Pierre Morel (director)

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Morel at a preview of 96 Hours in Paris , February 27, 2008

Pierre Morel (born May 12, 1964 in France ) is a French film director and cameraman . He gained notoriety primarily with the film 96 Hours , which set a record on the first day of its release in the United States with gross revenues of around $ 9.5 million . Never before had a film grossed so much money on the Super Bowl weekend on its launch day. The film also became a surprise success around the world, being released in Germany about a year after its first release in France and not only directly on DVD, as is usually the case after such a long time.

Professional background

Morel has worked as a cameraman in film since 1992 (both as Director of Photography and as a steadicam operator ), and since 2004 he has also completed three films as a director. A special feature of his way of working is that, as a director, he often operates the camera himself. Since his directing success with 96 Hours , Morel has not taken on any assignments as a pure cameraman and is fully focused on his directing projects.

After directing Ghettogangz - Die Hölle vor Paris , 96 Hours and From Paris with Love , he was most recently associated with a remake of Dune and a film adaptation of the board game Ouija , but dropped out of the first project after writing the script had had it reworked, and had to let McG go first with the latter. Thereupon Morel was in discussion for the continuation of 96 Hours , which he had already been working on in 2009. (Ultimately, however, 96 Hours - Taken 2 and 96 Hours - Taken 3 were staged by Olivier Megaton .)

style

Pierre Morel's directorial work is characterized above all by fast, but neatly blending cuts and very stylized camera work that adapts to it, which is particularly alive through cold colors and movement. In doing so, he stands out from modern aesthetics, which rely more on hectic pace and particular confusion due to the wobbly camera, since his films live through speed, but not through jumps, which simulate speed over confusion. The camera movements in his films are usually clean and far removed from an accentuated wobbly aesthetic. The breathtaking effect is only created by the interaction of the speeds of assembly and camera movements, without using jump cuts and camera shake . Occasionally Morel also works at excessive speeds, allowing his material to be played back faster with wide-ranging tracking shots (e.g. in the intro of Ghettogangz ). The retouching of film material in order to increase the stylization of the images is also noticeable from time to time. All in all, his productions appear digitally to an extraordinary extent.
In contrast to films in which the camera shakes constantly, it is also noticeable with Morel that he uses the described effects in a targeted or action-related manner. In 96 Hours in particular, the style only appears more and more as described here as the drama becomes more acute.

With his technique, Morel even succeeded in staging Liam Neeson, who was 54 or 55 years old at the time, so agilely that he completed a whole series of physically highly expressive close combat scenes in breathtakingly fast movements in 96 hours without having to deal with a stuntman to have been instructed. Neeson rejects stunts, but does not see melee scenes as such and was encouraged by Morel to perform at their best. The scenes were then choreographed with a strong focus on fast fighting movements, filmed accordingly and the individual movements of a fight were assembled in a strikingly fast flow of movements. This innovative style, which was often perceived by the audience as being extremely action-packed and fast-paced, and at the same time appears relatively handmade, i.e. H. manages without the help of sensational computer effects, the film advanced to a surprise hit.

Kathrin Lang from the editorial team of moviesection.de described Morel's style, in a review of From Paris with Love , in generally very appropriate words: "The symbiosis of great tracking shots, a grandiose editing and first-class image design produce breathtaking action scenes that gave the French thriller the right setting for its daring story. "

family

Little is known about Morel's private life, as he is reluctant to give interviews, which is supposed to have to do with the fact that he does not like to be looked at at work at work. He has two children.

Filmography (selection)

Director

camera

producer

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Pamela McClintock, Pamela McClintock: Box office crown 'Taken' by Fox. In: Variety. January 31, 2009, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  2. ↑ Interview with Taken Star Maggie Grace ( Memento from January 26, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  3. ↑ Dune without a director again. In: Moviejones. November 10, 2010, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  4. ↑ McG. In: Moviebreak.de. Retrieved August 28, 2019 .
  5. ↑ Liam Neeson confirmed for 'Taken' sequel-SEE VIDEO. December 16, 2010, accessed August 28, 2019 .
  6. ↑ Is Liam Neeson Making a 'Taken' Sequel? ( Memento from February 20, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  7. ↑ Pierre Morel in Hot Pursuit, Talks Taken Sequel ( Memento from September 2, 2010 in the Internet Archive )
  8. ↑ Liam Neeson refuses stunts ( Memento from March 4, 2011 in the Internet Archive )
  9. ↑ http://www.moviesection.de/film/5399-From_Paris_with_Love
  10. ↑ Lifestyle Asia Interview with Director of Taken Pierre Morel ( Memento from May 2, 2009 in the Internet Archive )
personal data
SURNAME Morel, Pierre
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French film director and cameraman
DATE OF BIRTH May 12, 1964
PLACE OF BIRTH France