Before he became one of the greatest French filmmakers, Luc Besson had his heart set on being a scuba diver and working with dolphins. Unfortunately, an accident he had at 17 put an abrupt end to his dreams. Besson would never be able to dive again, reluctantly went back to school, and spent a lot of time at the movies. He even managed to sneak into a film set or two. In the early 1980s, Luc Besson founded his first production company, Les Films du Loup, and travelled to Hollywood.
He directed several music videos and short movies and, in 1983, his first feature film, Le Dernier Combat, which went on to win an award at the Avoriaz International Fantastic Film Festival. Fort thirty years, his movies enjoyed great mediatic and public success. His 2014 film Lucy was the most successful French film abroad, with 52.1 million total spectators, plus 5.2 million in France. Luc Besson’s signature shot is a close-up of terrain, zooming out to reveal the general setting fo the story: tarmac in Nikita, glistering waters in The Big Blue, and hot sand in The Fifth Element. In 1994, Besson’s sixth feature was released: Léon: The Professional. The film was the first appearance on film of Natalie Portman, aged twelve at the time. In 2015, Besson moved to Los Angeles with his family for good. There, he runs EuropaCorp, the studio he founded in 2000.
His latest two production (Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets and Anna) met little success, which combined with the financial hardship of his production company prompted Besson to step away from cinema for a few years. He came back in 2023, with two much-anticipated feature films: Dogman, in the main competition at the Venice Film Festival, and June and John.
Douglas had a difficult childhood. He wanted affection, but received abuse instead. He feels dejected, which made him create a world of his own to find refuge in, a world that has no place for the people who mistreat him. At the center of his universe are his dogs, which Dougl...
To produce his first film, Luc Besson could only get a 1,500-franc loan from his bank (roughly equivalent to €500 today). The young filmmaker had friends financing his work.
A film whose images are imprinted in the mind of every movie enthusiast; it is a very original piece of sci-fi comedy. Over 25 years since its release, nobody can forget Leeloo’s (Milla Jovovich) white-stripe outfit, Zorg’s (Gary Oldman) hairdo, and Korben’s (Bruce Willis) flying taxi.
It received mixed reviews, but Angel-A is fantastic and adorable in its lightness, and proves the filmmaker’s ability in making the perfect blend of style, irony, and passion.
Chock-full of action, often to the detriment of its plot, it established Liam Neeson for roles we wouldn’t have thought of. The still frame of the hero at the phone with his daughter’s kidnapper is an instantly-recognizable internet meme.
