Past Exhibitions

  • September 26 - December 10, 2017

Jean-Pierre Melville, cinéaste du noir

Date :  September 26  (Tue) – December 10  (Sun) ,  2017

Location :  Exhibition Gallery (7th floor)

Hours :  11:00am - 6:30pm (admission until 6:00pm)

Closed :  Mondays

Admission :  Single Ticket 250  (Group Admission 200)  /  University & College Students, Seniors  (age 65 or over) 130  (Group Admission 60)
*Free for High School Students and under 18 ;  Persons with disability and one person accompanying each of them are admitted free or charge .

Free on Nov 3 ,  Culture Day .

For more detailed information ,  please see the following page  (in Japanese) .


 The name of film director Jean-Pierre Melville shines with a special brightness in French film history. Having devoted himself to American films in his youth, he made his debut with the feature length independent film Le Silence de la Mer (1949) without any training as a film director whatsoever. Melville came to prominence when he was commissioned to direct Les Enfants Terribles (1950) by Jean Cocteau, who wrote the original novel. His independent spirit was loved and respected by young Nouvelle Vague filmmakers. 

 He gradually gained recognition as a great director of film noir, and built up his reputation in French cinema with hard-boiled crime films such as Le Doulos [The Finger Man] (1962), Le Deuxième Souffle [Second Breath] (1966), Le Samouraï [The Godson] (1967), and Le Cercle Rouge [The Red Circle] (1970), as well as the big budget war film Army of Shadows (1969), based on his own experiences in the Resistance. Notably, it is not too much of a stretch to say that two major film stars, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Alain Delon, broke new ground with Melville's films. Depicting complicated human beings who have both good and evil sides, and weaving men's ties of friendship and betrayal into drama, Melville also had a strong influence on Asian films including those from Japan. To commemorate Melville's centenary in 2017, NFC is looking back at his distinguished life and achievements by showing materials mainly collected over a period of many years by film director Olivier Bohler, who made the documentary "Code Name Melville" (2008).

National Film Archive of Japan

Address
3-7-6 Kyobashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0031

Tel: 047-316-2772(Hello Dial)

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