Alain Delon gained fame primarily as an actor for great directors, primarily Luchino Visconti. His role in “Rocco and His Brothers” was a revelation – film critic and historian Prof. Tadeusz Lubelski told PAP about the French artist, who died at the age of 88.
Delon’s death was reported on Sunday morning by the AFP agency, citing the actor’s children.
Recalling the artist in a conversation with PAP, Prof. Tadeusz Lubelski emphasized that he was a phenomenon associated with a certain chapter in the history of cinema. “Alain Delon was not a ‘specimen’ of the so-called new wave cinema and started with popular cinema, to which he was more suited. However, he came across a period in which professional acting, acting skills were not necessarily the most important thing, but being on screen, showing physicality, beauty. And this was – as we know – his great asset. He gained lifelong fame – and probably exceeding the moment of his death – primarily as an actor of great directors, primarily Luchino Visconti. His role in ‘Rocco and His Brothers’ was a revelation. Later in ‘The Leopard’ he partnered Claudia Cardinale. He also had a wonderful performance alongside Monica Vitti in ‘Eclipse’ by Michelangelo Antonioni. These were milestone films of the early 1960s. Delon was associated primarily with them,” he said.
The film historian noted that later the actor “would occasionally reprise his roles in arthouse cinema”. “Perhaps his greatest performance was in Joseph Losey’s ‘Mr. Klein’, which he played when he was already in his forties. It was a double lead role and he was excellent. It’s hard to say for sure whether he knew what he was playing, but it made an impression. He maintained this form for many years, although he was usually associated with appearances in popular titles that few people remember anymore and to which he himself attached less and less importance as the years passed,” he said.
READ ALSO Actor, director and screenwriter Alain Delon received the Honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival
Prof. Lubelski added that when he was living in France in the early 1990s, Delon played in Édouard Niermans’ “The Return of Casanova”, which “caused some publicity”. “He was good in that film. He played self-deprecatingly, laughing a bit at his old age, although he was only about 60 at the time. He later commented on this role in many interviews, and this drew attention to the fact that perhaps some change in image was taking place. But it probably did not turn out to be a lasting change,” he assessed.
Alain Delon was born on November 8, 1935 in Sceaux. His most important roles also include those in Jacques Deray’s “The Swimming Pool” (1969), Rene Clement’s “The Full Sun” (1960), “The Samurai” (1967) and Jean-Pierre Melville’s “The Circle of Evil” (1970). In 1977, he received a César nomination for the title role in Joseph Losey’s “Monsieur Klein.” In 1985, he won the statuette for his role in Bertrand Blier’s “Our History.”
In 1981, he directed the film “The Skin of a Cop,” in which he played a private detective searching for a missing woman. Two years later, he was seen in “The Invincible,” which he co-wrote with Robin Davis.
In 1995, he was recognized with the Honorary Golden Bear for his lifetime achievement. In 2019, he received the Honorary Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival. “There is one thing in the world that I am absolutely certain of and proud of. It is my career (…) I have done my job my whole life and I did it the best I could,” the actor emphasized when receiving the award. In the same year, he suffered a stroke.
He died at his home in Douchy. He was 88 years old. (PAP)
Author: Daria Porycka
dap/bar/
