GHISLAIN CLOQUET

GREAT CINEMATOGRAPHERS

#1: Photo by Pierre Lhomme

#3: [Left] with dir Robert Bresson - "au hasard balthazar" [1965]

GHISLAIN CLOQUET

Born: 18 April 1924, Antwerp, Belgium, as Ghislain Pierre Cloquet.

Died: 2 November 1981, Montainville, France.

Education: In Brussels until 1940, then in Paris. Studied film at l'École Nationale de Photographie et de Cinématographie de la rue de Vaugirard [1943-44 & 1945-46] and the IDHEC [1946-47].

Career: Became French citizen in 1940. Entered industry in 1947 as 2nd c.asst. Became 1st c.asst, later c.op working with doph Edmond Séchan, Louis Page, Roger Arrignon, a.o. Was under contract to French ORTF-tv [1963-64].

Was in charge of cinematography courses at the IDHEC [1954-62]. Founded - with Raymond Ravar, Antoine Bonfanti & André Delvaux - the INSAS, the French-speaking Belgian film academy. Worked there for 2 months every year from 1962-74. Since 1974, director of studies at the IDHEC.

Ph commercials.

Was a member of the AFC and the ASC.

Was married to script girl Sophie Becker, daughter of dir Jacques Becker [1906-60]. His son Arthur [b. 1954] is a c.op and doph.

Awards: 'Oscar' AA [1980; shared], 'César' Award [1980], LAFCA Award [1980; shared], NYFCC Award [1980; shared], BSC Award nom [1981; shared] & BAFTA Film Award [1982; shared] for 'Tess'.

From interview

'In the 70's movie photography generally has reached such superb standards that only the very best cameramen stand out from the crowd. Ghislain Cloquet is one of these. Like all great cameramen, his genius lies in his ability to embody the director's vision in the textures and tones of his images. From a career crowded with outstanding achievements, in both color and monochrome, mention should be given to (color) the leisurely and graceful camera movements and incandescent lighting of 'Les demoiselles de Rochefort' and 'Peau d'âne', and (monochrome) the restless, bravura camerawork and masterly chiaroscuro of 'Mickey One'. To my mind, however, Cloquet surpasses even his own high standards in each of his films for André Delvaux. In these mysterious and hermetic works, Cloquet often achieves, with photography of breathtaking beauty and delicacy, textures that are almost painterly, as in the shot (in 'Rendez-vous à Bray') of Anna Karina looking out of a window whilst holding a mixing bowl, a composition of which Vermeer would have been proud.' [David Badder in 'Film Dope', #7, April 1975.]

FEATURE FILMS
1956	Brahim (ou le collier de beignets) [Jean Flechet] b&w
1956	Me and the Colonel [Peter Glenville] b&w; 2uc; ph: Burnett Guffey
1957	Un amour de poche/Girl in His Pocket [Pierre Kast] c
1958	Les naufrageurs [Charles Brabant] ds/b&w
1958	Le bel âge/Love Is When You Make It! [Pierre Kast] b&w; cph: Sacha Vierny
1959	Le trou/The Night Watch [Jacques Becker] b&w
1959	Classe tous risques/The Big Risk [Claude Sautet] b&w
1960	Les honneurs de la guerre/The Honors of War [Jean Dewever] b&w; cph: Georges Lévy
1961	La belle Américaine/The American Beauty [Robert Dhéry] b&w-c
1961	Un nommé La Rocca/A Man Named Rocca [Jean Becker] b&w
1961	Carillons sans joie [Charles Brabant] ds/b&w
1963	Le feu follet/The Fire Within/A Time to Live and a Time to Die [Louis Malle] b&w

[Black cap] with Arthur Penn and Warren Beatty - "Mickey One"

1964	Mickey One [Arthur Penn] b&w
1964	L'arme à gauche/The Dictator's Gun [Claude Sautet] b&w; cph: Walter Wottitz
1965	Pas de caviar pour tante Olga [Jean Becker] b&w

[Behind camera] - "De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen"

1965	De man die zijn haar kort liet knippen/L'homme au crâne rasé/The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short [André Delvaux] b&w
1965	au hasard balthazar [Robert Bresson] b&w

[Left] with dir Jacques Demy

"Les demoiselles de Rochefort"

