Georges Delerue Georges Delerue

Born: 12 March 1925, Roubaix, France.
Died: 20 March 1992.

Biography:
Revered French composer whose work in Europe in the 1960s was unparalleled, but who was never able to recapture the same success working in Hollywood in the 1980s. Studied at the Paris Conservatoire under classical great Darius Milhaud, and wrote critically acclaimed ballets and concert pieces during the 1940s and 1950s, before entering the film music scene in 1957 as part of the French "new wave" pioneered by directors such as François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Alain Resnais. Audiences immediately connected with Delerue's lush, emotional, passionate music - just as Delerue himself responded in emotional terms to the films he was asked to score. During a career that spanned almost 40 years and encompassed almost 200 movies, Delerue became one of the most prolific and well-respected composers in European cinema. His music accompanied such classics as "Jules et Jim" (1961), "Le Mépris" (1963), "Interlude" (1968), "Day for Night" (1973), "Love on the Run" (1978), "Get Out Your Handkerchiefs" (1979) and "The Last Metro" (1980), the last of which saw him receive three consecutive César Awards. During the 1970s, Delerue finally began to make an impact on Hollywood, culminating in a long-overdue Academy Award in 1979 for "A Little Romance". After that time, Delerue relocated to Hollywood and tried to replicate his European success there. However, despite writing consistently high quality music, the films themselves tended to be either critically dismissed, or box office failures, or both - the only notable exceptions being "Silkwood" (1983), "Agnes of God" (1985), "Salvador" (1986), "Platoon" (1986), "Beaches" (1988) and "Steel Magnolias" (1989). Delerue"s last score was "Rich in Love" in 1992, for director Bruce Beresford: sadly, Delerue suffered a fatal stroke while still in the recording studio, and died aged 67 that same afternoon, without ever seeing the finished film. The elegance and grace he brought to every film he scored remains missed, over a decade after his death. Trivia note: Delerue had two scores rejected in his North American career - Something Wicked This Way Comes (eventually scored by James Horner) and Regarding Henry (eventually scored by Hans Zimmer).

Reviews:
Agnes of God, Joe Versus the Volcano and Great Composers (compilation).

