Jean Cocteau...born July 5, 1889...

<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIf9cinSC3AVrC_Wt73Im6EK8dZMWM-okdqAATkLuiev9Ebyf0rxn2oc2KiCbNhd_xVkqJcBhjHyXZYPXjcqVHNF4pEp88g566ULLd6kFwnCFjBniALKp8BBtUpBZyFyPHjOajXiHfjF6L/s1600/Cocteau+portrait+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIf9cinSC3AVrC_Wt73Im6EK8dZMWM-okdqAATkLuiev9Ebyf0rxn2oc2KiCbNhd_xVkqJcBhjHyXZYPXjcqVHNF4pEp88g566ULLd6kFwnCFjBniALKp8BBtUpBZyFyPHjOajXiHfjF6L/s320/Cocteau+portrait+2.jpg" width="265" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jean Cocteau, French filmmaker/poet/writer/artist and more (dramatist, boxing manager...), was born July on 5, 1889, into a prominent and bourgeois family in Maissones-Lafitte - a village not far from Paris. His father, an attorney and amateur artist, took his own life when the boy was just nine; young Cocteau was soon enrolled in a private school. After he was expelled in 1904, he ran off to Marseilles.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /><a name='more'></a></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ujFXXf1hyphenhyphenQ0OK8pbnNfSBUUxeQJos_hfu9tMpd1pChNLcj5wlI0Kb8COn1-lF-y8DvW1e8nR67FA8VPVeGEGfmUhyfX1NYEa0UEKlv-9dv_YKY3H-iSxgznB6cbV11rUSW5GoCzAwH31/s1600/Anna+Pavlova+Vaslav+Nijinsky+Armida+n+slave+in+Armida%2527s+Pavilion+1907.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-ujFXXf1hyphenhyphenQ0OK8pbnNfSBUUxeQJos_hfu9tMpd1pChNLcj5wlI0Kb8COn1-lF-y8DvW1e8nR67FA8VPVeGEGfmUhyfX1NYEa0UEKlv-9dv_YKY3H-iSxgznB6cbV11rUSW5GoCzAwH31/s320/Anna+Pavlova+Vaslav+Nijinsky+Armida+n+slave+in+Armida%2527s+Pavilion+1907.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pavlova and Nijinsky</td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In 1909, Cocteau met Sergei Diaghilev, the Russian impresario who launched the Ballets Russes, a company whose principal dancers then were Anna Pavlova and Vaslav Nijinsky. Diaghilev encouraged Cocteau to write for the ballet and it was he who famously challenged Cocteau, "Ettonne-moi!" (Astonish me!). Cocteau responded with the libretto for the ballet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Le Dieu Bleu</i>. Cocteau also first encountered Igor Stravinsky around this time. The composer was in the process of writing <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Rite of Spring</i> when the two met and, while visiting Stravinsky in Switzerland in 1914, Cocteau completed his first novel, <u>Le Potomak</u>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In 1917 Cocteau met Pablo Picasso. Together they traveled to Rome and met with Diaghilev.  The two were soon involved in Diaghilev's production of the ballet <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Parade</i>. Picasso designed its sets, Erik Satie wrote the music, L</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">onide Massine (Ljubov in <i>The Red Shoes</i>) choreographed and Cocteau wrote the one-act scenario. Although the Paris opening was a disaster, the ballet</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> went on to become successful. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In another post-World War I venture, Cocteau founded a publishing house, <i>Editions de la Sirene</i>. The company published Cocteau's own work as well as scores by Stravinsky, Satie and a group of composers known as <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Les Six</i>.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jean Cocteau's first film was the surrealistic <i>Le Sang d'un po</i></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>te</i> (The Blood of a Poet). Released in 1930, it was an early experimental reflection of his personal mythology. Cocteau also wrote what some consider his greatest play, <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">La Machine Infernal</i>, in the early ‘30s. </span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In 1946, Cocteau directed his sublime and bewitching film adaptation of the fairytale, <i>La Belle et la B</i></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">ê</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">te</i> (Beauty and the Beast) starring Jean Marais and Josette Day. Director Ren</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> Cl</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">ment provided technical assistance, illustrator/designer Christian B</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">rard served as costume and production designer (with the exteriors evoking the<span style="color: #990000;"> </span>illustrations of Gustave Dor</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and the interior of Belle's family home echoing Vermeer) and composer Georges Auric (<i>Roman Holiday</i>, John Huston's <i>Moulin Rouge</i>) created the Impressionistic score.