Eric Serra

Eric Serra at the César Awards 2016

Éric Serra (born September 9, 1959 in Paris , France ) is a French film composer .

biography

Éric Serra came to music through his father Claude Serra, who was a very well-known singer-songwriter in France. His mother died when he was seven years old. He started playing the guitar at the age of eleven. At the age of 15 Serra was already performing as a guitarist with several bands. In 1976 he was considered one of the most sought-after studio guitarists with over 50 recordings with international pop artists such as Jacques Higelin , Pierre Meige and Youssou N'Dour .

In 1981 Serra first met director Luc Besson , who brought him to film music. Serra composed the music for the short film avant dernier, L . Serra made friends with Besson and was henceforth his main composer. He later set other well-known films by Luc Besson to music, including Im Rausch der Tief (1988), Nikita (1990), Léon - The Professional (1994), The Fifth Element (1997) and Johanna von Orleans (1999).

In 1995 Serra composed the music for GoldenEye , the 17th James Bond film. In 1998 he released a rock album called RXRA .

In 2018 he was appointed to the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , which awards the Oscars every year.

Music and public impact

Éric Serra is one of the experimental film composers, which makes his work controversial. His rather dark composition for the James Bond film GoldenEye caused irritation. If you were used to the orchestral music of John Barry from earlier Bond films, Serra relied on a mixture of orchestral and electronic music to portray the coldness of the former Soviet Union in the film. Since this new form did not go down well with the audience, Serra was only allowed to set one James Bond film to music. With the film scores for The Fifth Element and In Rush of the Deep , on the other hand, he achieved a great commercial success, as his novel compositions looked as if they were made for these films.

Well-known soundtracks (selection)

• 1983: The Last Fight ( Le Dernier Combat - Directed by Luc Besson )
• 1985: Subway (Director: Luc Besson)
• 1987: In the intoxication of the deep ( Le grand bleu - Director: Luc Besson)
• 1990: Nikita (Director: Luc Besson)
• 1994: Léon - The Professional ( Léon - Director: Luc Besson)
• 1995: James Bond 007 - Goldeneye ( GoldenEye - Director: Martin Campbell )
• 1997: The Fifth Element ( Le Cinquième Élément - Director: Luc Besson)
• 1999: Johanna von Orleans ( The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc - Director: Luc Besson)
• 2002: Rollerball (Director: John McTiernan )
• 2002: Jet Lag - Or where love flies to ( Décalage horaire - Director: Danièle Thompson )
• 2003: Bulletproof Monk ( Bulletproof Monk - Director: Paul Hunter )
• 2006: Bandidas (Director: Joachim Roenning)
• 2006: Arthur and the Minimoys ( Arthur et les Minimoys - Director: Luc Besson)
• 2009: Arthur and the Minimoys 2 - The Return of Evil M ( Arthur et la Vengeance de Maltazard - Director: Luc Besson)
• 2010: Adèle and the Pharaoh's Secret ( Les aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec - Director: Luc Besson)
• 2010: Arthur and the Minimoys 3 - The big decision ( Arthur et la Guerre des deux mondes - Director: Luc Besson)
• 2011: The Lady ( Dans la Lumière - Director: Luc Besson)
• 2014: Lucy (Director: Luc Besson)
• 2017: Renegades - Mission of Honor ( Renegades - Director: Steven Quale )
• 2019: Anna (Director: Luc Besson)

Awards

• Broadcast Music Incorporated (BMI) Award for the score for GoldenEye
• 2000: César nomination for the film music for Johanna von Orleans
• 1998: César nomination for the film music for The Fifth Element
• 1995: César nomination for the film music for Léon - The Professional
• 1991: César nomination for the film music for Nikita
• 1989: César for the film music for Im Rausch deriefe
• 1986: César nomination for the film music for Subway

Web links

• Official website
• Eric Serra in the Internet Movie Database (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Academy invites 928 to Membersphip . In: oscars.org (accessed June 26, 2018).