发布时间：2020-06-06 热度：
The world's top film masterJacques Tuernier
Jacques Tuernier, who is one of the world's top film masters, was born in Paris, France on November 12, 1904 and died on December 19, 1977. When he was nine years old, he moved to the United States with his father. And then he worked the back and forth between France and the United States. However, after the World War II broke out, he left France.
Jacques Tuernier ,who is best known for a series of low-budget horror films he made for RKO Studios, is one of the most outstanding directors in the world, just as said in the The International encyclopedia of film “Whatever the subject-matter, Tourneur brought a sharp camera eye and a vivid atmospheric sense to his work.” There are two major things that influenced Jacques Tuernier and his film career in his whole life. One is his father, Maurice Tourneur ,who is a French film director and screenwriter. The time after Jacques Tuernier’s arrival in the United States, he served as an assistant of his father, from who he had learned a lot of knowledge and technique. What’s more, he also got inspiration from his father. That’s what contributed him to be a outstanding director in the world. The other thing that had an important influence on Jacques Tuernier is the Radio Keith Orpheum, one of the eight major companies in the the United States’ film industry in the 1930s. After Tourneur was dropped by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer in 1941, one of the five largest studios in Hollywood, he was picked up by Lewton to film several acclaimed low-budget horror films for RKO Studios including Cat People and I Walked with a Zombie, which are the two of the most wonderful works by Jacques Tuernier.
“Out of the Past”, which was released in 1947, in one of the most successful by Jacques Tuernier in film noir. Most crime film is promoted by the positive sequence, but film noir is reverse. The ending of the protagonist in the film noir is usually doomed early on by the destiny, bad luck, or a character flaw. The protagonist is evil at the beginning. However, they just bury their deep dark side, until the reality make them expose to it again.On the contrary, the good people are driven to do wrong thing in the crime film. The actor in the film noir leader " Out of the Past" tries his best to ues a new city, work and lovers to make a clean break with his past weakness and live a new life. Robert Mitchum starred in this film. His tired eyes, his short discourse, his guy image wrapped in cold tough are the best logos of the film noir. The trouble has not been invited and come when the protagonist has not appeared but the story has began already. The man who comes from the past of the protagonist sees a gas station opened by him, which pulls him into the past involuntarily. The film incorporates romance, intrigue and reality. The first part of the film describes a romantic Valentine's elopement , which is extremely intoxicating and impulsive. Although structure of the the murder story in the latter part simple, its has compact layout and makes people excited. At the ending, the film pulls all these dramatic plot back to the character's the most fundamental destiny and character themes. We can not unadmirable such a film that is designed to have those transforms. Perhaps, this is the best results of the game among the three writers of totally different styles . The film can be said to be smoky. However, all the film noir, which are produced even in recent years, have butts everywhere. Because cigarettes and film noir have always been the same thing. But few movies can utilize the cigarettes to such an extend. It’s not excessive to say that they are contesting with cigarettes in the smoking scenes between Kirk Douglas and Robert Mitchum. Jacques Turner hold good on that kind of atmosphere and the excellent plot makes the film a "black film" masterpiece. There is another a notable feature of the film that the shadow of the figures make the figures always appear in the dark. The film also pointed out the weakness of men, who tend to make themselves fall when facing with beautiful women. While women will inevitably become tools. Love in that world has become a luxury. To create an atmosphere, the scenes of the film always choose to be the night. The shadow make people face an uncertain future fear. At the end of the film, the opponents play between girlfriend Ann and Jimmy contains an ambiguous silence. The film's moral ambiguity has thus emerged. I do not want to divulge too much plot, but Jimmy was the answer to the security of what he believed, or he thinks it is best for her answer?
Reference
The International Encyclopedia of Film, Roger Manvell, 1972
Jacques Tourneur, Chris Fujiwara , 2001
Jacques Tourneur, Edinburgh Film Festival, 1975.
McCarty J. The Parallel Worlds of Jacques Tourneur, McCarty J, 1973.
Siegel J E. Tourneur Remembers, Siegel J E, 1973.
Mark Robson Remembers RKO, Welles, and Val Lewton, Peary D,Velvet Light Trap, 1973, 10(3): 32-37.
Cinematic Abreaction: Tourneur’s Cat People, Linderman D, Psychoanalysis and Cinema, 1990: 73-97.
