Comments on: Nouvelle vague Stars 1: Jean-Pierre Léaud

By: omar ahmed

omar ahmed — Sun, 12 Apr 2009 14:40:13 +0000

The notion of Delon being described as a ‘French James Dean’ does seem appropriate as his incredibly photogenic face seemed to fit in so well with the bold, sharp aesthetics of Melville’s crime films. I think I may have been a little harsh on Leaud but I guess he lacked the screen presence of his contemporaries like Belmondo.

By: venicelion

venicelion — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 18:57:43 +0000

In reply to omar ahmed. Lots of interesting comments, Omar. I'm not sure I agree that Léaud appears 'drab and dreary'. Serious (comically so) and pretentious perhaps? It's intriguing to think of him in in one of Melville's polars alongside Belmondo or Delon. I have thought a little about Delon in terms of New Wave stars. It's almost accidental that he didn't appear in a New Wave film, since, I would argue that he was the sexiest and most virile young man in French cinema around 1960. The problem was that he was already something of a star for the old guard of French Cinema and in 1960 he appeared as the Tom Ripley character in Plein Soleil for director René Clément. After that he worked for Visconti. He could perhaps have played the roles that Maurice Ronet took in Louis Malle's films. Your comments suggest that he wouldn't have been able to substitute for Jean-Claude Brialy or Jean-Paul Belmondo? I notice that Wikipedia describes him as a 'French James Dean'.

By: omar ahmed

omar ahmed — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:33:43 +0000

Though Leaud was inextricably tied to Truffaut, his deliberately drab and dreary on screen presence had many parallels with that of Delon. Had Melville cast Leaud and Delon together, they would have suited each other perfectly. Personally Leaud may have starred in Truffaut and Godard’s best films; Le Chinoise and The 400 Blows. The other thing is that Leaud’s relationship with Truffaut and Godard reminds me of Joseph Cotten’s work with Hitchcock and Welles in the 40s.

Great focus on the stars of the nouvelle vague!

By: Srikanth Srinivasan

Srikanth Srinivasan — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 18:17:36 +0000

Just saw the video. Fantastic. Richard Kanayan is a natural. And so is Leaud. Thanks for this…

By: Srikanth Srinivasan

Srikanth Srinivasan — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 17:54:02 +0000

Leaud has virtually become the numero uno symbol of the new wave… As you said, covering seminal works of critical direcotrs and persisting right through the new wave period and beyond (watching him in Detective is a pleasant recalling of Truffaut’s B/W films), Leaud probably is to the new wave what Mifune is to the Samurai films….

I watched the first quarter of The Wild Child assuming that it was Leaud on screen! Really, Truffaut and Leaud are interchangeable, if you may call it.