Pål Bang-Hansen
Encyclopedia
Pål Bang-Hansen was a Norwegian
actor
, film director
, screenwriter
and film critic
. He is particularly known as a television personality and film expert at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, leading the television film show Filmmagasinet for more than thirty years.
, the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen
(1908–1984) and physician Elise Aas. He was married to Oddbjørg Havik, and was the brother of actor and theatre director Kjetil Bang-Hansen
(born 1940). As a young boy he regularly participated in audio plays for children. Among his main characters were the master detective "Blomkvist" in adaptations of Astrid Lindgren
's children's books (the Bill Bergson
series). He made his film debut as a child, when he played the character "Sofus" in Arne Skouen's film Gategutter from 1949. He played the character "Tom" in the children's film Tom og Mette på sporet from 1952, directed by Lauritz Falk, based a book by Bang-Hansen's father
. After finishing his examen artium
in 1957 he worked for a time on film commercials. He studied film in Italy at , the Italian National film school, from 1959 to 1961, and spent one year with the Italian film industry. He was a journalist and film critic for the newspaper Arbeiderbladet from 1962 to 1966.
by Sigrun Krokvik
. His last film was the political drama Kronprinsen from 1979, based on a true story, with Bjørn Sundquist
making his debut in the leading role.
Bang-Hansen regurlarly reported from film festival
s in Europe, notably from the Cannes Film Festival
consecutively for more than forty years, and also the Berlin Film Festival
and the Lübeck Nordic Film Days. Over the years he conducted interviews with Alfred Hitchcock
, Gina Lollobrigida
, Peter Sellers
, and Jodie Foster
. He is the only Norwegian to have interviewed John Lennon
.
Norske filmplakatar 1917–1988 from 1989. He has also written travel books. Among his posthumous works is a film script about an undercover resistance group from World War II
, a branch of the clandestine organization XU
.
honorary prize in 2001. In 2002 he was given the Amanda Honorary Award
, shared with Rolv Wesenlund
. He was awarded the Aamot statuette in 2009. Shortly before his death, in March 2010, he was awarded the order Den Hvide Knap from the Norwegian Students' Society's theatre Teater Neuf in Oslo.
He died in March 2010, having been diagnosed with skin cancer
a week before.
Norwegians
Norwegians constitute both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway. They share a common culture and speak the Norwegian language. Norwegian people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in United States, Canada and Brazil.-History:Towards the end of the 3rd...
actor
Actor
An actor is a person who acts in a dramatic production and who works in film, television, theatre, or radio in that capacity...
, 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:...
, screenwriter
Screenwriter
Screenwriters or scriptwriters or scenario writers are people who write/create the short or feature-length screenplays from which mass media such as films, television programs, Comics or video games are based.-Profession:...
and film critic
Film criticism
Film criticism is the analysis and evaluation of films, individually and collectively. In general, this can be divided into journalistic criticism that appears regularly in newspapers, and other popular, mass-media outlets and academic criticism by film scholars that is informed by film theory and...
. He is particularly known as a television personality and film expert at the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, leading the television film show Filmmagasinet for more than thirty years.
Early life and career
Bang-Hansen was born in OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
, the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen
Odd Bang-Hansen
Odd Bang-Hansen was a Norwegian novelist and children's writer.He made his literary debut in 1938 with the novel Fager er studentens drøm. He wrote several children's books, including Mette og Tom i fjellet , and Trapp med 9 trinn...
(1908–1984) and physician Elise Aas. He was married to Oddbjørg Havik, and was the brother of actor and theatre director Kjetil Bang-Hansen
Kjetil Bang-Hansen
Kjetil Bang-Hansen is a Norwegian actor, dancer, stage producer and theatre director.-Early and personal life:Bang-Hansen was born in Oslo as the son of writer Odd Bang-Hansen and physician Elise Aas. He married dancer and choreographer Inger Johanne Rütter in 1967...
(born 1940). As a young boy he regularly participated in audio plays for children. Among his main characters were the master detective "Blomkvist" in adaptations of Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Lindgren
Astrid Anna Emilia Lindgren , 14 November 1907 – 28 January 2002) was a Swedish author and screenwriter who is the world's 25th most translated author and has sold roughly 145 million copies worldwide...
's children's books (the Bill Bergson
Bill Bergson
Bill Bergson is a fictional boy detective created by Swedish writer Astrid Lindgren.Lindgren's detective story is of Bill Bergson, a more-or-less ordinary Swedish boy with an extraordinary fascination for detective work...
series). He made his film debut as a child, when he played the character "Sofus" in Arne Skouen's film Gategutter from 1949. He played the character "Tom" in the children's film Tom og Mette på sporet from 1952, directed by Lauritz Falk, based a book by Bang-Hansen's father
Odd Bang-Hansen
Odd Bang-Hansen was a Norwegian novelist and children's writer.He made his literary debut in 1938 with the novel Fager er studentens drøm. He wrote several children's books, including Mette og Tom i fjellet , and Trapp med 9 trinn...
. After finishing his examen artium
Examen artium
Examen artium was the name of the academic certification conferred in Denmark and Norway, qualifying the student for admission to university studies. Examen artium was originally introduced as the entrance exam of the University of Copenhagen in 1630...
in 1957 he worked for a time on film commercials. He studied film in Italy at , the Italian National film school, from 1959 to 1961, and spent one year with the Italian film industry. He was a journalist and film critic for the newspaper Arbeiderbladet from 1962 to 1966.
