Léonce-Henri Burel (23 November 1892 – 21 March 1977) was a French cinematographer whose career extended from the silent era until the early 1970s. He was the director of photography on more than 120 films, working almost exclusively in black-and-white."Léonce-Henri Burel", a
''Ciné-Ressources''
etrieved 24 May 2015./ref>

Career

After studying at the University of Nantes, he initially worked as a photoengraver before becoming a camera operator. At the Film d'Art company in 1915 he was noticed by

Abel Gance Abel Gance (; born Abel Eugène Alexandre Péréthon; 25 October 188910 November 1981) was a French film director, producer, writer and actor. A pioneer in the theory and practice of montage, he is best known for three major silent films: ''J'ac ...

and began a collaboration with him which extended over 16 films, including ''

J'accuse "''J'Accuse...!''" (; "I Accuse...!") is an open letter, written by Émile Zola in response to the events of the Dreyfus affair, that was published on 13 January 1898 in the newspaper ''L'Aurore''. Zola addressed the president of France, Félix ...

'', ''

La Roue ''La Roue'' (, 'The Wheel') is a French silent film, directed by Abel Gance, who also directed '' Napoléon'' and ''J'accuse''. It was released in 1923. The film used then-revolutionary lighting techniques, and rapid scene changes and cuts. ...

'', and ''

Napoléon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led a series of mi ...

''. In the period of silent films he also worked on several productions with

Jacques Feyder Jacques Feyder (; 21 July 1885 – 24 May 1948) was a Belgian film director, screenwriter and actor who worked principally in France, but also in the US, Britain and Germany. He was a director of silent films during the 1920s, and in the 193 ...

. During the 1930s he worked regularly with

Jean Dréville Jean Dréville (20 September 1906 – 5 March 1997) was a French film director. He directed more than 40 films between 1928 and 1969. Selected filmography * (1928) * '' A Man of Gold'' (1934) * '' The Chess Player'' (1938) * '' White Nigh ...

and

Henri Decoin Henri Decoin (18 March 1890 – 4 July 1969) was a French film director and screenwriter, who directed more than 50 films between 1933 and 1964. He was also a swimmer who won the national title in 1911 and held the national record in the 500 ...

. With '' Le Journal d'un curé de campagne'', for which he won the best cinematography award at the Venice Film Festival in 1951, Burel began another important collaboration with the director

Robert Bresson Robert Bresson (; 25 September 1901 – 18 December 1999) was a French film director. Known for his ascetic approach, Bresson made a notable contribution to the art of cinema; his non-professional actors, Ellipsis (narrative device), ellipses, an ...

which continued through three further films. Burel also directed three films himself between 1922 and 1932. ''Dictionnaire du cinéma français'', sous la direction de Jean-Loup Passek. (Paris: Larousse, 1987.) p. 63.

Selected filmography

* 1915: ''

La Folie du docteur Tube ''La Folie du docteur Tube'' is a 1915 short film, short silent film, silent experimental film directed by Abel Gance, in which a scientist takes a white, cocaine-like powder which makes him hallucinate. Gance shows the man's hallucinations by u ...

'', directed by

* 1917: ''Mater dolorosa'' ('' The Torture of Silence''), directed by Abel Gance * 1918: ''La Dixième Symphonie'' ('' The Tenth Symphony''), directed by Abel Gance * 1918: '' Le Comte de Monte Cristo'', directed by Henri Pouctal * 1919: ''

'', directed by Abel Gance * 1921: ''

'', directed by Abel Gance * 1922: '' Crainquebille'', directed by

* 1925: ''Visages d'enfants'' ('' Faces of Children''), directed by Jacques Feyder * 1926: '' Michel Strogoff'', directed by

Victor Tourjansky Victor Tourjansky ( 4 March 1891 – 13 August 1976), born Vyacheslav Konstantinovich Turzhansky (), was a Russian actor, screenwriter and film director who emigrated after the Russian Revolution (1917), Russian Revolution of 1917. He worked in F ...

* 1927: ''

'', directed by Abel Gance * 1927: ''Casanova'' ('' The Loves of Casanova''), directed by Alexandre Volkoff * 1928: ''L'Équipage'' ('' The Crew''), directed by

Maurice Tourneur Maurice Félix Thomas (; 2 February 1876 – 4 August 1961), known as Maurice Tourneur (), was a French film director and screenwriter. Life Born Maurice Félix Thomas in the Épinettes district (17th arrondissement of Paris), his father was a w ...

* 1929: '' The Three Passions'', directed by Rex Ingram * 1929: '' Vénus'', directed by

Louis Mercanton Louis Mercanton (4 May 1879 – 29 April 1932) was a Swiss people, Swiss film director, screenwriter and actor. Mercanton was born in Nyon, Vaud, Canton of Vaud, Switzerland and died in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France. Partial filmography Director * ' ...

