Henri AlékanFilmography

Born:: February 10, 1909 in Paris, France
Occupation:: Cinematographer
Biography:: French cinematographer Henri Alekan first studied optics before becoming an assistant cameraman in 1925. Three years later he was promoted to camera operator. During the early years of WWII, he was captured and imprisoned while fighting. Upon his escape from the POW camp in 1940, he became a...Read More

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Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinematheque

Actors: Henri Alékan, Jo Amorin, Jean-Michel Arnold, Christian Auboire, Raphael Bassan

Synopsis: Henri Langlois was, in many respects, the ultimate film fan. In 1936, at the age of 22, Langlois became (along with Jean Mitry and Georges Franju) one of the founders of the Cinémathèque Française, a theater and museum devoted to preserving the history of the motion picture. Initially a tiny Read More

10/12/05
Faraway, So Close!

Actors: Horst Buchholz, Otto Sander, Peter Falk, Nastassja Kinski, Heinz Rühmann, Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Lou Reed, Willem Dafoe

Synopsis: Wim Wenders revisits his masterpiece Der Himmel Uber Berlin in this film which picks up several years after the original left off. Cassiel (Otto Sander) is an angel who watches over the lives of the people of recently reunified Berlin with Raphaella (Nastassja Kinski). Damiel (Bruno Ganz) Read More

1993
Golem: The Petrified Garden

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Jerome Koening, Hanna Schygulla, Samuel Fuller, Mascha Itkina

Synopsis: Instead of simply traveling to eastern Siberia to collect a modern art collection willed to him by a forgotten uncle, Daniel (Jerome Koenig), who runs an art gallery in Paris, decides (for reasons which are never explained) to bring a ten-foot long hand along with him. It is perhaps a portion of a Read More

1993
Golem, The Spirit of the Exile

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Hanna Schygulla, Vittorio Mezzogiorno, Samuel Fuller, Mireille Perrier

Synopsis: In modern-day Paris, a cabalist known as the Maharal has created a golem, an artificial being constructed of earth and clay, infused with spirit through the recitation of a special formula. The legendary being he brings to life is known in this instance as "The Spirit of Exile," and the magician's Read More

1992
Berlin Jerusalem

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Lisa Kreuzer, Markus Stockhausen, Benjamin Levy, Vernon Dobtcheff

Synopsis: This difficult-to-follow arthouse film explores the parallel stories of two very idealistic Zionist women who never met in real life. The story concerns the German poet Elsa Lasker-Schuller and the Russian Mania Schochat. Elsa (Lisa Krezer) lives in 1920's Berlin as Germany is degenerating into Read More

1989
Wings of Desire

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Peter Falk, Otto Sander, Curt Bois

Synopsis: Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander) are angels who watch over the city of Berlin. They don't have harps or wings (well, they usually don't have wings) and they prefer overcoats to gossamer gowns. But they can travel unseen through the city, listening to people's thoughts, watching their Read More

4/29/88
Dorenavant Tout Sera Comme d'Habitude

Actors: Helen Vager, Henri Alékan, Max Berto

Synopsis: In one of the more bizarre documentaries to come out of French cinema, this is a record of a confrontation between ex-Nazi SS officer Alfred Filbert, several Orthodox Jews, and the director of this documentary Thomas Harlan (son of Veit Harlan who made films for the Third Reich). Director Harlan Read More

1985
Esther

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Simona Binyamini, Shmuel Wolf, Zare Vartenian

Synopsis: In this experimental film that deals metaphorically with Arab-Jewish relations in the Middle East, left-leaning director Amos Gitai uses Biblical history to comment on the current situation in Israel and its vicinity. This story deals in part with the Jewess Esther and how she managed to save her Read More

1985
A Strange Love Affair

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Howard Hensel, Pascale Petit

