Eugène Lourié (; 8 April 1903 – 26 May 1991) was a Russian-born French

film director A film director or filmmaker is a person who controls a film's artistic and dramatic aspects and visualizes the screenplay (or script) while guiding the film crew and actors in the fulfillment of that Goal, vision. The director has a key role ...

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

production designer In film and television, a production designer is the individual responsible for the overall aesthetic of the story. The production design gives the viewers a sense of the time period, the plot location, and character actions and feelings. Work ...

set designer Scenic design, also known as stage design or set design, is the creation of scenery for theatrical productions including plays and musicals. The term can also be applied to film and television productions, where it may be referred to as prod ...

and

screenwriter A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...

who was known for his collaborations with

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

and for his 1950s

science fiction Science fiction (often shortened to sci-fi or abbreviated SF) is a genre of speculative fiction that deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts. These concepts may include information technology and robotics, biological manipulations, space ...

movies.

Allmovie AllMovie (previously All Movie Guide) is an online database with information about films, television programs, television series, and screen actors. , AllMovie.com and the AllMovie consumer brand are owned by RhythmOne. History AllMovie was ...

contributor Sandra Brennan has written that he was "among the best art directors in French cinema." He was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

in 1969 for Best Visual Effects on the film '' Krakatoa, East of Java''.

Early life

Lourié was born in

Kharkov Kharkiv, also known as Kharkov, is the second-largest List of cities in Ukraine, city in Ukraine.

Russian Empire The Russian Empire was an empire that spanned most of northern Eurasia from its establishment in November 1721 until the proclamation of the Russian Republic in September 1917. At its height in the late 19th century, it covered about , roughl ...

, in 1903. His first experience with cinema was in 1911 when a movie theater opened in Kharkov. In 1919, he worked on an

anti-communist Anti-communism is political and ideological opposition to communist beliefs, groups, and individuals. Organized anti-communism developed after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia, and it reached global dimensions during the Cold War, when th ...

film titled ''Black Crowes''. After he fled from the Soviet Union, he made his way to

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

. While there he made money for a fare to Paris, France, by painting and drawing movie posters. He even slept in the theater on top of a piano to save money.

Film career

In the 1930s, he worked as a production designer for such directors as

Max Ophüls Maximillian Oppenheimer ( , ; 6 May 1902 – 26 March 1957), known as Max Ophüls ( , , ) or simply Ophuls, was a German and French film director and screenwriter. He was known for his opulent and lyrical visual style, with heavy use of trac ...

, and

René Clair René Clair (; 11 November 1898 – 15 March 1981), born René-Lucien Chomette (), was a French filmmaker and writer. He first established his reputation in the 1920s as a director of silent films in which comedy was often mingled with fantasy. H ...

. As an assistant and production designer to Renoir, he worked on such French films as ''

La Grande illusion ''La Grande Illusion'' (French for "The Grand Illusion") is a 1937 French war drama film directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who ...

'' and '' La Règle du Jeu''. After Renoir had moved to Hollywood in the early 1940s, Lourié moved as well, and worked with other directors including Sam Fuller,

Charlie Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is considered o ...

, and

Robert Siodmak Robert Siodmak (; 8 August 1900 – 10 March 1973) was a German Jewish film director. His career spanned some 40 years, working extensively in the United States and France, as well as in his native country. Though he worked in many genres, he was ...

. In 1952, he made his directorial debut with ''

The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms ''The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms'' is a 1953 American independent monster film directed by Eugène Lourié, with stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen. It is partly based on Ray Bradbury's 1951 short story of the same name, which was later ...

'', the first of three dinosaur films that Lourié would direct. The film was profitable, but Lourié has said that he regrets that the film typecast him as a science fiction director. He decided that after his 1961 film, '' Gorgo'', which he directed in 1959, he would stop directing movies because he did not want to direct "the same comic-strip monsters." Eight years later, he received an

nomination for his visual effects on '' Krakatoa, East of Java''. In 1980, Lourié designed

Clint Eastwood Clinton Eastwood Jr. (born May 31, 1930) is an American actor and film director. After achieving success in the Western (genre), Western TV series ''Rawhide (TV series), Rawhide'', Eastwood rose to international fame with his role as the "Ma ...

's '' Bronco Billy''. Lourié also had an acting part in

Richard Gere Richard Tiffany Gere ( ; born August 31, 1949) is an American actor. He began appearing in films in the 1970s, playing a supporting role in ''Looking for Mr. Goodbar (film), Looking for Mr. Goodbar'' (1977) and a starring role in ''Days of Hea ...

's 1983 picture '' Breathless''. Lourié makes a silent cameo appearance in '' Krakatoa, East of Java'', portraying a

lighthouse A lighthouse is a tower, building, or other type of physical structure designed to emit light from a system of lamps and lens (optics), lenses and to serve as a beacon for navigational aid for maritime pilots at sea or on inland waterways. Ligh ...

keeper on the coast of

Java Java is one of the Greater Sunda Islands in Indonesia. It is bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and the Java Sea (a part of Pacific Ocean) to the north. With a population of 156.9 million people (including Madura) in mid 2024, proje ...

in 1883 who observes

Krakatoa Krakatoa (), also transcribed (), is a caldera in the Sunda Strait between the islands of Java and Sumatra in the Indonesian province of Lampung. The caldera is part of a volcanic island group (Krakatoa archipelago) comprising four islands. Tw ...

's final, cataclysmic explosion and enters the lighthouse to send news of it by

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas ...

.Model Ships in the Cinema: ''Krakatoa, East of Java'', 1969, caption of photo of lighthouse keeper operating telegraph.
/ref>

Death

Lourié died on 26 May 1991 of a stroke while in the Motion Picture and Television Hospital in Woodland Hills.

Partial filmography

* '' A Telephone Call'' (1932) * '' Jeanne'' (1934) * '' The Bread Peddler'' (1934) * '' Dark Eyes'' (1935) * '' The Squadron's Baby'' (1935) * '' The Great Refrain'' (1936) * ''

The Lower Depths ''The Lower Depths'' (, literally: ''At the bottom'') is a play by Russian dramatist Maxim Gorky written in 1902 and produced by the Moscow Arts Theatre on December 18, 1902, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski. It became his first ma ...

'' (1936) * '' The Alibi'' (1937) * '' The Messenger'' (1937) * '' Ramuntcho'' (1938) * '' The Lafarge Case'' (1938) * '' The New Rich'' (1938) * '' There's No Tomorrow'' (1939) * '' Cristobal's Gold'' (1940) * ''

False Alarm A false alarm, also called a nuisance alarm, is the deceptive or erroneous report of an emergency, causing unnecessary panic and/or bringing resources (such as emergency services) to a place where they are not needed. False alarms may occur with ...

'' (1940) * ''

'' (1953), director * '' The Colossus of New York'' (1958), director * '' The Giant Behemoth'' (1959), director * '' Gorgo'' (1961), director * '' Flight from Ashiya'' (1964)Model Ships in the Cinema: ''Krakatoa, East of Java'', 1969, including quotes from Lourié, Eugene, ''My Work in Films'', Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1985
. * '' Crack in the World'' (1965) * '' Bikini Paradise'' (1967) * '' Krakatoa, East of Java'' (1969) * ''

Kung Fu Chinese martial arts, commonly referred to with umbrella terms Kung fu (term), kung fu (; ), kuoshu () or wushu (sport), wushu (), are Styles of Chinese martial arts, multiple fighting styles that have developed over the centuries in Greater Ch ...

'' (1972-1975)

References

External links