Alberto Cavalcanti
Encyclopedia
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian-born film director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...
and producer
Film producer
A film producer oversees and delivers a film project to all relevant parties while preserving the integrity, voice and vision of the film. They will also often take on some financial risk by using their own money, especially during the pre-production period, before a film is fully financed.The...
.
Early life
Cavalcanti was born in Rio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, the son of a prominent mathematician
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
. He was a precociously intelligent child, and by the age of 15 was studying law at university. Following an argument with a professor he was expelled. His father sent him to Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
on condition that he did not study law or politics. Cavalcanti chose to study architecture
Architecture
Architecture is both the process and product of planning, designing and construction. Architectural works, in the material form of buildings, are often perceived as cultural and political symbols and as works of art...
instead. At 18 he moved to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to work for an architect, later switching to working on interior design
Interior design
Interior design describes a group of various yet related projects that involve turning an interior space into an effective setting for the range of human activities are to take place there. An interior designer is someone who conducts such projects...
. After a visit back to Brazil he took up a position at the Brazilian consulate
Consul (representative)
The political title Consul is used for the official representatives of the government of one state in the territory of another, normally acting to assist and protect the citizens of the consul's own country, and to facilitate trade and friendship between the peoples of the two countries...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
Cavalcanti corresponded with Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier
Marcel L'Herbier, Légion d'honneur, was a French film-maker, who achieved prominence as an avant-garde theorist and imaginative practitioner with a series of silent films in the 1920s. His career as a director continued until the 1950s and he made more than 40 feature films in total...
, a leading light in France's avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
film movement. This led to a job offer from L'Herbier for Cavalcanti to work as a set designer
Scenic design
Scenic design is the creation of theatrical, as well as film or television scenery. Scenic designers have traditionally come from a variety of artistic backgrounds, but nowadays, generally speaking, they are trained professionals, often with M.F.A...
.
Film career
In 1920 Cavalcanti left his job at the Consulate and moved back to France to work for L'Herbier; he was to be involved in the making of numerous films the most notable being L'InhumaineL'Inhumaine
L'Inhumaine is a 1924 French drama-science fiction film directed by Marcel L'Herbier. It was notable for its experimental techniques and for the collaboration of many leading practitioners in the decorative arts, architecture and music...
. He was soon making his own films, in 1926 directing his first, Rien Que les Heures
Rien que les heures
Rien que les heures is a 1926 experimental silent film by Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti showing the life of Paris through one day in 45 minutes...
(Nothing But Time) — a day in the life of Paris and its citizens. In 1927 he collaborated with Walter Ruttmann
Walter Ruttmann
Walter Ruttmann was a German film director and along with Hans Richter and Viking Eggeling was an early German practitioner of experimental film....
on a similar project set in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, called Berlin: Die Sinfonie der Großstadt (Berlin: Symphony of a Big City). Cavalcanti took a job with Paramount
Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film production and distribution company, located at 5555 Melrose Avenue in Hollywood. Founded in 1912 and currently owned by media conglomerate Viacom, it is America's oldest existing film studio; it is also the last major film studio still...
's French studios after the talkies
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
came in, but he found himself making more commercial films which could not hold his interest and left Paramount in 1933.
In the same year Cavalcanti returned to England to work for John Grierson
John Grierson
John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
's GPO Film Unit
GPO Film Unit
The GPO Film Unit was a subdivision of the UK General Post Office. The unit was established in 1933, taking on responsibilities of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit...
. He was involved in many capacities, from production to sound engineer
Audio engineering
An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
. He was to spend seven years at the GPO Film Unit, working on many projects, most notably; Coal Face (1935), Night Mail
Night Mail
Night Mail is a 1936 documentary film about a London, Midland and Scottish Railway mail train from London to Scotland, produced by the GPO Film Unit. A poem by English poet W. H. Auden was written for it, used in the closing few minutes, as was music by Benjamin Britten...
(1936), Message to Geneva (1937), Four Barriers (1937), and Spare Time (1939). Much of Cavalcanti's work at the GPO was uncredited, he acted as a mentor to many new film makers, but in 1937 he was appointed acting head of the GPO Film Unit when Grierson left for Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. When Cavalcanti was told that the only way the position could become permanent was to become a naturalized British citizen
British nationality law
British nationality law is the law of the United Kingdom that concerns citizenship and other categories of British nationality. The law is complex because of the United Kingdom's former status as an imperial power.-History:...
, he decided to leave the unit.
In 1940 Cavalcanti joined Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios
Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever since...
, under the leadership of producer Michael Balcon
Michael Balcon
Sir Michael Elias Balcon was an English film producer, known for his work with Ealing Studios.-Background:...
. He worked as an art editor, producer and director. His most notable works were the propaganda films Yellow Caesar (1941), Went the Day Well?
Went the Day Well?
"Went the Day Well?" is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda. It tells of how an English village is taken over by German paratroopers . Made during the war, it reflects the greatest potential nightmares of many Britons of the time, although the threat of...
(1942), Three Songs of Resistance (1943), Champagne Charlie
Champagne Charlie (film)
Champagne Charlie is a 1944 British musical film made by Ealing Studios. It is based on an 1860s play that depicted the real life rivalry between George Leybourne, who first performed the song of that name, and Alfred Vance....
(1944), Dead of Night
Dead of Night
Dead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(as co-director) (1945) and Nicholas Nickleby
Nicholas Nickleby (1947 film)
Nicholas Nickleby is a 1947 British drama film directed by Cavalcanti. The screenplay by John Dighton is based on the 1839 novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens...
(1947). In 1946 Cavalcanti left Ealing over a dispute about money. He went on to direct three more films in the UK, before returning to Brazil in 1950.
