
Jean Renoir
Biography
Jean Renoir (15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. As a film director and actor, he made more than forty films from the silent era to the end of the 1960s. As an author, he wrote the definitive biography of his father, the painter, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Renoir, My Father (1962).
In the 1930s, Renoir was associated with the Popular Front, and several of his films reflect the movement's left-wing politics and deal with social issues as well as class disparities. He was perhaps the most significant director of the poetic realism movement.
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The satirical comedy-drama film The Rules of the Game (1939) is often cited by critics as among the greatest films ever made; it is the only film to earn a place among the top ten films in the respected British Film Institute's Sight & Sound decennial critics' poll for every decade from the poll's inception in 1952 through the 2012 list. Other important works are Grand Illusion (1937), A Day in the Country (1946) and The River (1951).
Andrew Sarris in his influential book of film criticism The American Cinema: Directors and Directions 1929–1968 included him in the "pantheon" of the 14 greatest film directors who had worked in the United States.
Known for
Grand IllusionDirector, Writer7.9
The Rules of the GameOctave, Screenplay, Director7.5
La Bête HumaineCabuche, Director, Screenplay7.1
A Day in the CountryPère Poulain, Director, Writer7.3
Boudu Saved from DrowningDirector, Screenplay6.9
La ChienneDirector, Screenplay7.3
The RiverDirector, Screenplay7.2
French CancanDirector, Writer7.2
The Crime of Monsieur LangeScreenplay, Director7.1
The Golden CoachDirector, Screenplay7.1
The Lower DepthsDirector, Writer7.2
ToniDirector, Screenplay7.1
Filmography
- 1974The Little Theatre of Jean RenoirFilm: The Narrator/Host, Writer, Director
- 1973CarolaFilm: Writer
- 1969Postface: La Petite Marchande d'allumettesFilm: Jean Renoir
- 1962The Elusive CorporalFilm: Director, Writer
- 1961Jean Renoir parle de son artFilm: Interviewee
- 1960Experiment in EvilFilm: Screenplay, Director
- 1959Picnic on the GrassFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1956Elena and Her MenFilm: Director, Writer
- 1955French CancanFilm: Director, Writer
- 1952The Golden CoachFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1951The RiverFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1950The Ways of LoveFilm: Director
- 1947The Woman on the BeachFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1946A Day in the CountryFilm: Père Poulain, Director, Writer
- 1946The Diary of a ChambermaidFilm: Director
- 1945The SouthernerFilm: Director, Writer
- 1944A Salute to FranceFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1943This Land Is MineFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1941Swamp WaterFilm: Director
- 1939The Rules of the GameFilm: Octave, Screenplay, Director
- 1938La Bête HumaineFilm: Cabuche, Director, Screenplay
- 1938La MarseillaiseFilm: Writer, Director
- 1937The Spanish EarthFilm: Narrator (voice)
- 1937Grand IllusionFilm: Director, Writer
- 1936The Lower DepthsFilm: Director, Writer
- 1936Life Is OursFilm: Le patron du bistrot, Director, Writer
- 1936The Crime of Monsieur LangeFilm: Screenplay, Director
- 1935ToniFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1935A Bum DealFilm: Director
- 1934Madame BovaryFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1933Chotard and Co.Film: Director, Writer
- 1932Boudu Saved from DrowningFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1932Night at the CrossroadsFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1931La ChienneFilm: Director, Screenplay
- 1931Mam'zelle NitoucheFilm: Master sergeant (uncredited)
- 1931Baby's LaxativeFilm: Director, Writer
- 1930The Pursuit of HappinessFilm
- 1930Little Red Riding HoodFilm: Compère le Loup, Writer
- 1929Le BledFilm: Director
- 1928The TournamentFilm: Director
- 1928The Sad SackFilm: Director, Writer
- 1928The Little Match GirlFilm: Director, Writer
- 1927BackbitersFilm: le sous-préfet, Director, Screenplay
- 1927La P’tite LiliFilm: Man with Bowler Hat
- 1927MarquittaFilm: Director
- 1927Charleston ParadeFilm: Angel, Director
- 1926NanaFilm: Director
- 1925Whirlpool of FateFilm: Director
Biography and credits from TMDB. This website uses TMDB and the TMDB APIs but is not endorsed, certified, or otherwise approved by TMDB.