Malle on Malle

by Louis Malle, Philip French (Editor)

In this frank and far-reaching book, Malle discusses his development as an artist; the often fierce controversies aroused by pictures dealing with prostitution, incest and wartime collaboration; the momentous year spent shooting his Phantom India series; and his decision to move to America in the 1970s. He also talks about the recurrent themes of his films, his passion for jazz, and his work with actors and actresses ranging from such stars as Jeanne Moreau and Burt Lancaster to the nonprofessional teenagers who appear in Lacombe, Lucien and Au revoir les enfants.
The basis of the book is a series of conversations between Malle and Philip French, one of the most distinguished film critics in Britain, who provides an indispensable guide to Louis Malle's career.

Genres: Film

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1992

About the author

Louis Malle was an Academy Award nominated French film director, working in both French and English.

Reviews

[Pavel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing piece of "directors on directors" serie. An interview on which this book is based was conducted near the end of Malle's life, so he tells story of his films the way he wants, very frank and sharp, carelessly. He tells many director's secrets and not many anecdotes, that's why I think the book is rather for filmmakers, then for the viewers. Malle's films were always important for me in some professional way - I cannot say I loved them with heart and emotion, but on professional level I learned a lot from them. Same effect with the book.

[China · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fantastic interview. The entire book is formatted as a lengthy interview between Louis Malle and Philip French, who does not ask dumb questions and actually sounds quite well-informed, as well as quick as an interviewer. There's a lot of good background information that Malle shares about each of his films, the entire span of his career - about the actors he'd found, and his personal life incorporated into the films, his disagreements with American filmmmaking methods. The only shame is that the background he gives on each film makes me disappointed that some of his films aren't more readily available. But this is a must for enthusiastic fans.

[Nick · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very sober man with clear intentions, reservations, concerns of his own work.

[Richard Armstrong]

Great! Particularly good on Malle's interest in documentary, which I didn't know much about...

[Monodances · Rating 5 out of 5]

Самый полноценный экскурс в Луи Маля, его жизнь и его фильмы. Книга по сути одно огромное интервью, охватывающее все периоды работы режиссеры, начиная с работы с Кусто и заканчивая «Ваня с 42-й улицы».
Работая в разных условиях, во Франции, Италии, Индии и Америке, Маль собирал различные производственные группы с варьирующимися бюджетами и экранизируя сюжеты из многих эпох. Весь этот опыт читатель получает из емких и красноречивых комментариев режиссера.

[Richard Chandler · Rating 5 out of 5]

First watch all of his films; then read this.