Jean-René Pierre Goetgheluck Le Rouge Tillard des Acres de Presfontaines, whose pseudonym was Jean Mitry (; 7 November 1904 – 18 January 1988), was a French

film theorist Film theory is a set of scholarly approaches within the academic discipline of film or cinema studies that began in the 1920s by questioning the formal essential attributes of motion pictures; and that now provides conceptual frameworks for unde ...

critic A critic is a person who communicates an assessment and an opinion of various forms of creative works such as art, literature, music, cinema, theater, fashion, architecture, and food. Critics may also take as their subject social or gover ...

and

filmmaker Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, starting with an initial story, idea, or commission. It then continues through screenwriting, castin ...

, a co-founder of France's first film society, and, in 1938, of the

Cinémathèque Française The Cinémathèque Française (), founded in 1936, is a French non-profit film organization that holds one of the largest archives of film documents and film-related objects in the world. Based in Paris's 12th arrondissement, the archive offers ...

Work

Goetgheluck le Rouge Rillard des Acres de Presfontaines was born in

Soissons Soissons () is a commune in the northern French department of Aisne, in the region of Hauts-de-France. Located on the river Aisne, about northeast of Paris, it is one of the most ancient towns of France, and is probably the ancient capital o ...

and was the first lecturer of film

aesthetics Aesthetics, or esthetics, is a branch of philosophy that deals with the nature of beauty and taste, as well as the philosophy of art (its own area of philosophy that comes out of aesthetics). It examines aesthetic values, often expressed t ...

in France, Mitry was one of the first intellectuals responsible for taking film studies out of the era of the film club and into that of the

university A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United Stat ...

. Mitry was one of few major film theorists who worked in film production himself. He edited

Alexandre Astruc Alexandre Astruc (; 13 July 1923 – 19 May 2016) was a French film critic and film director. Biography Before becoming a film director he was a journalist, novelist and film critic. His contribution to the auteur theory centers on his notion ...

's short film ''Le Rideau Cramoisi'' (1953) and directed two films of his own, ''

Pacific 231 ''Pacific 231'' is an orchestral work by Arthur Honegger, written in 1923. It is one of his most frequently performed works. Description The popular interpretation of the piece is that it depicts a steam locomotive, one that is supported by the ...

'' (1949), set to

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 t ...

's music, and ''Images pour Debussy'' (1952), set to the music of

Claude Debussy (Achille) Claude Debussy (; 22 August 1862 – 25 March 1918) was a French composer. He is sometimes seen as the first Impressionism in music, Impressionist composer, although he vigorously rejected the term. He was among the most infl ...

. He died in

La Garenne-Colombes La Garenne-Colombes () is a commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from Notre Dame de Paris which is the center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe. Name The city used to be p ...

in 1988.

Selected filmography

* ''

The Enigma of the Folies-Bergere ''The Enigma of the Folies-Bergere'' (French: ''Enigme aux Folies-Bergère'') is a 1959 French crime film directed by Jean Mitry and starring Bella Darvi, Frank Villard and Dora Doll.Rège p.728 The police investigate a series of murders at the ...

'' (1959)

Works

* ''Introduction to film aesthetics'' (1960) * ''Dictionary of cinema'' (1963) * ''The Aesthetics and Psychology of the Cinema'' (1965) * ''History of cinema'', 5 volumes (1967–1980) * ''Experimental Cinema: History and perspectives'' (1974) * ''Semiotics and the Analysis of Film'' (new edition 2000) 1904 births 1988 deaths People from Soissons French film critics Film theorists French male writers {{France-film-bio-stub