Film director
Bang-Hansen directed six films. His first film production was Skrift i sne (Script in Snow) from 1966. He produced the agent film Douglas in 1970. His satirical film Norske byggeklosser (1972) was a great success. In 1973 he made the film Kanarifuglen, and in 1974 the thriller Bortreist på ubestemt tid, based on a crime novelBortreist på ubestemt tid
Bortreist på ubestemt tid is a crime novel published in 1972 by the Norwegian writer Sigrun Krokvik. For this novel Krokvik was awarded the very first Riverton Prize in 1972, a prize which has since been awarded annually for the best literary crime product in Norwegian language. The novel was...
by Sigrun Krokvik
Sigrun Krokvik
Sigrun Krokvik is the pen name of crime writer Sigrun Karin Christiansen . She made her literary debut in 1972 with the thriller Bortreist på ubestemt tid. She published the novel Kikkeren in 1973. She was awarded the Riverton Prize in 1972, and was the first recipient of this prize.-References:...
. His last film was the political drama Kronprinsen from 1979, based on a true story, with Bjørn Sundquist
Bjørn Sundquist
Bjørn Richard Sundquist is a Norwegian actor, famous for TV, theatre, and movie roles.For many years he worked at Det Norske Teatret and Nationaltheateret in Oslo, and he is especially famous for the roles as Merlin and Hamlet....
making his debut in the leading role.
Film critic
Despite his success as a filmmaker Bang-Hansen has for several generations been best known throughout Norway as one of the nation's leading film critics, while working in that capacity for the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) for forty years, from 1967 to 2007. He was anchor for the regular television show Filmmagasinet from 1966 to 1989. Another of his film programs was I objektivet from 1969 to 1976, where he introduced more special films to the public. In his role at NRK he was the one and only film presenter on Norwegian television for decades.Bang-Hansen regurlarly reported from film festival
Film festival
A film festival is an organised, extended presentation of films in one or more movie theaters or screening venues, usually in a single locality. More and more often film festivals show part of their films to the public by adding outdoor movie screenings...
s in Europe, notably from the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
consecutively for more than forty years, and also the Berlin Film Festival
Berlin International Film Festival
The Berlin International Film Festival , also called the Berlinale, is one of the world's leading film festivals and most reputable media events. It is held in Berlin, Germany. Founded in West Berlin in 1951, the festival has been celebrated annually in February since 1978...
and the Lübeck Nordic Film Days. Over the years he conducted interviews with Alfred Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
, Gina Lollobrigida
Gina Lollobrigida
Gina Lollobrigida is an Italian actress, photojournalist and sculptress. She was one of the most popular European actresses of the 1950s and early 1960s. She was also an iconic sex symbol of the 1950s. Today, she remains an active supporter of Italian and Italian American causes, particularly the...
, Peter Sellers
Peter Sellers
Richard Henry Sellers, CBE , known as Peter Sellers, was a British comedian and actor. Perhaps best known as Chief Inspector Clouseau in The Pink Panther film series, he is also notable for playing three different characters in Dr...
, and Jodie Foster
Jodie Foster
Alicia Christian "Jodie" Foster is an American actress, film director, producer as well as a former child actress....
. He is the only Norwegian to have interviewed John Lennon
John Lennon
John Winston Lennon, MBE was an English musician and singer-songwriter who rose to worldwide fame as one of the founding members of The Beatles, one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music...
.
Writer
Among his books are Dager med Douglas from 1970, 24 ganger i sekundet from 1988, andNorske filmplakatar 1917–1988 from 1989. He has also written travel books. Among his posthumous works is a film script about an undercover resistance group from World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, a branch of the clandestine organization XU
XU
XU was a clandestine intelligence organisation working on behalf of Allied powers in occupied Norway during World War II...
.
Awards
Bang-Hansen was awarded the GullrutenGullruten
Gullruten is an annual award for the Norwegian TV business, founded in 1998 by Norske Film- og TV-produsenters forening. The awarding committee has representatives from the major national TV companies, NRK, TV2, TV3 and TVNorge...
honorary prize in 2001. In 2002 he was given the Amanda Honorary Award
Amanda (award)
The Amanda Award is an award given annually at the Norwegian International Film Festival in Haugesund, Norway, to promote and improve Norwegian film. The award originated in 1985, and has since 2005 been exclusively a film award...
, shared with Rolv Wesenlund
Rolv Wesenlund
Rolv Helge Wesenlund is a Norwegian comedian, singer, clarinetist, writer, and actor.Wesenlund is most famous for having portrayed the title character in the movies Bør Børson, Bør Børson II, and the TV series Fleksnes Fataliteter...
. He was awarded the Aamot statuette in 2009. Shortly before his death, in March 2010, he was awarded the order Den Hvide Knap from the Norwegian Students' Society's theatre Teater Neuf in Oslo.
He died in March 2010, having been diagnosed with skin cancer
Skin cancer
Skin neoplasms are skin growths with differing causes and varying degrees of malignancy. The three most common malignant skin cancers are basal cell cancer, squamous cell cancer, and melanoma, each of which is named after the type of skin cell from which it arises...
a week before.
Selected filmography
- Skrift i sne (1966)
- Douglas (1970)
- Norske byggeklosser (1972)
- Kanarifuglen (1973)
- Bortreist på ubestemt tid (1974)
- Kronprinsen (1979)