Max Douy
Max Douy , origin. Maurice Léon Douy (born June 20, 1914 in Issy-les-Moulineaux , France , † July 2, 2007 in Nogent-sur-Marne ) was a French film architect with over four decades of outstanding career in domestic cinema.
Live and act
Douy came to film at the age of 16 as an assistant set designer, where he had been involved in leading French cinema productions throughout the 1930s. He assisted or worked as a second architect under the experienced colleagues Jacques Colombier , Lucien Aguettand , Lazare Meerson , Alexandre Trauner and Eugène Lourié . Especially towards the end of this decade, Douy was involved in important productions, including Max Ophüls ' " Werther " film adaptation as well as Jean Renoir's masterpieces Bestie Mensch and Die Spielregel .
In 1942 Douy went into business for himself. His first works, “ The Last Trump ” by Jacques Becker and Jean Grémillon's film “ Weather Lights ”, which was characterized by a gloomy atmosphere and in which he cooperated with his underground Jewish colleague Trauner, testified to Douy's excellent sense of space and effect.
Hardly any other film architect in France, like Douy, knew how to make splendor and melancholy, elegance and decay in his decorations tangible in the coming decades. A selection of his artistic diversity: In Die eheimliche Herberge he designed a dilapidated bar, for The Castle in the Ardennes he created a château gallery framed by exquisite paintings. In the Bardot adventure film " Rum Street ", Douy immersed himself in the Charleston era while in Malevil - César for the best decorations in 1981 - he created an inhospitable world after a nuclear strike. In the film adaptation of the novel “ Red and Black ” and in the crime story “ The Maurizius Case ”, Douy created a bourgeois upper-middle-class ambience while in the comedy during the occupation two men, a pig and the night of Paris with the design of a lovingly designed Parisian petty bourgeois and Backyard milieus convinced. Douy has always been able to immerse himself intensively in certain epochs and the lives of people in their worlds through spatiality.
Virtually the entire elite of French filmmaking acted in douy decorations: from Jean Gabin , Louis de Funès and Jean Marais to Gérard Philipe and Melina Mercouri to Catherine Deneuve and Yves Montand . One of his last works was several drafts for the James Bond film Moonraker - top secret , the only Bond production that was co-produced by France (and also shot there to a considerable extent).
The production designer had also designed numerous decorations for theatrical performances and television programs. As a highly respected technician in French cinematography, Douy worked in various administrative functions in addition to his architectural work. He was the president of the 'Syndicat des techniciens de la production cinématographique' and since 1980 also president of the 'Union des auteurs et techniciens du cinéma et de la television'.
Max Douy withdrew into his private life at the age of 70 and wrote a book on film architecture together with his brother Jacques Douy , who also worked as a production designer . His son Serge Douy also worked as a film architect.
Filmography (only as chief architect)
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literature
- Kay Less : The film's great personal dictionary . The actors, directors, cameramen, producers, composers, screenwriters, film architects, outfitters, costume designers, editors, sound engineers, make-up artists and special effects designers of the 20th century. Volume 2: C - F. John Paddy Carstairs - Peter Fritz. Schwarzkopf & Schwarzkopf, Berlin 2001, ISBN 3-89602-340-3 , p. 445.
Web links
- Max Douy in the Internet Movie Database (English) - wrong year of birth 1913
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Douy, Max |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Douy, Maurice Léon (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | French film architect |
| DATE OF BIRTH | June 20, 1914 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Issy-les-Moulineaux , France |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 2, 2007 |
| Place of death | Nogent-sur-Marne |