MOSCOW, August 18, Pavel Surkov.The fate of Alain Delon is worthy of at least a large-scale film epic. The image of a courageous handsome man, endowed with both negative charm and the charisma of a true hero — this is what made him a favorite of the public all over the world. We say «French cinema» — and Delon is certainly in the top five artists of the 20th century.
Unsuccessful start
A handsome young man who decided to dedicate his life to military service, he volunteered for the navy and went to Indochina. But somehow things didn't work out with the drill discipline. Delon spent most of his weekdays in the guardhouse, and the rest of the time, as he later recalled, the recruit was forced to load heavy sacks of rice. It immediately became clear that with such an approach he would not become a captain or admiral. And, having been demobilized, Alain decided to try his luck in the cinema. Having sent several photos to producers, he received a rather harsh answer: «You are too handsome, you will not have a career.»
Nevertheless, he still tries to gain a foothold in cinema, appearing here and there in tiny episodes. One day, on the set, he runs into another aspiring actor named Jean-Paul Belmondo. Delon will carry his friendship with him throughout his life. And finally, after the leading role in René Clément's detective film «In the Bright Sun», based on Patricia Highsmith's novel about the killer Ripley, where Delon plays a handsome, cynical and absolutely amoral villain, success came.
The Secret of Success
Alain met Luchino Visconti, and his role in the famous film “Rocco and His Brothers” became one of the young artist’s calling cards, and the director called him one of his favorite actors. This was followed by Antonioni's famous film «Eclipse», where the on-screen pair of Delon and Monica Vitti drove the audience crazy. Actually, this was the finger of fate: at the very beginning of his career, Delon ended up on the set of real masters, who were not afraid to entrust strong dramatic roles to a young man with a bright texture.
Playing on the subtlest halftones, the actor actually fought with his own appearance. He had to prove to the public that he was not a one-day guy, not another simple screen handsome man, but a great and strong artist.
Russian cinema
He was always ready to experiment. Delon gets involved in an adventure by the standards of world cinema: he stars in the detective story «Tehran-43» by Soviet directors Alov and Naumov in the role of the brave noble Commissar Foch. Alain later joked: “The Soviet people will think that the French police are beggars — my Foch wears the same suit throughout the entire film.” But in fact, the reason was simple: due to the difficult schedule, the artist carved out only one day of filming, so no other costumes were ordered for his character; he played all his episodes in one single shift.
The legend of world cinema: how Alain Delon will be remembered< img src="/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/39870052602f093ee35787f36db7979f.jpg" media-type="ar16x9" data-crop-ratio="0.5625" data-crop-width="768" data-crop-height= "432" data-source-sid="ap_photo" class="" />
Delon's Women
The whole world was also watching his romances. His union with Romy Schneider gave rise to a lot of gossip and rumors. And all subsequent lovers invariably aroused mass interest. And he continued to experiment. He played in the theater, recorded songs, directed and produced himself. Sometimes he created controversial and ambiguous films, like the very bold «Transition», in which he combined animation and live-action cinema, telling a terrible parable about the hopelessness of death and the value of human life.
He aged gracefully, while remaining quite self-ironic: he appeared in a series of films about Asterix and Obelix as Caesar, where, standing in front of a mirror, he delivered a hilarious monologue mentioning his key films and ending it with the pathetic exclamation «Ave me!» He starred with his old friend Belmondo in the comedy «One Chance for Two». And then — in the farewell documentary «Belmondo about Belmondo», where Jean-Paul, who has just recovered from a stroke, travels with his son across France and remembers his youth, in order to meet an old friend — Delon — in the finale.
Rebellion against old age
But he still lost one, final battle: approaching old age and infirmity first forced him to leave cinematography, and then to start talking about the inevitability of euthanasia. It seemed that, having crossed the age of 85, the actor began his final fight — with the world itself, the order of which clearly did not suit him. In this world, one had to grow old and weak, and Delon categorically did not want this: that is why many of his last interviews were imbued with despair and even anger at the entire surrounding reality.
But in our memory, he still remains that same proud, blue-eyed handsome man, a noble robber and passionate villain, a furious adventurer and an ardent lover.
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