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-Inf� ...

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

Occupation of France The Military Administration in France (; ) was an Military Administration (Nazi Germany), interim occupation authority established by Nazi Germany during World War II to administer the occupied zone in areas of northern and western French Third ...

. They would become close and the teaching of Feldman marked him permanently. He then went to study at the Sorbonne, 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: Academic criticism by film scholars, who study the composition of film theory and publish their findin ...

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 192 ...

'', ''

Candide ( , ) is a French satire written by Voltaire, a philosopher of the Age of Enlightenment, first published in 1759. The novella has been widely translated, with English versions titled ''Candide: or, All for the Best'' (1759); ''Candide: or, The ...

'' and ''

L'Express (, stylized in all caps) is a French weekly news magazine headquartered in Paris. The weekly stands at the political centre-right in the French media landscape, and has a lifestyle supplement, ''L'Express Styles'', and a job supplement, ''R� ...

'', he was one of the cofounders of the weekly ''

Le Point ''Le Point'' () is a French weekly political and conservative news magazine published in Paris. It is one of the three major French news magazines. ''Le Point'' was founded in 1972 by former journalists of ''L'Express'' and quickly rose to be ...

'' 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 ...

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

Institut d'études politiques de Paris Sciences Po () or Sciences Po Paris, also known as the Paris Institute of Political Studies (), is a public research university located in Paris, France, that holds the status of ''grande école'' and the legal status of . The university's unde ...

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 Film, motion picture with synchronization, 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, bu ...

, 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'' (), abbreviated as ''Les Inrocks'', is a French cultural magazine. Started as a monthly in 1986, it became weekly in 1995. As of 2021, it returned to a monthly format. In the beginning, rock music was the magazine's prim ...

'' 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. H ...

and

Jean Renoir Jean Renoir (; 15 September 1894 – 12 February 1979) was a French film director, screenwriter, actor, producer and author. His '' La Grande Illusion'' (1937) and '' The Rules of the Game'' (1939) are often cited by critics as among the greate ...

. 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 (; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...

'', 11 novembre 2016.

Publications

*1958: ''Vamps'', L'Art du Siècle *1966: ''Jean Grémillon'', Anthologie du cinéma *1995: ''L'Âge classique du cinéma français'',

Flammarion Flammarion may refer to: * Camille Flammarion (1842–1925), French astronomer and author * Gabrielle Renaudot Flammarion (1877–1962), French astronomer, second wife of Camille Flammarion * Sylvie Flammarion (1836-1919), French feminist and paci ...

; René Clair Award *1997: ''D'or et de palmes, le Festival de Cannes'', series "

Découvertes Gallimard (, ; in United Kingdom: ''New Horizons'', in United States: ''Abrams Discoveries'') is an Collection (publishing), editorial collection of Book illustration, illustrated monographic books published by the Éditions Gallimard in Pocket edition, ...

" 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 G ...

*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 The Prix Goncourt ( , "The Goncourt Prize") is a prize in French literature, given by the académie Goncourt to the author of "the best and most imaginative prose work of the year". The prize carries a symbolic reward of only 10 euros, but resul ...

*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