Pierre Billard (3 July 1922 – 10 November 2016) was a French journalist, film critic and historian of cinema.

Career

Born in Dieppe (

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

), Pierre Billard followed the courses of resistant Valentin Feldman during the

Occupation of France The Military Administration in France (german: Militärverwaltung in Frankreich; french: Occupation de la France par l'Allemagne) was an interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zo ...

. They would become close and the teaching of Feldman marked him permanently. He then went to study 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, ...

, before specializing in cinema. President of the "Fédération française des ciné-clubs" from 1952, in 1954 he founded the magazine ', of which he was chief editor from ''Cinéma 54'' to ''Cinéma 67''. After he worked as journalist and

film critic Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films and the film medium. In general, film criticism can be divided into two categories: journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, magazines and other popular mass-media outl ...

for ''

Les Nouvelles littéraires ''Les Nouvelles littéraires'' was a French literary and artistic newspaper created in October 1922 by the Éditions Larousse. It disappeared in 1985 after having taken the title '. History ''Les Nouvelles littéraires'' were headed by from 1922 ...

'', '' Candide'' and '' L'Express'', he was one of the cofounders of the weekly '' Le Point'' where he directed the cultural pages until 1987. In the early 1980s, he was also editor-in-chief of the professional weekly magazine ''

Le Film français ''Le Film français'' (''The French Film'') is a weekly French film magazine that was founded in 1944 by Jean-Bernard and Jean-Placide Derosne Mauclaire. The magazine is headquartered in Paris. In the 1980s it was described as similar to American m ...

''. Pïerre Billard has taught the history of cinema at the

Institut d'études politiques de Paris , motto_lang = fr , mottoeng = Roots of the Future , type = Public research university''Grande école'' , established = , founder = Émile Boutmy , accreditation ...

and published several books including ''Louis Malle, le rebelle solitaire''. He is the father of journalist and historian of cinema,

Jean-Michel Frodon Jean-Michel Frodon (born 20 September 1953 in Paris) is a journalist, critic and historian of cinema. Biography Born Jean-Michel Billard, he writes with a pseudonym borrowed from Frodo of ''The Lord of the Rings''. He has a master's degree and a ...

. In 1995, he published the book ''L’Âge classique du cinéma français'', in conjunction with that of his son Jean-Michel, ''L'Âge moderne du cinéma français''. This book which deals with French cinema from 1928, that is the advent of

sound film A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades passed before ...

, until 1959, can be considered as a "reference tool" during this period. There he worked as a "historian", seeking to show with neutrality and without addressing the critical point of view, the influences of the economy, politics or culture on French cinema. ''

Les Inrockuptibles ''Les Inrockuptibles'' () is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly magazine in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. Now it is a monthly again, since 2021. In the beginning, rock and roll, rock music was the magazine's primary focus, though ...

'' consider "exciting" the part that touches the first talking films, noting that the author is more reserved about what concerns the French cinema of the 1950s. He particularly dealt with

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. He wen ...

and Jean Renoir. He died on 10 November 2016 at the age of 94.

Jacques Mandelbaum Jacques Mandelbaum (born 1 May 1958, in Neuilly-sur-Seine) is a French journalist and film critic, currently working for the newspaper ''Le Monde'' which he joined in 1995. He is the author of numerous works on the cinema including a biographical ...

« Pierre Billard, critique et historien du cinéma, est mort »
sur ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'', 11 novembre 2016.

Publications

*1958: ''Vamps'', L'Art du Siècle *1966: ''Jean Grémillon'', Anthologie du cinéma *1995: ''L'Âge classique du cinéma français'', Flammarion ; René Clair Award *1997: ''D'or et de palmes, le Festival de Cannes'', series " Découvertes Gallimard" vol. 314,

Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003 it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by Ga ...

*1998: ''Le Mystère René Clair'', Plon *1999: ''Astérix & Obélix contre César, l'histoire d'un film'', Paris, Plon *2003: ''Louis Malle, le rebelle solitaire'', Plon; Prix Goncourt de la Biographie *2006: ''André Gide et Marc Allégret, le roman secret'', Plon

References

External links

Pierre Billard obituary
on Le Point {{DEFAULTSORT:Billard, Pierre 1922 births 2016 deaths 20th-century French journalists French film critics Prix Goncourt de la Biographie winners People from Dieppe, Seine-Maritime