1984
Unser Nazi

Actors: Thomas, Henri Alékan

Synopsis: Director Robert Kramer became intrigued with the process of filming Wundkanal by Thomas Harlan because the exchange between Harlan and the convicted Nazi war criminal he interviewed was charged with their personal histories. Harlan's father, Veidt Harlan was Nazi propaganda minister Paul Joseph Read More

1984
Wundkanal

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Robert Kramer, Francoise Rabut

Synopsis: An aging Nazi war criminal, "Doktor S.," was convicted of killing more than 11,000 people in Byelorussia and Lithuania during World War II and served 18 years in prison before being released due to poor health, bad eyesight, and old age. He tells his story in this unusual docudrama, leaving the Read More

1984
La Belle Captive

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Daniel Mesguich, Gabrielle Lazure, Cyrielle Claire, Daniel Emilfork, Roland Dubillard

Synopsis: This French film has a plot that sounds like an expansion of an urban legend. Walter (Daniel Mesguich) and Sara (Cyrielle Claire) are a married couple who have just moved into a new home together. Everything seems to be going well, despite Walter's fascination with a mysterious woman named Read More

1983
Une Pierre Dans la Bouche

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Harvey Keitel, Michel Robin, Catherine Frot, Richard Anconina, Jeffrey Kime

Synopsis: This story about a wounded American gangster seeking refuge in the country villa of a blind, sophisticated, and aging actor has an uneven script that alternates sharp dialogue with slow segments. The plot thickens when the actor's nephew arrives with his new love interest, and she is quite taken Read More

1983
En Rachachant

Crew: Cinematographer

1982
La Truite

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Isabelle Huppert, Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Daniel Olbrychski, Lisette Malidor

Synopsis: This French sex farce is translated in English as The Trout. Joseph Losey directed and co-wrote the film, which stars Isabelle Huppert as Frederique, a young woman living on her family's rural trout farm. Frederique is trapped in a dull marriage to a rube. She decides to leave him and the trout Read More

1982
Het Dak Van De Walvis

Crew: Cinematographer

Synopsis: On Top of the Whale, one of the best-known films by acclaimed director Raul Ruiz, is an allegorical exploration of language and the conflicts between cultures. The setting is the world of the near future; the film begins in Holland, which, like several other European nations, has become a Read More

1982
Der Stand der Dinge

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Patrick Bauchau, Isabelle Weingarten, Viva

Synopsis: Wim Wenders' The State of Things (Der Stand der Dinge) was financed by one of the director's chief mentors, Francis Ford Coppola. This highly autobiographical work concerns a shoestring movie producer and his ragtag crew. Stranded in the outer reaches of Portugal, the director doesn't even have Read More

1982
The Territory

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Isabelle Weingarten, Rebecca Pauly, Jeffrey Kime, Paul Getty, Jr.

Synopsis: When several Americans start out on their trek through a large national park, they have no idea that their lack of expertise will get them hopelessly lost -- and facing starvation, they have some grim alternatives available if they want to survive. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide Read More

1981
Red Sun

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Charles Bronson, Ursula Andress, Toshiro Mifune, Alain Delon, Capucine

Synopsis: In what was billed as "The First East-Meets-West Western," Toshiro Mifune plays Kuroda, a samurai warrior who accompanies a Japanese diplomat to the United States. The diplomat has brought with him a golden, jewel-encrusted sword to present as a token of good will to the president, but as they Read More

9/15/71
Figures in a Landscape

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Robert Shaw, Malcolm McDowell, Pamela Brown, Henry Woolf, Christopher Malcolm

Synopsis: Depending upon viewers' feelings towards filmmaker Joseph Losey, they'll either consider Figures in a Landscape deeply profound or hopelessly mannered. Based on a novel by Barry England, the film stars Robert Shaw and Malcolm McDowell as two escaped prisoners in an unidentified totalitarian Read More

1970
L'Arbre de Noël

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: William Holden, Virna Lisi, Bourvil, Brook Fuller, Madeleine Damien

