Georges Sadoul (4 February 1904 – 13 October 1967) was a French film critic, journalist and cinema writer. He is known for writing encyclopedias of film and filmmakers, many of which have been translated into English.

Biography

Sadoul was born in Nancy. He was trained at the

Sorbonne Sorbonne may refer to: * Sorbonne (building), historic building in Paris, which housed the University of Paris and is now shared among multiple universities. *the University of Paris (c. 1150 – 1970) *one of its components or linked institution, ...

and the IDHEC, a French cinema school. His father, Charles Sadoul, was a well-known ethnologist. At the age of 19, a student in Nancy, he collaborated with ''

L'Est Républicain ''L'Est Républicain'' is a daily regional French newspaper based in Nancy, France. ''L'Est Républicain'' was established in 1889 by Léon Goulette, a French Republican. The newspaper was founded on the grounds of ''anti- Boulangisme''. It wa ...

'' and founded the Nancy-Paris Committee. The objective of this committee is to allow the population of Nancy to meet Parisian productions and artists. He notably brought there Jean Epstein,

Henry Prunières Henry Prunières (24 May 1886, in Paris – 11 April 1942, in Nanterre) was a French musicologist, and international proponent of contemporary art in various forms, including music, dance and painting. He occupies an important place in the art wor ...

André Lurçat André Lurçat (August 27, 1894 – July 11, 1970) was a French modernist architect, landscape architect, furniture designer, city planner, and founding member of CIAM. He was active in the rebuilding in French cities after World War II. He was th ...

Jacques Rivière Jacques Rivière (15 July 1886 – 14 February 1925) was a French " man of letters" — a writer, critic and editor who was "a major force in the intellectual life of France in the period immediately following World War I". He edited the ...

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and André Lhote. Once a

surrealist Surrealism is a cultural movement that developed in Europe in the aftermath of World War I in which artists depicted unnerving, illogical scenes and developed techniques to allow the unconscious mind to express itself. Its aim was, according to l ...

, he became a member of the

French Communist Party The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

in 1932. He is editor-in-chief of the magazine for young people, published by the PCF, ''Mon Camarade.'' He was responsible for the cinematographic section of the journal ''Regards'', from 1936. Until the war, he published articles regularly in ''

L'Humanité ''L'Humanité'' (; ), is a French daily newspaper. It was previously an organ of the French Communist Party, and maintains links to the party. Its slogan is "In an ideal world, ''L'Humanité'' would not exist." History and profile Pre-World Wa ...

'' and the ''Cahiers du bolchévisme''. In his Diary of war, he recounts at length his phoney war and the debacle of 1940. Sadoul was also a member of the Resistance, alongside

Louis Aragon Louis Aragon (, , 3 October 1897 – 24 December 1982) was a French poet who was one of the leading voices of the surrealist movement in France. He co-founded with André Breton and Philippe Soupault the surrealist review ''Littérature''. He ...

, and responsible for the Front National des Intellectuels for the southern zone from 1941 to 1944. He collaborated with the clandestine '' Les Letters Françaises'' ''and the Stars''. After the Second World War he published in six volumes his main work ''General History of Cinema'' (''"Histoire générale du cinéma"''). He viewd films around the world with a focus on developing countries. Throughout his career, Sadoul was accused of having an ideological bias in his works. He was the first secretary general of the French Federation of Film Clubs and the International Federation of Film Clubs. He published of some of the most important reviews of the era in magazines such as ''Cahiers du Cinéma''. Georges Sadoul, Dieterle, Fourre Cormeray, Jean Grémillon - Film nr 21 - 1947-07-01

Georges Sadoul, Dieterle, Fourre Cormeray, Jean Grémillon - Film nr 21 - 1947-07-01

He died in Paris at the age of sixty-three.Biographie partielle
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Bibliography

*''Histoire générale du cinéma. Tome 1''. L'invention du cinéma (1832–1897), Denoël, 1946 *''Histoire générale du cinéma. Tome 2''. Les pionniers du cinéma, Denoël, 1950–1975 *''Histoire générale du cinéma. Tome 3''. Le cinéma devient un art – L'avant-guerre, Denoël, 1950–1975 *''Histoire générale du cinéma. Tome 4''. Le cinéma devient un art – La première guerre mondiale, Denoël, 1950–1975 *''Histoire générale du cinéma. Tome 5''. L'Art muet – L'après-guerre en Europe, Denoël, 1950–1975 *''Histoire générale du cinéma. Tome 6''. L'Art muet – Hollywood – La fin du muet, Denoël, 1950–1975 *''Histoire générale du cinéma. Tome 6'' (according to the initial outline). L'époque contemporaine (1939-1954) – 1/Le cinéma pendant la guerre (1939–1945), Denoël, 1946, rééd. 1954 *''Dictionnaire du cinéma'', 1965 *''Dictionnaire des cinéastes'', 1965 *''Histoire de l'art du cinéma'', 3e édition,

Flammarion Flammarion may refer to: * Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), French astronomer and author * Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (1877–1962), French astronomer, wife of Camille Flammarion * Flammarion engraving by unknown artist; appeared in a book by C ...

, 1949 *''le Cinéma français'', Flammarion, 1962 *''Histoire du cinéma mondial, des origines à nos jours'', Flammarion, 1949

References

External links

Partial biography (in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sadoul, Georges 1904 births 1967 deaths University of Paris alumni French male non-fiction writers Communist members of the French Resistance 20th-century French journalists 20th-century French male writers