Luke Besson is a talented director, screenwriter, actor, producer, editor and cameraman. He is also called āSpielberg of French descent,ā because all of his works are bright, interesting, and immediately appear on the big screens as a sensation. Unlike the works of a Hollywood colleague, Bessonās films have a unique French taste and style, which sets them apart from other films. Luke is one of the most popular and world-famous directors. None of his brainchilds was a failure, many were awarded the highest awards, as well as the praise of viewers and film critics.
Besson's childhood
Luke Besson was born in Paris (France) on March 18, 1959 in a family of scuba diving instructors. The boy spent most of his childhood near the Mediterranean coast. Luke really liked the work of his parents, he himself wanted to devote his life to this matter in the future. At 10, Besson met a dolphin at sea. He looked him in the eye, the boy swam for several minutes, holding on to the fins of the creature. After this amazing meeting, Luke was determined to become a marine biologist. Since he was fond of photography, he spent hours under water, taking pictures of crabs, colorful fish and other marine life.
It would seem that the guy had a dream, from childhood he decided on the profession, everything was clear and definite, but at the age of 17 a misfortune happened. Luke got into a terrible car accident. He survived, but due to the injury he was never able to dive again. For the guy it was a terrible blow, all his plans and hopes collapsed. At that moment there was no one to support Luke, his mother was in Corsica, and his father in Tunisia.
Finding Your Way
After a car accident, Besson went to Paris. He was bored and lonely in a big dusty city. Study did not appeal to him, so in his free time he went into fictional worlds. It was then that Luke wrote the story of Zaltman Bleros, which many years later turned into the popular movie The Fifth Element. The guy discovered cinema. He liked this area of āāactivity, so Besson began to watch films, take a closer look, study, work as an assistant to crews.
At 19, Luke went to Los Angeles in the hope of finding his place in the sun. Three years of work as an āerrand boyā did not bring any result, so the young man returned to his homeland. Besson was actively looking for his niche. In the 80s, music videos came into fashion. Luke also shot several clips, but quickly realized that it wasnāt his. The young man really wanted to make real, interesting, vivid and memorable films. As a result, he founded the small company āWolf Filmsā and set about creating his first work.
Luke's first serious work
In 1981, Luc Besson took off his first work. The filmography began with the short film āThe Last but Oneā. The young talent had a difficult task - to make a high-quality film with a meager budget. Luke did not have the necessary funds, but the number of ideas was off the charts. Voice acting at that time was a luxury, so the lack of dialogue was explained by the plot: the characters became victims of an unknown virus and could not talk. The film turned out to be low-budget, black and white, but nevertheless it received 20 national awards, brought fame to its creator. Besson was learned not only in France, but also far beyond its borders.
The game of contrasts between the external and internal worlds
In 1985, the film "Underground" was released. Today it is considered a cult classic. The work was appreciated by both viewers and film critics. She brought the creator a decent income. After that, Besson renamed his company "Dolphin Films" and took on new projects. Beautiful musical accompaniment, spectacular scenery, amazing acting, depth of visual images - all this combines the films of Luc Besson. The director once admitted that he considers each film to be his child. He is immensely glad that he is not ashamed of any work.
Besson in most of his films creates a contrasting balance between the external and internal worlds. Such an idea allows him to prescribe in detail the characters' characters, to give them deep feelings and feelings. This applies to the "Blue Abyss", "Leon", "Nikita" and other films. Melodramatism and intense action - this is the specific style of Luke, which can be traced in all his projects.
Filmography of Besson
During his creative career, more than a hundred works were shot by Luc Besson. The filmography is replenished annually and more than one film. The short film āThe Last but Oneā was released back in 1981, then there were small works āThe Last Battleā (1983) and āDon't Hang Upā (1984). Get rich and get on his feet Luke allowed shot in 1985, the crime drama "Underground". Then, one after another, the work fell. In 1986 - the fantastic thriller "Kamikaze", in 1988 - the drama "Blue Abyss", a short film Jeu de vilains.
In 1990, the action movie "Nikita" was shot, in 1991 - the drama "Cold Moon", the documentary "Atlantis", in 1993 - the family picture "Lion Cub", and in 1994 Besson's greatest pride was the thriller "Leon". In 1997, the director pleased everyone with the drama "Do not swallow", in 1998 - the action movie "Taxi", in 1999 - the drama "Joan of Arc." In 2000, several works were demonstrated by Luc Besson. The filmography was replenished with the action movie Taxi-2, the drama Dancer and the fantastic thriller The Way Out.
In 2001, the films āKiss of the Dragonā, āWasabiā, āAugust 15ā were released, in 2002 - āChaos and Desireā, āAngel Skinā, āBlancheā, āCarrierā. 2003 was a very productive year for Besson. His best works are Tristan, I, Caesar, Bloody Harvest, Taxi-3. In 2004, Luke shot New York Taxi, District 13. In 2005, the director was pleased with the action movie "Danny Chain Dog", the thrillers "Deception" and "Carrier-2", and the fantasy "Angel-A". If you take the latest work, then, of course, everyone conquered the melodrama "Lady" by Luc Besson. The year 2013 brought the audience an amazing thriller āCrossroadsā and the comedy ā(Un) awaited princeā.
Besson's Best Movies
Luke Besson is not a movie, itās a sensation, but still there are some works that the audience liked the most, deserved their sympathy. Such films, of course, should include the thriller "Leon". Luke planned to make a film during the creation of Nikita, because he saw the unrealized potential of cleaner Victor. āLeonā is one of those films that all people need to watch in order to rethink their lives and find the meaning of existence.
The category āBest Luke Besson Filmsā also includes a fantastic action movie with an amazing plot āThe Fifth Elementā, the action movie āThe Hostageā, and the drama āThe Blue Abyssā. Special attention deserves the documentary film "Home" by Luc Besson. It shows the perfect beauty of the planet and the consequences of the destructive activities of people. Thanks to the movie, viewers saw the real situation on Earth.
Recognition of talent
In 1986, the world started talking about Besson. At that time, his third work, Underground, was released, which was a resounding success. The film was even nominated by the British Film Academy for "Best Foreign Language Film." An interesting fact is that Luke Besson became the founder of the film corporation EuropaCorp, which is called "European Hollywood." The director is engaged in charity work for African countries and organizes exhibitions of photographs from the hottest continent.
Personal life
Director Luc Besson was married four times, has five daughters. The first wife was Anna Pariyo, an actress who played the main character in Luc's movie Nikita. The couple had a daughter Juliet. The next chosen one of the director was the famous
French actress Mayvenn Le Besco. True, she gained fame a little later, because at the time of the marriage with Besson, the girl was only 16 years old. In 1993, their joint daughter Shana was born.
In 1997, Luke married actress Mila Jovovich, but this marriage was unsuccessful, two years later he broke up. In 2004, Luc Besson offered a hand and heart to Virginia Cilla producer. With her, he lives in peace and harmony to this day. The couple brings up three daughters: Satin, Thalia and Mao. Virginia Cille is a co-producer of many of Luc Besson's most recent works. Their tandem is very productive.
Interesting facts from the biography
- From childhood, Besson was firmly convinced that in the future he would become a dolphin specialist. His film Atlantis is a kind of farewell to childhood hopes and dreams.
- The director first got acquainted with the TV only when he was 18 years old, before that he hadnāt even seen him in the eye.
- For the movie Taxi, Luc Besson wrote the script in just one month.
- Luke's childhood passed on the Mediterranean coast of France.
- The film composer Eric Serra recorded music for all of Besson's films, with the exception of Angel-A.