Synopsis: Laurent (William Holden) is willing to give his terminally ill son Pascal (Brook Fuller) anything to make his last days comfortable. The unfortunate boy is stricken with leukemia after being showered with radioactive poison when an airplane exploded. Laurent takes Pascal back to Paris where he and Read More

10/10/69
Mayerling

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, James Mason, Ava Gardner, James Robertson Justice

Synopsis: This romantic tragedy concerns the Archduke Rudolf (Omar Sharif) and his mistress, the Baroness Maria Vetsera (Catherine Deneuve), and their untimely demise at Mayerling, the sight of the Austrian royal family's hunting lodge. Rudolf verbally spars with his father Emperor Franz-Josef (James Mason) Read More

1968
The Triple Cross

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Christopher Plummer, Yul Brynner, Romy Schneider, Claudine Auger, Trevor Howard

Synopsis: Adapted from his autobiography The Eddie Chapman Story, this is the story of a British safecracker who was in prison when WWII broke out. When the Germans occupied the area, he offers to work for them if they will set him free and they do so, sending him as a spy to England. Once there, however Read More

1967
The Poppy Is Also a Flower

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Senta Berger, Stephen Boyd, Yul Brynner, Angie Dickinson, Georges Géret

Synopsis: This exciting adventure provides an interesting look into the manufacture and trafficking of opium and heroin. The original story was written by Ian Fleming who died shortly before he was to pen the screenplay. The story is set in Iran and opens as an American undercover agent is murdered in the Read More

1966
Lady L

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Sophia Loren, Paul Newman, David Niven, Claude Dauphin, Philippe Noiret

Synopsis: Lady L (Sophia Loren) is an 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous adventures in flashback in this light sex comedy. While working as a laundress, Lady L falls for the gambler and anarchist Armand (Paul Newman), who gets mixed up with an inept group trying to assassinate the senile Prince Otto (Peter Ustinov Read More

1965
Topkapi

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Melina Mercouri, Peter Ustinov, Maximilian Schell, Robert Morley, Akim Tamiroff

Synopsis: After years of enduring movie lampoons of his 1955 crime-caper classic Rififi, director Jules Dassin topped them all with his own spoof, Topkapi. It's a rather disreputable crew that teams for the elaborate jewel theft masterminded by Maximillian Schell. Sexy Melina Mercouri (Mrs. Dassin) is Read More

1964
El Otro Cristobal

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Jean Bouise

1963
Le Couteau dans la Plaie

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Sophia Loren, Anthony Perkins, Gig Young, Jean-Pierre Aumont

Synopsis: This tragic and suspenseful tale of domestic abuse concerns a couple who have drifted far from the intent of their marriage vows. Bob (Anthony Perkins) is a former soldier who met Lisa (Sophia Loren) when she was a poor girl living in Italy. After they marry, they take up residence in Paris where Read More

6/30/62
Les Parisiennes

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Françoise Arnoul, Françoise Brion, Darry Cowl, Catherine Deneuve, Jacques Ary, Henri Tisot, Dany Robin

Synopsis: The French omnibus feature Tales of Paris is made of four separate romantic playlets, each with its own cast, director, and scenarist. "The Tale of Ella," directed by Jacques Poitrenaud, stars Dany Saval as an ambitious nightclub performer who very nearly messes up her chances for success by Read More

1/17/62
Princesse de Cleves

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Marina Vlady, Jean Marais, Jean-Francois Poron, Lea Padovani

Synopsis: This tragedy of two star-crossed lovers, directed by Jean Delannoy, is based on a 17th-century novel by Madame de La Fayette. When a young teen (Marina Vlady) marries the Prince of Cleves (Jean Marais), more than twice her age, she automatically becomes an official Princess and takes her new Read More

3/22/61
The Battle of Austerlitz

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Pierre Mondy, Rossano Brazzi, Vittorio De Sica, Claudia Cardinale, Martine Carol, Jean Marais

