Renowned French moviemaker Jean Renoir died of a heart attack on this day in 1979. Born September 5, 1894 to impressionist painter Auguste Renoir, Jean saw his early career built on the shoulders of his father—funding his first film from the sale of his deceased father’s paintings and using his father’s former model as a lead actress in many of his early works. It was during WWII that the younger Renoir, recuperating from his tour of duty, discovered his love of the medium he would later famously revolutionize.
Renoir’s love of his country and his politically-charged ideals would later become evident in films such as A Day in the Country, The Lower Depths, The Human Beast and, perhaps most famously, Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game. Although he received very little public or critical approval while he was alive, Renoir has become one of the most accomplished moviemakers in history—making strides in his home country and abroad. In 1975, he received his only career Oscar: An honorary lifetime achievement award.
Factoid: In 1931 Jean Renoir made his first sound film, On Purge Bebe, which went on to become a huge success. Later that year, riding the wave of his earlier talkie, Renoir released the full-length feature The Bitch. The film established his technique of using only the naturally synched-sound made during production instead of later creating noise as filler.
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