Jean Epstein

Jean Epstein ( March 25, 1897 in Warsaw, † April 2, 1953 in Paris) was a Polish- French film director and film theorist.

Life

He was educated in France and Switzerland; He studied medicine in Lyon. Influenced by the work of Louis Delluc he published in 1921 the film theory book Bonjour cinéma. In this he stresses the importance of camera angles and close-up out as a film- specific means for changing the usual way of thinking and perception.

In 1922 he made ​​his first film, a portrait of Louis Pasteur. With its feature films Cœur fidèle and L' auberge rouge (both 1923) Epstein had a moderate success, earned him a 10- year contract with Pathé. This he solved but after a short time again and founded his own production company, where he worked together with his sister Marie Epstein. Epstein was in close contact to the group of Russian exiles in Paris and therefore led after excitation of Ivan Mosschuchin, who also took over the lead role and was involved in the screenplay, 1924 directed the oriental adventure film Le lion de mogols. 1926, Epstein was one of the leaders of the " Académie du cinéma ", he became acquainted with Luis Buñuel. In Epstein's film Mauprat (1926 ) Buñuel made ​​his first film appearance.

Epstein was close to the ideas of the avant-garde and Surrealism. In 1927 he continued his film theories in the three -leaf mirror and created the psychological image of a man from the perspective of three women. He sat there time shifts as a cinematic agents. Epstein's most famous work is the 1928 resulting film The Fall of the House of Usher, a free interpretation of the short story of Edgar Allan Poe. Work first began thereto together with Buñuel, but the two artists over threw on Epstein's pandering to Abel Gance, the Buñuel considered ultra conservative, and the occupation of the main role with Gance's second wife Marguerite Gance Denis. Buñuel then distanced himself from the project. The film is regarded as formally challenging and pioneering work of the French avant-garde film. Epstein used the first time slow motion as a means of dramaturgy, used overexposure and blurring and varied the depth of field, which sometimes appeared blurred the actual main subject and the background is in focus.

In the 1930s, Epstein turned mostly documentaries. During the occupation of France by the Germans, he was allowed to work more in every studio, was even temporarily detained by the Gestapo, but was able to escape his deportation.

Filmography

Writings

  • Bonjour cinéma. La Sirene, 1921.
  • La Poésie aujourd'hui. La Sirene, 1921.
  • La Lyrosophie. La Sirene, 1922.
  • Le Cinématographe vu de l' Etna, Les Écrivains réunis, 1926.
  • L'Or des mers. Valois, 1932.
  • Les recteurs et la sirène. Montaigne, 1934.
  • La Photogénie de l' imponderable, Corymbe, 1935.
  • L' Intelligence d'une machine. Melot, 1946.
  • Le Cinéma du diable. Melot, 1947.
  • Écrits sur le cinéma. 2 vol. , Seghers, 1974-1975.
  • L'Or des mers. La Digital, 1995.
  • Les recteurs et la sirène. La Digital, 1998.
  • Nicole Brenez, Ralph Eue ( hrg ): Bonjour Cinéma and other writings on cinema. Austrian Film Museum, SYNEMA - Society of Film and Media, Vienna, 2008.

Secondary literature

  • Vincent Guigueno: Jean Epstein, cinéaste des îles. Place, 2003.
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