In Brazil Cavalcanti worked as a producer for Companhia Cinematográfica Vera Cruz; the company eventually became insolvent. After being blacklist
Blacklist
A blacklist is a list or register of entities who, for one reason or another, are being denied a particular privilege, service, mobility, access or recognition. As a verb, to blacklist can mean to deny someone work in a particular field, or to ostracize a person from a certain social circle...
ed as a communist in Brazil, he moved back to Europe. He spent much of the 1960s and 1970s working as an itinerant film maker in various countries, including East Germany
German Democratic Republic
The German Democratic Republic , informally called East Germany by West Germany and other countries, was a socialist state established in 1949 in the Soviet zone of occupied Germany, including East Berlin of the Allied-occupied capital city...
, France and Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
.
Cavalcanti died in Paris at the age of 85.
France
- 1926 Rien que les heuresRien que les heuresRien que les heures is a 1926 experimental silent film by Brazilian director Alberto Cavalcanti showing the life of Paris through one day in 45 minutes...
- 1927 Le train sans yeux
- 1927 La p'tite Lilie
- 1927 En rade
- 1927 Yvette
- 1928 La jalousie du barbouille
- 1928 La capitaine Fracasse
- 1929 Le petit chaperon rouge
- 1929 Vous verrez la semaine prochaine
- 1930 Toute sa vie
- 1930 A canção do berço
- 1930 À mi-chemin du ciel
- 1930 Les vacances du diable
- 1931 Dans une ile perdue
- 1932 En lisant le journal
- 1932 Le jour du frotteur
- 1932 Revue Montmartroise
- 1932 Nous ne ferrons jamais du cinéma
- 1932 Le truc du brésilien
- 1933 Le mari garon
- 1933 Plaisirs défendus
- 1933 Coralie et Cie
- 1933 Tour de chant
GPO & Crown Film Units
- 1934 Pett and Pott: A fairy story of the suburbs
- 1934 The glorious Sixth of June: New rates
- 1935 Coalface
- 1936 Message from Geneva
- 1937 Line to Tcherva Hut
- 1937 Men of the Alps (co-prod with Switzerland)
- 1937 We live in two worlds
- 1937 Who writes to Switzerland?
- 1937 Four barriers
- 1938 Mony a pickle
- 1938 Happy in the morning: A film fantasy
- 1939 Mid-summer day's work
- 1939 The Chiltern country
- 1940 Alice in Switzerland
- 1940 La cause commune
- 1940 Factory front
- 1940 Mastery of the sea
Ealing and UK
- 1941 Yellow Caesar (short)
- 1942 Went the Day Well?Went the Day Well?"Went the Day Well?" is a British war film produced by Ealing Studios in 1942 as unofficial propaganda. It tells of how an English village is taken over by German paratroopers . Made during the war, it reflects the greatest potential nightmares of many Britons of the time, although the threat of...
- 1943 Watertight (short)
- 1944 Champagne CharlieChampagne Charlie (film)Champagne Charlie is a 1944 British musical film made by Ealing Studios. It is based on an 1860s play that depicted the real life rivalry between George Leybourne, who first performed the song of that name, and Alfred Vance....
- 1945 Dead of NightDead of NightDead of Night is a British portmanteau horror film made by Ealing Studios, its various episodes directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer. The film stars Mervyn Johns, Googie Withers and Michael Redgrave...
(episode) - 1947 Nicholas NicklebyNicholas Nickleby (1947 film)Nicholas Nickleby is a 1947 British drama film directed by Cavalcanti. The screenplay by John Dighton is based on the 1839 novel The Life and Adventures of Nicholas Nickleby by Charles Dickens...
- 1947 They Made Me a FugitiveThey Made Me a FugitiveThey Made Me A Fugitive is a 1947 British film noir set in postwar England. Based on the Jackson Budd novel A Convict has Escaped, the black-and-white film was directed by Alberto Cavalcanti with brooding and atmospheric cinematography by noted cameraman Otto Heller...
- 1947 The First GentlemanThe First GentlemanThe First Gentleman is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Joan Hopkins and Cecil Parker. It portrays the relationships and marriage of George, Prince Regent and his tense dealings with other members of his family such as Princess...
- 1949 For Them That TrespassFor Them That TrespassFor Them That Trespass is a 1949 British crime film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti and starring Richard Todd, Patricia Plunkett and Stephen Murray...
- 1961 The monster of Highgate Ponds
Brazil and others
- 1950 CaiçaraCaiçara (film)Caiçara is a 1950 Brazilian drama film directed by and starring Adolfo Celi. It was nominated for the Grand Prize of the Festival at the 1951 Cannes Film Festival.-Cast:* Eliane Lage - Marina* Carlos Vergueiro - Manuel* Mário Sérgio - Alberto...
(Brazil) - 1952 Simão, o caolho (Brazil)
- 1952 O Canto do Mar (Brazil)
- 1955 Mulher de verdade (Brazil)
- 1955 Herr Puntila und sein Knecht Matti (DDR)
- 1957 Die Windrose (DDR)
- 1959 La prima notte (France/Italy)
- 1961 The monster of Highgate Ponds (UK)
- 1967 Thus Spoke Theodore Herzl (Israel)
- 1969 Les empailles (France)
- 1971 La visite de la vieille dame (France)
- 1976 Le voyageur du silence (France)
- 1976 Um homem e o cinema (Brazil)
External links
- Alberto Cavalcanti biography and filmography at the BFIBritish Film InstituteThe British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
's ScreenonlineScreenonlineScreenonline is a Web site devoted to the history of British film and television, and to social history as revealed by film and television. The project has been developed by the British Film Institute and funded by a £1.2 million grant from the National Lottery New Opportunities Fund.Reviews...