Eric Serra
Encyclopedia
Éric Serra is a French
composer
. He has often worked on the movies of Luc Besson
.
and was asked to score his first movie Le Dernier Combat
(1983). Serra has scored all of Besson's directed movies to date, except Angel-A
(2005) (scored by Anja Garbarek
), and several that Besson has written such as Wasabi
.
In 1995, Éric Serra was chosen to compose the score to the James Bond
film GoldenEye
, and produced a much more modern-sounding avant-garde
soundtrack
compared to previous Bond films. It met with mixed reviews from film critics. Serra's score is often criticized by Bond fans, and is considered the farthest departure from a traditional Bond score and the most inappropriate in the series history. The producers later hired John Altman
to provide the music for the tank chase in St. Petersburg. Serra's original track for that sequence can still be found on the soundtrack as "A Pleasant Drive In St. Petersburg". The incidental music for the film has thus far been the only collaboration on a James Bond film.
Occasionally, and mainly due to his album released by this name, he is known in credits as RXRA . An example is "Little Light of Love" on The Fifth Element
soundtrack, which is credited to RXRA.
for French singer Jacques Higelin
.
Éric Serra is also a songwriter, notably having written "It's Only Mystery" for the film Subway
and "My Lady Blue" for Le Grand Bleu
. In 1988, Éric Serra released an album of rock music
titled RXRA which resembles the artist's name when pronounced as initial letters in French.
Most recently he composed the music for the new Criss Angel/Cirque Du Soleil show 'Criss Angel: Believe' to open at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October 2008.
in which he plays 'Enrico the bassist'.
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He has often worked on the movies of Luc Besson
Luc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
.
Biography
Éric Serra's father Claude was a famous French songwriter in the 1950s and '60s, and, as such, Éric was exposed to music and its production at a young age. His mother died when he was just seven years old. In the early '80s, Serra met director Luc BessonLuc Besson
Luc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
and was asked to score his first movie Le Dernier Combat
Le Dernier Combat
Le Dernier Combat , released in 1983 French film is the first feature film made by Luc Besson. The film is a dark vision of post-apocalyptic survival.The plot explores the devastation of civilization and issues of brutality, hostility and isolation...
(1983). Serra has scored all of Besson's directed movies to date, except Angel-A
Angel-A
Angel-A , directed by Luc Besson, is a French fantasy and romantic drama featuring Jamel Debbouze and Rie Rasmussen. The film was premiered in the United States at the Sundance Film Festival of 2007.- Plot :...
(2005) (scored by Anja Garbarek
Anja Garbarek
Anja Garbarek is a Norwegian singer-songwriter of mixed Norwegian and Polish descent. She is the daughter of the Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek and grew up around Oslo. She received the Spellemannsprisen in 2001 for her album Smiling & Waving in the open class category. She is married to...
), and several that Besson has written such as Wasabi
Wasabi (film)
Wasabi is a 2001 movie directed by Gérard Krawczyk, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring Jean Reno, Michel Muller and Ryōko Hirosue...
.
In 1995, Éric Serra was chosen to compose the score to the James Bond
James Bond
James Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film GoldenEye
GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
, and produced a much more modern-sounding 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....
soundtrack
GoldenEye (soundtrack)
GoldenEye is the soundtrack to the 17th James Bond film of the same name and was composed by Éric Serra. It was released by EMI on November 14, 1995...
compared to previous Bond films. It met with mixed reviews from film critics. Serra's score is often criticized by Bond fans, and is considered the farthest departure from a traditional Bond score and the most inappropriate in the series history. The producers later hired John Altman
John Altman (composer)
John Altman is a British film composer, music arranger, orchestrator and conductor.-Biography:Altman was introduced to the music of the 1930s and 1940s at an early age by an uncle who arranged and composed music for big bands and conducted for Judy Garland, the Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy,...
to provide the music for the tank chase in St. Petersburg. Serra's original track for that sequence can still be found on the soundtrack as "A Pleasant Drive In St. Petersburg". The incidental music for the film has thus far been the only collaboration on a James Bond film.
Occasionally, and mainly due to his album released by this name, he is known in credits as RXRA . An example is "Little Light of Love" on The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
soundtrack, which is credited to RXRA.
