Henri Decaë
Personal Info
Known for
Camera
Gender
Male
Birthday
1915-07-31
Day of Death
1987-03-07 (71 years old)
Place of Birth
Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France
Henri Decaë
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Henri Decaë (31 July 1915 – 7 March 1987) gained fame as a cinematographer entering the film industry as a sound engineer and sound editor. He was a photojournalist in the French army during World War II. After the war he began making documentary shorts, directing and photographing industrial and commercial films. In 1947 he made his first feature film.
Decaë is strongly associated with directors who strongly influenced, or were part of, the French New Wave. These include Jean-Pierre Melville, Louis Malle and Claude Chabrol. Decaë first worked as a cinematographer with Melville on Le Silence de la Mer (1949). Decaë also edited and mixed the sound. Although Decaë worked with Melville on Les enfants terribles, which as Williams commented (1992, p333) "...the work is more accurately to be viewed as a stunning demonstration of the cinematic possibilities of faithful literary adaptation in the hands of a gifted director", according to Marie (p 88) it was his distinctive camera work on Bob le flambeur which caught the attention of the Cahiers critics. Malle hired him for his first two features and Chabrol for his first three features. They had been lucky as Decaë was finding it hard to get work at that time as he was being informally shunned by many after participating in a critical film about the Korean War. By the time Decaë worked for François Truffaut on The 400 Blows he came with a reputation, which meant that he was the highest-paid person on the film.
Decaë's liking for natural light, his ability to work at speed as well as his excellent photographic sensibility led to him working with René Clément on several features beginning with Plein soleil (1960). It was Decaë "...who liberated the camera, from its fixed tripod. He made the New Wave possible, backing up Melville, Malle, Chabrol and Truffaut." (Marie, 2003 p 89)
Known For
Crew
(1984)
The Vengeance of the Winged Serpent
Director of Photography
(1983)
Exposed
Director of Photography
(1983)
My Other Husband
Director of Photography
(1981)
The Professional
Director of Photography
(1980)
The Island
Director of Photography
(1980)
Le Guignolo
Director of Photography
(1980)
Inspector Blunder
Director of Photography
(1980)
The Hard Way
Director of Photography
(1980)
Umbrella Coup
Director of Photography
(1979)
Cop or Hood
Director of Photography
(1979)
An Almost Perfect Affair
Director of Photography
(1978)
The Boys from Brazil
Director of Photography
(1978)
These Sorcerers Are Mad
Director of Photography
(1977)
Bobby Deerfield
Director of Photography
(1977)
Death of a Corrupt Man
Director of Photography
(1976)
Seven Nights in Japan
Cinematography
(1975)
The Wild Goose Chase
Director of Photography
(1974)
I'm Losing My Temper
Director of Photography
(1973)
The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
Director of Photography
(1973)
Don Juan or If Don Juan Were a Woman
Director of Photography
(1973)
Two People
Director of Photography
(1972)
The Right to Love
Director of Photography
(1971)
Joe: The Busybody
Director of Photography
(1971)
The Light at the Edge of the World
Director of Photography
(1971)
Delusions of Grandeur
Director of Photography
(1970)
Hello-Goodbye
Director of Photography
(1970)
Le Cercle Rouge
Director of Photography
(1970)
The Only Game in Town
Director of Photography
(1969)
The Sicilian Clan
Director of Photography
(1969)
Castle Keep
Director of Photography
(1968)
D-Day Revisited
Director of Photography
(1967)
Le Samouraï
Director of Photography
(1967)
The Night of the Generals
Director of Photography
(1967)
The Comedians
Director of Photography
(1967)
Diabolically Yours
Director of Photography
(1967)
The Thief of Paris
Director of Photography
(1966)
Hotel Paradiso
Director of Photography
(1965)
The Sucker
Director of Photography
(1965)
Viva Maria!
Director of Photography
(1964)
The Black Tulip
Director of Photography
(1964)
Joy House
Director of Photography
(1964)
Weekend at Dunkirk
Director of Photography
(1964)
Circle of Love
Director of Photography
(1963)
The Day and the Hour
Director of Photography
(1963)
Magnet of Doom
Director of Photography
(1963)
Sweet and Sour
Director of Photography
(1962)
A Very Private Affair
Director of Photography
(1962)
Lust
Director of Photography
(1962)
The Seven Deadly Sins
Director of Photography
(1962)
Pride
Director of Photography
(1962)
Eva
Director of Photography
(1962)
La Paresse
Director of Photography
(1962)
Sundays and Cybele
Director of Photography
(1961)
Léon Morin, Priest
Director of Photography
(1961)
The Joy of Living
Director of Photography
(1960)
Purple Noon
Director of Photography
(1960)
The Good Girls
Director of Photography
(1959)
The 400 Blows
Director of Photography
(1959)
The Cousins
Director of Photography
(1959)
Witness in the City
Director of Photography
(1959)
The Verdict
Camera Operator
(1959)
À double tour
Director of Photography
(1958)
Elevator to the Gallows
Director of Photography
(1958)
The Lovers
Director of Photography
(1958)
Handsome Serge
Director of Photography
(1957)
S.O.S. Noronha
Director of Photography
(1956)
Bob le Flambeur
Director of Photography
(1956)
Le masque de Toutankhamon
Cinematography
(1955)
Heartbreak Ridge
Director of Photography
(1952)
Heart of the Casbah
Director of Photography
(1951)
Faits d'hiver
Director, Director of Photography
(1950)
The Strange Ones
Director of Photography
(1949)
The Silence of the Sea
Director of Photography, Editor
(1937)
Pour bien filmer
Director