Synopsis: In what must be the longest lapse of time between a film and its sequel, 70-year-old Abel Gance continues his nearly legendary, 1927 historical drama Napoleon with this tale of Napoleon's life after his victories in Italy. The first half of Austerlitz delves into the private life of Napoleon Read More

6/17/60
The Would-Be Gentleman

Crew: Cinematographer

Synopsis: This French social comedy makes fun of the upper crust. It is based on a Moliere play and is the first appearance of the entire Comedie Francaise troupe. Usually, the troupe only allowed one member at a time to appear in a film. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide Read More

1960
Black Tights

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Zizi Jeanmaire, Moira Shearer, Cyd Charisse, Roland Petit, Dirk Sanders

Synopsis: Black Tights is a filmed ballet anthology divided into four all-dance episodes. "The Diamond Cruncher" spotlights Ziza Jeanmaire as a lady mobster who gives up her life of crime for the love of a good man. "Cyrano de Bergerac" stars Roland Petit (who also choreographed) as Cyrano and Moira Shearer Read More

1960
Le Mariage de Figaro

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Georges Descrieres, Yvonne Gaudeau, Micheline Boudet, Louis Seigner, Denise Gence

Synopsis: This legendary opera by Mozart is lavishly produced and comedically performed with great skill by the Comedie Francaise. Andre Cadou conducts the orchestra. The award winning troupe brings its own special brand of humor to the story without compromising the plot or the grandeur of this audio and Read More

1959
Douze Heures d'horloge

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Lino Ventura, Eva Bartok, Hannes Messemer, Gil Vidal

Synopsis: A wife attempts to help her escaped convict husband and his two cohorts evade capture, but is stopped by love and several twists of fate. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide Read More

1959
Liberte Surveillee

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Robert Hossein, Marina Vlady, René Lefèvre, Paul Bisciglia

Synopsis: At the insistence of the Czechoslovakian judges, the French-Czech Liberte Sureveille (Provisional Liberty) was withdrawn from the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, though it was shown out of competition. The plot concerns the efforts of a young man to escape his own country in favor of a more agreeable Read More

1958
Casino De Paris

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Gilbert Becaud, Caterina Valente, Vittorio De Sica, Gregoire Aslan, Grethe Weiser, Vera Valmont

Synopsis: This French-Italian musical starts out in the eponymous French gambling establishment. Vittorio de Sica plays Gordy, an ageing playwright who decides to transform a music-hall singer named Catherine (Caterina Valente) into a dramatic actress. Just as his protegee achieves stardom, Gordy dies. But Read More

10/31/57
Typhon sur Nagasaki

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Danielle Darrieux, Jean Marais, Keiko Kishi

Synopsis: This Franco-Japanese production made the American TV rounds as Typhoon Over Nagasaki. Jean Marais heads the cast as Pierre, a French engineer working in the titular Japanese metropolis. Ignoring social and racial conventions, Pierre falls in love with local girl Noriko (Kishi Keiko). The fly in Read More

1957
Le Cas du Docteur Laurent

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Jean Gabin, Nicole Courcel, Silvia Monfort, Michel Barbey, Orane Demazis

Synopsis: Le Cas Du Dr. Laurent (The Case of Dr. Laurent) stars Jean Gabin as a Paris-based doctor who tries to spread the gospel of Natural Childbirth. Working in a cloistered rural community, Gabin runs up against the stone walls of fear and prejudice. His theories are proven sound when unwed mother Nicole Courcel Read More

1956
La Meilleure Part

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Gérard Philipe, Michèle Cordoue, Gérard Oury, Michel Francois, Umberto Spadaro

Synopsis: Gerard Philipe stars in the lavishly appointed adventure film Le Meilleure Part. Philipe is cast as a dedicated constructive engineer, presently working on a huge dam project. Faced with a deadline, he must complete his project despite such obstacles as strikes, accidents, and illness. But there's Read More