Other projects
From 1980 to 1988, Éric Serra played bass guitarBass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
for French singer Jacques Higelin
Jacques Higelin
Jacques Joseph Victor Higelin is a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early in his career, many of Higelin's songs were effectively blacklisted from French radio because of his controversial left wing political beliefs, and his association with socialist groups...
.
Éric Serra is also a songwriter, notably having written "It's Only Mystery" for the film Subway
Subway (film)
Subway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert and is part of the Cinema du look movement.-Plot:...
and "My Lady Blue" for Le Grand Bleu
The Big Blue
The Big Blue is a 1988 English-language film made by French director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers.-Background:...
. In 1988, Éric Serra released an album of rock music
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
titled RXRA which resembles the artist's name when pronounced as initial letters in French.
Most recently he composed the music for the new Criss Angel/Cirque Du Soleil show 'Criss Angel: Believe' to open at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October 2008.
Onscreen appearances
Serra has spent little time in front of the camera, choosing to work behind the scenes instead. However, on French television he has made a number of appearances performing music, and notably appeared in the Luc Besson movie SubwaySubway (film)
Subway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert and is part of the Cinema du look movement.-Plot:...
in which he plays 'Enrico the bassist'.
Film scores
Éric Serra has created the scores for the following movies:- Arthur and the War of the Two WorldsArthur 3: The War of the Two WorldsArthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds is a French/American film with live action and animation co-written, co-produced and directed by Luc Besson, based on his novel of the same title and starring Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow...
(2010) - The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
- Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009)
- Arthur and the InvisiblesArthur and the InvisiblesArthur and the Invisibles is a French/American part-animated, part-live action feature film adaptation of the 2002 children's book Arthur et les minimoys / Arthur and the Minimoys, and the 2003 sequel Arthur et la cité interdite /...
(2006) - BandidasBandidasBandidas is a 2006 French/Mexican/American Western comedy film starring Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz directed by Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg and produced and written by Luc Besson...
(2006) - Bulletproof MonkBulletproof MonkBulletproof Monk is a 2003 action film starring Chow Yun-fat, Seann William Scott and Jaime King. The film was directed by Paul Hunter. It is loosely based on the comic book by Michael Avon Oeming....
(2003) - RollerballRollerball (2002 film)Rollerball is a 2002 remake of the 1975 science-fiction film of the same name. This updated version stars Chris Klein, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn and Jean Reno, was directed by John McTiernan and has a much greater concentration on action with more muted social and political overtones...
(2002) - Décalage horaire (2002)
- WasabiWasabi (film)Wasabi is a 2001 movie directed by Gérard Krawczyk, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring Jean Reno, Michel Muller and Ryōko Hirosue...
(2001) - L'Art (délicat) de la séduction (2001)
- The Messenger: The Story of Joan of ArcThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of ArcThe Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is a French/American historical drama film directed by Luc Besson. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, and the original music score was composed by Éric Serra....
(1999) - The Fifth ElementThe Fifth ElementThe Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
(1997) (collaborating on its famous "Diva Dance" with opera singer Inva Mulla Tchako) - GoldenEyeGoldenEyeGoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
(1995) - LéonLéon (film)Léon is a 1994 French thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson...
a.k.a The Cleaner a.k.a. The Professional (1994) - AtlantisAtlantis (documentary)Atlantis is a 1992 film, filmed over a two year period by Luc Besson. Except for the last shot of the film, the entire documentary takes place underwater with only titles and music by Eric Serra existing beyond the imagery....
(1991) - Nikita a.k.a. La Femme Nikita (1990)
- The Big BlueThe Big BlueThe Big Blue is a 1988 English-language film made by French director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers.-Background:...
a.k.a. Le Grand Bleu (1988) (European version; a separate soundtrack composed by Bill ContiBill ContiWilliam "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
was created for the US version) - Kamikaze (1986)
- SubwaySubway (film)Subway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert and is part of the Cinema du look movement.-Plot:...
(1985) - La Nuit du flingueur (1984) (TV)
- Le Dernier CombatLe Dernier CombatLe Dernier Combat , released in 1983 French film is the first feature film made by Luc Besson. The film is a dark vision of post-apocalyptic survival.The plot explores the devastation of civilization and issues of brutality, hostility and isolation...
(1983) - L'Avant dernier (1981) (short film)