Millie Marquand | Henry Jaglom |
2002 | Napoléon | Letizia Bonaparte | Yves Simoneau |
2003 | Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants ("Happily Ever After") | Vincent's mother | Yvan Attal |
2003 | La Petite prairie aux bouleaux | Myriam | Marceline Loridan-Ivens |
2010 | Paris Connections | Agnès | Harley Cokeliss |
2011 | Tous les soleils | Agathe | Philippe Claudel |
2012 | Mince alors!
|
mother | Charlotte de Turckheim |
2019 | The Best Years of a Life | Anne Gauthier | Claude Lelouch |
References
- ^ "Anouk Aimée" (in French). L'encinémathèque. Archived from the original on 9 August 2014. Retrieved 9 August 2014.
- ^ a b Thompson, Dave. Dancing Barefoot: The Patti Smith Story, Chicago Review Press (2011) p. 17
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Flitterman-Lewis, Sandy. "Anouk Aimée", Jewish Women: A Comprehensive Historical Encyclopedia
- ^ a b c Durham, Michael. "Aimée—It Means 'To Be Loved'", Life Magazine, 19 May 1967 pp. 85–86.
- ^ a b c Arnold, Eve. Film Journal, Bloomsbury Publishing (2002) pp. 193–94
- ^ a b c d Unterburger, Amy L. (ed.) Actors and Actresses, International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers (3rd edition), St James Press (1997), pp. 9–11
- ^ "Aimee - Name Meaning, What does Aimee mean?". www.thinkbabynames.com.
- ^ "Port-Musée. La sensibilité de " La Fleur de l'âge "". Le Telegramme (in French). 31 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ "" La Fleur de l'âge " et le secret d'Anouk Aimée". L'Obs (in French). 23 October 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
- ^ Bockris, Victor; Bayley, Roberta. Patti Smith: An Unauthorized Biography, Simon and Schuster (1999) p. 33
- ^ Müller, Jürgen. Movies of the 60s, Taschen (2004) cover
- ^ Mr. Skin's Encyclopedia: A to Z Guide to Finding Your Favorite Actresses Naked, SK INtertainment (2005) p. 5
- ^ Grobel, Lawrence. Endangered Species: Writers Talk About Their Craft, Their Visions, Their Lives, Da Capo Press (2001) pp. 267–268
- ^ Zuckoff, Mitchell. Robert Altman: An Oral Biography, Random House (2009) pp. 138–39
- ^ Oscherwitz, Dayna. The A to Z of French Cinema, Scarecrow Press (2007), pg. 18
- ^ "Anouk Aimée: A charmed cinematic life" Archived 9 November 2013 at the Wayback Machine, The Gazette (Montreal), 8 November 2013.
- ^ "VIDEO. Claude Lelouch retrouve Anouk Aimée et Jean-Louis Trintignant pour l'épilogue d'"Un homme et une femme"". Franceinfo. 15 March 2019.
- ^ Lodge, Guy (31 May 2019). "Cannes Film Review: The Best Years of a Life". Variety. Retrieved 28 December 2020.
External links
- Anouk Aimée at IMDb
- Anouk Aimée at AllMovie
- Anouk Aimée at AlloCiné (in French)
- AIMÉE Anouk Archived 16 October 2019 at the Wayback Machine International Who's Who. Retrieved 1 September 2006.
- Sandy Flitterman-Lewis, Anouk Aimée, Jewish Women Encyclopedia
- Photographs and literature
- video Interview at Cannes, 1966 on YouTube