12/30/55
Frou-Frou

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Dany Robin, Gino Cervi, Philippe Lemaire, Jean Wall

Synopsis: Released in some markets as The Toy Wife, the French Frou-Frou stars Dany Robin in the title role. The heroine is a WW1-era cigarette girl who captures the hearts of four wealthy, middle-aged cabaret patrons. The jovial foursome take it upon themselves to pluck Frou-Frou out of her tawdry Read More

9/23/55
Les Heros Sont Fatigués

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Yves Montand, Maria Felix, Jean Servais, Curd Jürgens

Synopsis: A good cast smooths over the rough spots of Les Heros sont Fatigues. The scene is the African republic of Liberia, which in this film proves to be a stopping-off point for a number of shady characters. Yves Montand plays a French ex-pilot who becomes involved in a scheme to smuggle stolen Read More

1955
La Reine Margot

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Jeanne Moreau, Armando Francioli, Françoise Rosay, Louis de Funès, Henri Genes, Daniel Ceccaldi

Synopsis: Though the screenplay for La Reine Margot (The Queen Margot) was written by legendary filmmaker Abel Gance, the directorial reins were handled by Jean Dreville. Adapted from a novel by Alexandre Dumas, the film centers around Margot (Jeanne Moreau), the headstrong sister of France's King Charles Read More

11/2/54
Les Impures

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Micheline Presle, Raymond Pellegrin

Synopsis: The French Les Impures was one of a cycle of filmed "exposes" of the white slavery trade. The heroine, played by Micheline Presle, is innocently inveigled into a life of sin by slimy Raymond Pellegrin. By and by, Pellegrin falls in love with poor, put-upon Presle. When things really get sticky, he Read More

1954
Zoé

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Barbara Laage, Michel Auclair, Jean-Pierre Kerien, France Roche, Yolande Laffon

Synopsis: Barbara Laage essays the title role in Zoe. Our heroine's adventures begin when she catches the eye of a big-city playboy named Arthur (Michel Auclair), who is attracted not only to Zoe's beauty, but by her insistence upon telling nothing but the whole truth. This trait causes no end of comic Read More

1954
Julietta

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Dany Robin, Jean Marais, Jeanne Moreau, Bernard Lancret, Georges Chamarat

Synopsis: Julietta (Dany Robin) is not fond of the wealthy older man (Bernard Lancret) whom her mother has selected for her husband. Dreaming of a Prince Charming who will rescue her from this loveless marriage, Julietta believes that handsome attorney Andre (Jean Marais) is the man of the hour. Trouble is Read More

1953
Roman Holiday

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Audrey Hepburn, Gregory Peck, Eddie Albert, Hartley Power, Harcourt Williams

Synopsis: Audrey Hepburn became a star with this film, in which she played Princess Anne, weary of protocol and anxious to have some fun before she is mummified by "affairs of state." On a diplomatic visit to Rome, Anne escapes her royal retainers and scampers incognito through the Eternal City. She happens Read More

1953
Stranger on the Prowl

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Paul Muni, Luisa Rossi, Joan Lorring, Vittorio Manunta, Al Silvani

Synopsis: The official credits for the Italian-made Stranger on the Prowl read: "written and directed by Andrea Forzano." In truth, Andrea Forzano was two people: screenwriter Ben Barzman and director Joseph Losey, both of whom had been blacklisted by Hollywood and were forced to work under pseudonyms. Read More

1952
Le Voyage En Amerique

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Pierre Fresnay, Yvonne Printemps, Claude Laydu, Jean Brochard, Jane Morlet, Oliver Hussenot, Lisette Lebon

Synopsis: Banker Fournier Pierre Fresnay prefers to spend his spare time at home. But Fournier's wife Yvonne Printemps is possessed of a wandering spirit. After much pleading and cajoling, she convinces Fournier to accompany her on a trip to America, where their daughter lives. The comedy arises from Read More