* 1930: '' Nuits de princes'' (''Nights of Princes''), directed by

Marcel L'Herbier Marcel L'Herbier (; 23 April 1888 – 26 November 1979) was a French filmmaker who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued unti ...

* 1931: '' La Femme d'une nuit'', directed by Marcel L'Herbier * 1932: ''La Femme nue'' ('' The Nude Woman''), directed by

Jean-Paul Paulin Jean-Paul Paulin (1902–1976) was a French film director, producer 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 screenwriti ...

* 1934: ''Le Petit Jacques'' ('' Little Jacques''), directed by Gaston Roudès * 1938: ''Retour à l'aube'' (''

Return at Dawn ''Return at Dawn'', also known as ''She Returned at Dawn'' (French: ''Retour à l'aube''), is a 1938 French drama film starring Danielle Darrieux. The film was directed by Henri Decoin, who cowrote the screenplay with Pierre Wolff, based on a sho ...

''), directed by

* 1940: '' Vénus aveugle'', directed by Abel Gance * 1942: ''La Belle Aventure'' ('' The Beautiful Adventure''), directed

Marc Allégret Marc Allégret (22 December 1900 – 3 November 1973) was a French screenwriter, photographer and film director. Biography Born in Basel, Basel-Stadt, Switzerland, he was the elder brother of Yves Allégret. Marc was educated to be a lawyer in ...

* 1949: '' Suzanne et ses brigands'' ('' Suzanne and the Robbers''), directed by

Yves Ciampi Yves Ciampi (; 9 February 1921 – 5 November 1982) was a French film director. He was married to Japanese actress Kishi Keiko from 1957 to 1975. His 1965 film ''Heaven on One's Head'' was entered into the 4th Moscow International Film Festiv ...

* 1949: ''Valse brillante'' ('' Brilliant Waltz''), directed by Jean Boyer * 1949: '' Le Mystère Barton'' ('' The Barton Mystery''), directed by Charles Spaak * 1951: ''Journal d'un curé de campagne'' (''

Diary of a Country Priest ''Diary of a Country Priest'' () is a 1951 French drama film written and directed by Robert Bresson. The film stars Claude Laydu in his feature film debut. A faithful adaptation of Georges Bernanos' Grand Prix du Roman-winning novel of the sa ...

''), directed by

* 1955: ''La Madone des sleepings'' ('' Madonna of the Sleeping Cars''), directed by

Henri Diamant-Berger Henri Diamant-Berger (9 June 1895 – 7 May 1972) was a French film director, director, film producer, producer and screenwriter. In a career that lasted more than 50 years, he directed 48 films between 1913 in film, 1913 and 1959 in film, 1959, ...

* 1956: ''Un condamné à mort s'est échappé'' (''

A Man Escaped ''A Man Escaped'', also known as ''A Man Escaped or The Wind Bloweth Where It Listeth'' (), is a 1956 French prison film directed by Robert Bresson. The film is loosely based on the memoir of André Devigny, a member of the French Resistance who ...

''), directed by Robert Bresson * 1959: ''

Pickpocket Pickpocketing is a form of larceny that involves the stealing of money or other valuables from the person or a victim's pocket without them noticing the theft at the time. It may involve considerable dexterity and a knack for Misdirection (magic ...

'', directed by Robert Bresson * 1961: '' Un soir sur la plage'' (''One Night on the Beach''), directed by

Michel Boisrond Michel Jacques Boisrond (9 October 1921 – 10 November 2002) was a French film director and screenwriter. His work spanned five decades, from the 1950s to the 1990s. Career A former apprentice of Jean Delannoy, Jean Cocteau, and René Clair ...

* 1962: ''Procès de Jeanne d'Arc'' ('' The Trial of Joan of Arc''), directed by Robert Bresson * 1963: '' Chair de poule'', directed by

Julien Duvivier Julien Duvivier (; 8 October 1896 – 29 October 1967) was a French film director and screenwriter. He was prominent in French cinema in the years 1930–1960. Amongst his most original films, chiefly notable are ''La Bandera (film), La Bandera'', ...

References

External links

* *"Léonce-Henri Burel", i
''Internet Encyclopedia of Cinematographers''
etrieved 24 May 2015.*"Léonce-Henri Burel", i
''Dictionnaire du cinéma français des années vingt''
covering particularly Burel's work with Gance and Feyder in the 1920s. etrieved 24 May 2015.In French. *"Burel & Bresson: interview by Rui Nogueira, translation and introduction by Tom Milne", in ''Sight and Sound'', Winter 1976/1977, vol. 46(1), pp. 18-21
Republished online
on the BFI website (September 2020); archived at th
Wayback Machine
etrieved 30 April 2021 {{DEFAULTSORT:Burel, Leonce-Henri 1892 births 1977 deaths French cinematographers