</span><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: black; font-family: Verdana; font-size: small;"></span></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/2N6Nmf-tVDo" width="425"></iframe><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Marlene Dietrich reportedly was with Cocteau when the film was first screened at a studio in Paris and, at the end, after the beast had transformed into a prince, she called out to the screen, "Where is my beautiful beast?" (I felt the same the first time I saw </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>La Belle et la B</i></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">ê</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">te</i></span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">). </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">  </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">In 1950, Cocteau directed another of his great film works, </span><i><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12pt;">Orphée</span></i><i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><span lang="FR" style="font-size: 12pt;"> </span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;">(Orpheus)</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">. A contemporary reading of the myth of Orpheus imbued with Cocteau's pet motifs, Jean Marais starred as modern-day poet Orpheus who descends into the Underworld to retrieve his wife, Eurydice. No subtitles are necessary for the following scene..</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><b style="mso-bidi-font-weight: normal;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KCYcWpMDWLQ" width="425"></iframe></span></b></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">1960 brought Cocteau's last film and the final installment in his 'Orphic Trilogy' (along with <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The Blood of a Poet </i>and <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Orpheus)</i>: <i>Le Testament d'Orph</i></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>e</i> (The Testament of Orpheus). An intricate 'home movie,' the film starred Cocteau as an 18th-century poet seeking divine wisdom and included cameos by everyone from Pablo Picasso and Yul Brynner to Jean Marais, Mar</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">í</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">a Casares, Jean-Pierre Leaud and Fran</span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">ç</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">oise Sagan.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-69nCOxM52BWkyOCWBRfb5D2P9PEYj1aUaAAqTAdnGrQErk8kyCnldN1POc6azLusfqdYu_pFrbLD4A3ReuskwbNi_EtHYVM3ya1lkNyyRKQ0syCN0dtpRl6Gp7Orv15R2ifjFt_fyse/s1600/Piaf+le+bel+indifferent.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhK-69nCOxM52BWkyOCWBRfb5D2P9PEYj1aUaAAqTAdnGrQErk8kyCnldN1POc6azLusfqdYu_pFrbLD4A3ReuskwbNi_EtHYVM3ya1lkNyyRKQ0syCN0dtpRl6Gp7Orv15R2ifjFt_fyse/s1600/Piaf+le+bel+indifferent.jpg" /></a></div><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Cocteau led a high profile life all his adult years. Friend and collaborator of Picasso, Stravinsky, Satie and Diaghilev, he was also an intimate of French icons Collette and </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">É</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">dith Piaf. In 1940, Cocteau had written a hit play for Piaf, <i>Le Bel Indiff</i></span><i><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">è</span></i><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><i>rent</i>, </span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">and in the early '50s he wrote an article that was instrumental in reviving her career. It was Cocteau who, in 1948, introduced American <i>wunderkind</i> Truman Capote to Collette. Cocteau had told Collette about Capote, "Don't be fooled...he looks like a ten-year-old angel. But he's ageless, and has a very wicked mind." Collette and Capote bonded and he cherished the gift she gave him that day for the rest of his life.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Verdana,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 12pt;">Jean Cocteau died at age 74 at his chateau in Milly-la-Foret, France, on October 11, 1963 after learning of the death of </span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: 12pt;">É</span><span style="font-size: 12pt;">dith Piaf. Legend has it that Cocteau heard the news, remarked, "Ah, la Piaf est morte. Je peux mourir aussi..." (Ah, Piaf is dead. I can die, too) and suffered a fatal heart attack.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;">David Thomson has aptly described Cocteau as "a comet passing over French cinema, throwing a vivid light on the landscape..." </span><br /><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_oWSDLLZO0I5j2PRdkaXE-6B4NFpIBaf3IvjOwPCEItsUxVafKeZUIh3JjYXvfHOjVyv948X73z8EbJ2UueIkNtOWTnkifTvQTmlbD9Q8xudEC4ak067yk7c1efIVoRJ4hAYWNMOl7Io/s1600/Testament.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgW_oWSDLLZO0I5j2PRdkaXE-6B4NFpIBaf3IvjOwPCEItsUxVafKeZUIh3JjYXvfHOjVyv948X73z8EbJ2UueIkNtOWTnkifTvQTmlbD9Q8xudEC4ak067yk7c1efIVoRJ4hAYWNMOl7Io/s320/Testament.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Le Testament d'Orph</i></span><span style="font-family: "Verdana","sans-serif"; font-size: x-small;">è</span><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>e </i>(1960)</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-size: 12pt;"><br /></span></div>

Christian Berard Edith Piaf Erik Satie Georges Auric Igor Stravinsky Jean Cocteau Jean Marais La belle et le bete Orphee Pablo Picasso Rene Clement Sergei Diaghilev Jean Cocteau...born July 5, 1889...

Jean Cocteau, French filmmaker/poet/writer/artist and more (dramatist, boxing manager...), was born July on 5, 1889, into a prominent and bourgeois family in Maissones-Lafitte - a village not far from Paris. His father, an attorney and amateur artist…

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