1951
La Marie Du Port

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Blanchette Brunoy, Nicole Courcel, Jean Gabin, Julien Carette, Claude Romain

Synopsis: Recovering from his disastrous experience with the never-completed La Fleur de L'Age, French filmmaker Marcel Carne proved he hadn't lost his touch with La Marie du Port. Played by Nicole Courcel, the eponymous Marie is the younger sister of Odile (Blanchette Burnoy). Odile in turn is the mistress Read More

1950
Just Me

Crew: Cinematographer

Synopsis: In this drama, a free-spirited vagabond's life changes dramatically when he learns that he has inherited a fortune. Unfortunately, he also learns that he has also been named the estate's executor. He refuses and this causes problems for the other two heir who cannot claim their share until he Read More

1950
Une Si Jolie Petite Plage

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Gérard Philipe, Madeleine Robinson, Jean Servais, Jane Marken [Jeanne]

Synopsis: Some film historians regard Yves Allegret's Une si Jolie Petite Plage (aka Such a Pretty Little Beach and Riptide) as the French director's finest work. Yet, it was twice ignored by American filmgoers when it was released in the U.S. in February and July of 1949. Perhaps those filmgoers weren't Read More

1949
Anna Karenina

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Vivien Leigh, Ralph Richardson, Kieron Moore, Hugh Dempster, Mary Kerridge

Synopsis: This 1948 adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina was produced in England by Alexander Korda, and released in the US by 20th Century-Fox. Vivien Leigh plays the title role, a 19th-century Russian gentlewoman married to Czarist official Ralph Richardson. Though her marriage is not intolerable Read More

1948
Les Amants De Verone

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Anouk Aimée, Serge Reggiani, Pierre Brasseur, Louis Salou, Marcel Dalio

Synopsis: Per its title, Lovers of Verona is an updated adaptation of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The film was a joint project of those felicitous collaborators, screenwriter Jacques Prevert and director Andre Cayatte. The star-crossed lovers are portrayed by Serge Reggiani and Anouk Aimee, cast Read More

1948
Les Maudits

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Michel Auclair, Henri Vidal, Paul Bernard, Anne Campion, Florence Marly

Synopsis: This psychological drama is set aboard a submarine carrying Nazi officials fleeing their country just before the end of World War II. They are trying to get to South America, but along the way they meet with many obstacles including a bout with a destroyer where they are depth-charged. When the Read More

1947
Beauty and the Beast

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Josette Day, Jean Marais, Mila Parély, Nane Germon, Michel Auclair, Marcel André

Synopsis: Jean Cocteau's adaptation of Beauty and the Beast (originally released in France as La Belle et la Bête) stars Josette Day as Beauty and Jean Marais as the Beast. When a merchant (Marcel André) is told that he must die for picking a rose from the Beast's garden, his courageous daughter (Day) Read More

1946
La Bataille Du Rail

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Jean Daurand, Tony Laurent, Jean Clarieux, Jacques Desagneaux

Synopsis: La Bataille du Rail (Battle of the Rails) is regarded by many cineastes as the one truly great French "resistance" film. Based on fact, the episodic plotline details the courageous efforts by French railray workers to sabotage Nazi reinforcement-troop trains. The film's thesis is that this Read More

1945
La Venus Aveugle

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Viviane Romance, Georges Flamant, Henri Guisol

1941
La Vie Est a Nous

Crew: Cinematographer

Actors: Jean Dasté, Julien Bertheau, Jacques Brunius, Max Dalban, Madeleine Sologne, Charles Blavette

Synopsis: Director Jean Renoir returns to the "people of the soil" of his previous Toni in People of France! (originally La Vie est a nous, or A Life for Us). Using a cast of nonprofessionals, Renoir pontificates on the dehumanization of the capitalist system. The film opens as a group of schoolchildren Read More

1936

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