Pierre Schoendoerffer facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Pierre Schoendoerffer
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Pierre Schoendoerffer at the Cinémathèque Française
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Pierre Schœndœrffer
5 May 1928 Chamalières, France
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| Died | 14 March 2012 (aged 83) Clamart, France
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| Spouse(s) | Patricia Schoendoerffer (1958–2012) |
| Awards | Best Documentary Feature Won: 1968 The Anderson Platoon IATAS Outstanding Made for Television Documentary 1967 The Anderson Platoon |
Pierre Schoendoerffer (French: Pierre Schœndœrffer; 5 May 1928 – 14 March 2012) was a famous French film director, screenwriter, and writer. He was also a war reporter and cameraman. He was known for his experiences in the First Indochina War.
In 1967, he won an Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature for his film The Anderson Platoon. This film followed a group of American soldiers during six weeks of intense fighting in Vietnam in 1966.
Contents
About Pierre Schoendoerffer
His Family and Early Life
Pierre Schoendoerffer was born in Chamalières, France. His family was from Alsace, a region that was often fought over by France and Germany. His family lost their belongings because of these conflicts.
His grandfather fought in World War I and died in battle. Pierre's father was a hospital director. He was injured in the Battle of France in 1940 and died soon after.
Pierre met his wife, Patricia, in Morocco. She was a journalist. They had three children: Frédéric, Ludovic, and Amélie. Pierre Schoendoerffer passed away in France in 2012, at 83 years old.
Becoming a Filmmaker
During World War II, Pierre lost his father. He wasn't doing well in school. In 1942, he read an adventure novel called Fortune Carrée by Joseph Kessel. This book made him want to become a sailor and travel the world.
In 1946, he worked as a fisherman on a small boat. The next year, he sailed on a Swedish cargo ship. He spent two years sailing in the Baltic Sea and North Sea. These experiences later inspired some of his films, like Seven Days at Sea and The Drummer-Crab.
Pierre realized he wasn't meant to be a sailor or a soldier. He wanted to make films. When he couldn't get into the film industry, he started with photography. He read about a war cameraman who died in the First Indochina War. This made him decide to join the French army's film service.
War Cameraman in Indochina
In 1951, Pierre volunteered to be a war cameraman for the French army. He was sent to Saigon, in French Indochina. There, he became friends with Jean Péraud, a war photographer.
Pierre's first film was a short documentary about the First Indochina War. In 1954, his friend Péraud asked him to join the Battle of Dien Bien Phu. Pierre filmed the entire battle. After the French forces were defeated, he destroyed his films and camera so they wouldn't be captured. His son, Frédéric, later played his father's role in a film about this battle called Dien Bien Phu.
Prisoner of War and War Reporter
After the battle, Pierre was captured and sent to a prison camp. He tried to escape but was caught. His life was saved because of a Soviet war reporter named Roman Karmen. Karmen had found some of Pierre's hidden film reels and watched them. He kept the reels, so the only films of the battle are from the other side.
Pierre was released four months later. After the war, he left the army. He became a war reporter and photographer for magazines like Paris Match and Life.
In 1955, he returned to France, stopping in places like Hong Kong and Hollywood. In Hong Kong, he met Joseph Kessel, the writer who had inspired him as a child. Kessel was impressed by Pierre's stories.
Back in France, Pierre got a contract with a news company called Pathé Journal. He flew to Morocco to film riots there. This is where he met Patricia, who later became his wife.
Becoming a Director
In 1956, Pierre left Pathé. He was unsure about his career. His fiancée, Patricia, encouraged him to contact Joseph Kessel. Kessel was looking for a director for his film project in Afghanistan called The Devil's Pass. Pierre directed it, and it was his first major film.
In 1958, he married Patricia. In 1959, he was asked to direct a report about the Algerian War for a TV show. This led to him returning to Vietnam in 1966 to make his famous documentary The Anderson Platoon.
In 1991, he went back to Dien Bien Phu to recreate the battle for his film Dien Bien Phu. His son, Frédéric, played Pierre's role as the cameraman. The Vietnamese army helped by playing the roles of the soldiers.
In the 2000s, his last works included a novel called The Butterfly Wing and a film called Above the Clouds, which was based on his earlier novel.
Pierre Schoendoerffer's Films
Feature Films
- 1959: Ramuntcho – based on a novel by Pierre Loti
- 1959: Iceland Fisherman – also based on a novel by Pierre Loti
- 1965: The 317th Platoon – based on his own novel
- 1966: Objectif 500 millions (Objective 500 Million)
- 1977: Le Crabe-tambour (The Drummer Crab) – based on his own novel
- 1982: A Captain's Honor (L'Honneur d'un Capitaine)
- 1992: Diên Biên Phu (Dien Bien Phu)
- 2004: Above the Clouds (Là-haut, un roi au-dessus des nuages) – based on his own novel
Documentaries
- 1956: The Devil's Pass – co-directed with Jacques Dupont
- 1967: The Anderson Platoon
- 1976: La Sentinelle du matin (The Morning Sentinel)
- 1975: Al-Maghrib al-Aqsa (Morocco)
- 1986: The Challenge
- 1989: Réminiscences (Reminiscences) – a follow-up to The Anderson Platoon
Short Films
- 1958: Than, le Pêcheur (Than: The Fisherman)
Short Documentaries
- 1952: Épreuves de Tournage de la Guerre d'Indochine (First Indochina War Rushes)
- 1959: L'Algérie des combats (Algeria That Fights)
- 1963: Attention Hélicoptère (Warning Helicopter)
- 1973: Sept Jours en mer (Seven Days at Sea)
Inspirations and Influence
What Inspired Him
Pierre Schoendoerffer was greatly inspired by adventure novels, especially Fortune Carrée by Joseph Kessel. He also adapted two novels by Pierre Loti into films. He loved the writer Joseph Conrad and tried to make a film based on Conrad's novel Typhoon, but it was too expensive to produce.
He also loved Hollywood movies. His film The 317th Platoon has a reference to the movie Charge of the Light Brigade. His favorite movie was Ran by Akira Kurosawa.
His own life experiences as a sailor, a Vietnam veteran, and a traveler strongly influenced his work. His film Dien Bien Phu is very personal, with his son playing him.
His Influence on Others
French actress Aurore Clément, who was in Schoendoerffer's film The Drummer-Crab, later appeared in the famous Vietnam War film Apocalypse Now.
When Oliver Stone made his film Platoon (1986), he made his actors live like real soldiers in the jungle. This was a technique Schoendoerffer had used many years earlier for The 317th Platoon.
Film About Pierre Schoendoerffer
In 2011, a documentary called Pierre Schoendoerffer, the Sentinel of Memory was made about him. In this film, Pierre Schoendoerffer talks about his life and career. He focuses on how his time as a war cameraman in the Indochina War deeply affected him.
See also
In Spanish: Pierre Schoendoerffer para niños