Filmography:
Man Trouble (1992), Diên Biên Phú (1992), Memento Mori (1992), Rich in Love (1992), Curly Sue (1991), Cadence (1991), Without Warning: The James Brady Story (1991), La Reine Blanche (1991), Mister Johnson (1991), The Josephine Baker Story (1991), American Friends (1991), Black Robe (1991), Tours Du Monde Tours Du Ciel (1991), Joe Versus The Volcano (1990), A Show of Force (1990), Steel Magnolias (1989), Georg Elser (1989), Her Alibi (1989), La Révolution Français (1989), Twins (1988), To Kill a Priest (1988), The House on Carroll Street (1988), Biloxi Blues (1988), Der Atem (1988), Beaches (1988), Chouans! (1988), Heartbreak Hotel (1988), Memories of Me (1988), Paris by Night (1988), A Summer Story (1988), The Pick Up Artist (1987), Queenie (1987), Un Homme Amoreux (1987), Escape from Sobibor (1987), Her Secret Life (1987), The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne (1987), Maid to Order (1987), Descent Into Hell (1986), Salvador (1986), Family Business (1986), Crimes of the Heart (1986), Platoon (1986), Sin of Innocence (1986), Sword of Gideon (1986), Touch and Go (1986), Women of Valor (1986), Agnes of God (1985), Amos (1985), Arch of Triumph (1985), Deadly Intentions (1985), The Execution (1985), Maxie (1985), Stone Pillow (1985), A Time to Live (1985), Les Morfalous (1984), Le Bon Plaisir (1984), Love Thy Neighbor (1984), Aurora By Night (1984), Silence of the Heart (1984), Exposed (1983), The Black Stallion Returns (1983), Vivement Dimanche (1983), One Deadly Summer (1983), The African (1983), Nobody's Women (1983), Man, Woman and Child (1983), Silkwood (1983), The Escape Artist (1982), Josepha (1982), A Little Sex (1982), Partners (1982), The Passerby (1982), The Borgias (1981), Documenteur (1981), The Inquisitor (1981), Rich and Famous (1981), Richard's Things (1981), True Confessions (1981), The Woman Next Door (1981), The Last Metro (1980), Willie and Phil (1980), The Judge's Friend (1979), An Almost Perfect Affair (1979), Love on the Run (1979), A Little Romance (1979), Lundi (1979), Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (1978), Julia (1977), Julie - Pot de Colle (1977), Dear Detective (1977), Your Turn, My Turn (1977), Calmos (1976), Comme Un Boomerang (1976), Femmes Fatales (1976), Police Python 357 (1976), The Main Thing Is to Love (1975), The Incorrigible (1975), Never Again Always (1975), Le Cloche Tibétaine (1974), The Slap (1974), Alien Thunder (1973), The Day of the Dolphin (1973), The Day of the Jackal (1973), John's Wife (1973), Love Comes Quietly (1973), Day for Night (1973), Chère Louise (1972), Somewhere, Someone (1972), Such a Gorgeous Girl Like Me (1972), Two English Girls (1971), The Horsemen (1971), Malpertuis: The Legend of Doom House (1971), Mira (1971), Women in Love (1970), Alex in Wonderland (1970), Give Her the Moon (1970), Comptes à Rebours (1970), The Conformist (1971), Promise at Dawn (1970), Anne of the 1000 Days (1969), Le Cerveau (1969), The Devil by the Tail (1969), Heureux Qui Comme Ulysse (1969), Hibernatus (1969), A Walk with Love and Death (1969), Les Cracks (1968), The High Commissioner (1968), Interlude (1968), Thibaud the Crusader (1968), The Old Man and the Boy (1968), Nameless Star (1967), Oscar (1967), Our Mother's House (1967), The 25th Hour (1967), A Man for All Seasons (1966), King of Hearts (1966), Viva María! (1965), Rapture (1965), The Player Pianos (1965), Chinese Adventures in China (1965), Male Companion (1965), The Soft Skin (1964), Le Corniaud (1964), That Man from Rio (1964), L'Insoumis (1964), Lucky Jo (1964), The Pumpkin Eater (1964), Le Mépris (1963), Magnet of Doom (1963), Greed in the Sun (1963), Highway Pick-Up (1963), French Dressing (1963), How to Be a Spy Without Even Trying (1963), L'Immortelle (1963), Love at 20 (1962), Cartouche (1962), Rififi in Tokyo (1962), Paris Pick-Up (1962), Vive le Tour (1962), L'Affaire Nina B (1961), Jules et Jim (1961), The Joker (1960), The Games of Love (1960), The Season for Love (1960), Playtime (1960), Shoot the Piano Player (1960), The Long Absence (1961), Love Is When You Make It (1959), The Big Risk (1959), Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959), A Mistress for the Summer (1959), L'Opera Mouffe (1958), La Premiere Nuit (1958), Girl in His Pocket (1957).

Highest Grossing Films (adjusted for inflation):
Platoon ($264.3m), Twins ($192.8m), Steel Magnolias ($149.3m), Beaches ($98.3m), Silkwood ($80.1m), Biloxi Blues ($74.3m), Joe Versus the Volcano ($66.0m), Curly Sue ($56.7m), The Day of the Jackal ($55.7m), Agnes of God ($51.1m)

Awards:
1979 Academy Awards - Winner, Best Original Score - A Little Romance
1985 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Agnes of God
1977 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Score - Julia
1973 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - Day of the Dolphin
1969 Academy Awards - Nominee, Best Original Dramatic Score - Anne of the Thousand Days
1979 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - A Little Romance
1973 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - The Day of the Dolphin
1969 Golden Globes - Nominee, Best Original Score - Anne of the Thousand Days
1978 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – Julia
1969 BAFTA Awards – Nominee, Anthony Asquith Award for Film Music – Women in Love

Links:
Page de Georges Delerue by Clement Fontaine

Agnes of God Anne of the 1000 Days Beaches Black Robe The Black Stallion Returns The Borgias Calmos Cartouche Chouans! Comme Un Boomerang Le Cornaiud/Le Cerveau The Conformist Crimes of the Heart Curly Sue The Day of the Dolphin Diên Biên Phú The Escape Artist Georg Elser Joe Versus The Volcano Jules et Jim/Le Cloche Tibétaine The Last Metro A Little Romance The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne Man Trouble Le Mépris Our Mother's House/The 25th Hour Platoon/Salvador Promise at Dawn La Reine Blanche La Révolution Français Rich in Love A Show of Force Silkwood Steel Magnolias A Summer Story Thibaud the Crusader To Kill a Priest Tours Du Monde Tours Du Ciel True Confessions Twins Two English Girls Un Homme Amoreux Viva María! Vivement Dimanche The Woman Next Door


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