Jean-Pierre Coursodon (23 July 1935 – 31 December 2020) was a French film critic and historian. He wrote film reviews and journal articles to the magazines including ''Cinéma'' (1958–1965, 1977–1986) and ''Anthologie du Cinéma'' (1966–1969). In 1967, Coursodon began living in the United States where he contributed essays to ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'' (1973–1975) and ''Cinéma d'Aujourd'hui'' (1975–1976). Since 1988, Coursodon served as an American correspondent for '' Positif'' magazine. In 1970, Coursodon also co-wrote with

Bertrand Tavernier Bertrand Tavernier (25 April 1941 – 25 March 2021) was a French director, screenwriter, actor and producer. Life and career Tavernier was born in Lyon, France, the son of Geneviève (née Dumond) and René Tavernier, a publicist and writer, s ...

an encyclopedic book ''30 ans de cinéma Américain'' (translated as ''30 Years of American Cinema''). The book was updated in 1991 as ''50 ans de cinéma américain'' to encompass two more decades. Both encyclopedia editions have yet to be translated into English. Coursodon was the co-editor (along with

Pierre Sauvage Pierre Sauvage is a French-American documentary filmmaker and lecturer, who was a child survivor of the Holocaust. Described by ''Tablet'' Magazine as "a filmmaker of rare moral perception." Documentary filmmaker Sauvage is best known for his ...

) of the two-volume, English-language work ''American Directors'' (1983). Coursodon also worked as a translator, being responsible for the French editions of

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a seri ...

's autobiography, the memoirs of

André de Toth Endre Antal Miksa DeToth, better known as Andre de Toth (born Endre Antal Mihály Tóth; May 15, 1913 – October 27, 2002), was a Hungarian-American film director, born and raised in Makó, Austria-Hungary. He directed the 3D film House of Wa ...

, and biographies of

Roberto Rossellini Roberto Gastone Zeffiro Rossellini (8 May 1906 – 3 June 1977) was an Italian film director, producer, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prominent directors of the Italian neorealist cinema, contributing to the movement with films such ...

Howard Hawks Howard Winchester Hawks (May 30, 1896December 26, 1977) was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era. Critic Leonard Maltin called him "the greatest American director who is not a household name." A ...

, and

John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...

. On 31 December 2020, Coursodon died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, at the age of 85.

Published works

* * * (later re-published in 1986 in a new revised and expanded edition, Atlas / Lherminier éditeur, ) * * ''50 ans de cinéma américain''
on DVD Classic *

References

External links

Jean-Pierre Coursodon
on revues-de-cinema.net
Jean-Pierre Coursodon
on

Actes Sud Actes Sud is a French publishing house based in Arles. It was founded in 1978 by author Hubert Nyssen. By 2013, the company, then headed by Nyssen's daughter, Françoise Nyssen, had an annual turnover of 60 million euros and 60 staff members. H ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Coursodon, Jean-Pierre 1935 births 2020 deaths 20th-century French male writers 20th-century French non-fiction writers 21st-century French male writers 21st-century French non-fiction writers Film theorists French film critics French film historians Writers from Paris