Colpi, Henri

(Enrico Colpi / July 15, 1921, Brig, Valais, Switzerland-January 14, 2006, Menton, Alpes-Maritimes, France)

   Born to Italian parents, he settled in Sète, France, with his family in 1932. Having graduated with a bachelor's degree in literature from the Faculty of Montpellier, he enrolled in the IDHEC and obtained his diploma in 1946. He was a film critic for the review Cinéscript before entering films as a trainee assistant director (1947 Les Jeux sont faits / UK and USA: The Chips Are Down, Jean Delannoy). He briefly worked as an assist­ant director on shorts (1947-1948) and as a sound recordist (1955 Nuit et Brouillard / UK and USA: Night and Fog, documentary, short, Alain Resnais) before becoming one of the best French film editors (1956 Les Hommes de la Baleine, documentary, short, Mario Ruspoli; Le Mystère Picasso / UK and USA: The Mys­tery of Picasso, documentary, short, Henri-Georges Clouzot; 1957 La Déroute, short, Adonis Kyrou; 1958 La Première Nuit, short, Georges Franju; La Mer et les Jours, documentary, short, Alain Kaminker, Raymond Vogel; Du Côté de la Côte, documentary, short; 1959 Hiroshima mon Amour / 24—Jikan no joji / UK and USA: Hiroshima, My Love, Alain Resnais, France / Japan; 1961 L'Année dernière à Marienbad / L'anno scorso a Marienbad / Letztes Jahr in Marienbad / UK: Last Year in Marienbad / USA: Last Year at Marienbad, Alain Resnais, France / Italy / West Germany / Austria; 1965 La Femme Fleur, animated short, Jan Lenica; Fraternelle Amazonie, documentary, Paul Lambert; 1976 Der Fang-schuss / Le Coup de Grâce / US DVD: Coup de Grace, as additional editor, Volker Schloendorff, West Germany / France; Chantons sous l'Occupation, documentary, An­dré Halimi; 1977 Bilitis, David Hamilton, France / Italy; 1977-1991 The Cousteau Odyssey, TV series, Jacques-Yves Cousteau, Philippe Cousteau, USA; 1981 Les Fruits de la Passion / Shanghai Ijin Shôkan—China Doll / USA: Fruits of Passion, Shuji Terayama, France / Japan; 1982 Le Grand Frère, Francis Girod; 1983 La Fuite en Avant, Christian Zerbib, France / Belgium, shot in 1980; 1985 David, Thomas et les Autres / Sortuz egy fekete bivalyért, as consulting editor, Lâszlô Szabô, France / Hungary; 1986 Le Sphinx, documentary, short, Thierry Knauff, Belgium; Le Sacrifice / Offret / The Sacrifice, as consulting editor, Andreï Tarkovski, France / Sweden / UK; 1989 Australia, Jean-Jacques Andrien, France / Switzerland / Belgium). He also was an art director (1962 Regards sur la Folie, documentary, medium-length, Mario Ruspoli), art collaborator (1987 Les Noces barbares, Marion Hansel, Belgium / France), and artistic adviser (1992 Sur la Terre comme au Ciel / Entre el cielo y la tierra / In Heaven and on Earth / USA: Between Heaven and Earth, Marion Hansel, Belgium / France / Spain / Netherlands; 1995 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea / Li, Marion Hansel, Belgium / France / UK). He played small parts in two Francis Girod pictures (1988 L'Enfance de l'Art; 1990 Lacenaire / US video: The Elegant Criminal) and appeared as himself in documentaries (1974 Histoire du Cinéma français par ceux qui l'ont fait, TV, Armand Panigel; 2004 Le Fantôme d'Henri Langlois / UK: Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinémathèque / USA: Henri Langlois: The Phantom of the Cinematheque, documentary, Jacques Richard). His first feature film (Une aussi longue Absence / L'inverno ti farà tornare / USA: The Long Absence) received the Louis Delluc Prize in 1961. He authored four books: 1947 Le Cinéma et ses Hommes (Editions Causse, Graille & Castelnau, Montpellier, France); 1963 Défense et Illustration de la Musique de Film (Société d'Edition, de Recherches et de Documentation Cinématographiques); 1987 Les Jardins de Loulou (Editions Séguier); 1996 Lettres à un jeune Monteur (co-author with Nathalie Hureau, Les Belles Lettres).

 Filmography

1951 ◘ Des Rails et des Palmiers (short; co-director)

1953 ◘ Architecture de Lumière (short; co-director)

1956 ◘ Matériaux nouveaux, Demeures nouvelles (short)

1961 ◘ Une aussi longue Absence / L'inverno ti farà tornare / USA: The Long Absence (also lyricist; France / Italy)

1963 ◘ Codine / Codine (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist, lyricist; France / Romania)

1967 ◘ Mona, l'Etoile sans Nom / Steaua fara nume / UK and USA: Nameless Star (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist; France / Ro­mania; shot in 1965-1966)

1969 ◘ Heureux qui comme Ulysse (also co-screenwriter, co-adapter, co-dialogist)

1973 ◘ L'Ile mystérieuse / La isla misteriosa / L'isola misteriosa e il Capitano Nemo / USA: The Mysterious Island (6 X 52'; Juan Antonio Bardem directed the theatrical version; France / Spain / Italy)

 Television Filmography

1967 ◘ Symphonie Nr. 3 Es-Dur Opus 55 (Eroica) von Ludwig Van Beethoven (West Germany)

1969 ◘ Thibaud / Thibaud des Croisades / UK: Desert

        ◘ Crusader (13 X 26'; second season; also co-adapter)

        ◘ Fortune (13 X 26'; France / Switzerland)

1970 ◘ Noëlle aux quatre Vents (85 X 13')

1972 ◘ Les Evasions célèbres (13 X 55'; co-director only; France / Italy / Hungary / Austria)

1975 ◘ Le Pélerinage (24 X 13')

1977 ◘ Bergeval Père et Fils (5 X 55')

1982 ◘ Le Château de l'Amaryllis