1966	Les demoiselles de Rochefort/The Young Girls of Rochefort [Jacques Demy] fs/c; restored by Agnès Varda in 1996
1966	Mouchette [Robert Bresson] b&w
1967	Un soir... un train/One Night... a Train/De trein der traagheid [André Delvaux] c
1967	Benjamin [ou les mémoires d'un puceau]/The Diary of an Innocent Boy [Michel Deville] c
1968	Mazel tov ou le mariage/Marry Me! Marry Me! [Claude Berri] c
1968	Une femme douce/A Gentle Creature [Robert Bresson] c
1969	La maison des Bories [Jacques Doniol-Valcroze] c
1970	La ville-bidon/La décharge [Jacques Baratier] c
1970	Peau d'âne/Donkey Skin/Once Upon a Time [Jacques Demy] c
1970	Quatre nuits d'un rêveur/Four Nights of a Dreamer [Robert Bresson] c; gangster seq ph; ph: Pierre Lhomme
1971	Rendez-vous à Bray/Appointment in Bray [André Delvaux] c
1971	Pouce!/Thumbs Up [Pierre Badel] c
1971	Faustine et le bel été [Nina Companéez] c
1972	Les fous du stade/Stadium Nuts [Claude Zidi] c
1972	Nathalie Granger [Marguerite Duras] b&w
1972	Au rendez-vous de la mort joyeuse/Expulsion of the Devil [Juan Luis Buñuel] c
*1972*	La femme du Gange/Woman of the Ganges [Marguerite Duras] c; ph: Jean Mascolo & Bruno Nuytten (G. Cloquet did not collaborate on this film)
1973	Belle [André Delvaux] c; cph: Charlie Van Damme
1973	L'histoire très bonne et très joyeuse de Colinot Trousse-Chemise/The Edifying and Joyous Story of Colinot [Nina Companéez] c
1973	Le boucher, la star et l'orpheline/Eulalie quitte les champs [Jérôme Savary] c; cph: William Lubtchansky
1973	Dites-le avec des fleurs [Pierre Grimblat] scope/c
1974	Love and Death [Woody Allen] c
1975	Monsieur Albert [Jacques Renard] c
1978	Tess [Roman Polanski] p/c; cph: Geoffrey Unsworth; finished film after the death of G. Unsworth
1979	Chère inconnue/I Sent a Letter to My Love [Moshe Mizrahi] c
1980	Four Friends/Georgia's Friends/Georgia [Arthur Penn] c

SHORTS & DOCUMENTARIES
1950	Une ligne sans incident [Marc Magnin] ?
1950	Soldats d'eau douce [Jean Leduc] ?; short/23m
1951	Curare et curarisants de synthèse [Jacques Lemoigne & Pierre Huguénard] ?; cph: Maurice Blettery

1952	Les statues meurent aussi/Statues Also Die [Alain Resnais, Chris Marker & Ghislain Cloquet] b&w; doc/30m; first screened in 1953 - released in cut version in 1961 - complete film shown in 1968
1952	Saint-Tropez, devoir de vacances [Paul Paviot] b&w; doc/23m
1952	Aux frontières de l'homme [Nicole Védrès & Jean Rostand] b&w; doc/20m; cph: N. Védrès
1953	Lumière et l'invention du Cinématographe/Louis Lumière [Paul Paviot] b&w; doc/33m
1953	La belle journée [Marcel Gibaud] ?
1953	Statues d'épouvante/Le cubisme/L'école de Paris [Robert Hessens] 16mm/b&w; doc/24m
1954	Pantomimes [Paul Paviot] c; short/20m
1954	Conte à dormir debout [Jean-Charles Lagneau] ?; short/?m
1954	Deux bobines et un fil [François Villiers] ?
1954	Neiges [Jean-Jacques Languépin] c; short/20m; cph: André Dumaître, Georges Strouvé & Sacha Vierny

1955	Nuit et brouillard/Night and Fog [Alain Resnais] 16mm-35bu/b&w-c; doc/32m; cph: Sacha Vierny
1956	Le ciel est par-dessus le toit/Le roman d'un constructeur/Ma famille et mon toit [Jean-Pierre Decourt] 16mm/b&w; short/26m
1956	Toute la mémoire du monde [Alain Resnais] b&w; doc/21m
1957	Le mystère de l'atelier quinze [Alain Resnais & André Heinrich] b&w; short/18m; cph: Sacha Vierny
1958	Chopin [Jean Mitry & Theodora Olembert] b&w; mus doc/22m; ph scenes dir by T. Olembert; other ph: Sammy Brill & Henry Hall
1959	La caravane passe [Jean-Pierre Decourt] c; doc/9m
1960	Description d'un combat/Description of a Struggle [Chris Marker] c; doc/60m
1961	Vive le Tour! [Louis Malle] c; doc/18m; cph: L. Malle & Jacques Ertaud
1961	Touiste encore [Louis Malle] c; doc/11m; edited from 'Vive le Tour!' footage
1962	Le poulet/The Chicken [Claude Berri] b&w; short/22m
1964	Le pain et le vin [Serge Witta] ?; short/14m
1967	Loin du Vietnam/Far from Vietnam [Alain Resnais, William Klein, Joris Ivens, Agnès Varda, Claude Lelouch & Jean-Luc Godard; Chris Marker (superv)] 16mm+35mm-to-35mm/b&w-c; doc/120m; 11 seg + intro & epilogue; ph seg dir by Agnès Varda (cut from film before release); other ph: Jean Boffety, Willy Kurant, Alain Levent, Bernard Zitzermann, Denys Clerval & Kieu Tham
1970	Travailler en usine [Jean-Pierre Chartier] c; doc/500mtr
1970	C'était un jour comme les autres [Jean-Pierre Chartier] ?; doc/?m
1978	The Secret Life of Plants [Walon Green] p/c; doc/98m; cph: Bob Bailin, David Myers, Daniel Pearl, Robert Primes, a.o.; natural history ph: Ken Middleham

TELEVISION
1960	L'exécution [Maurice Cazeneuve] tvm
1963	Le cinéma polonais [André Delvaux] 9-part doc series/b&w/16mm
1963	Un panier de chat [J. Villa] ?
1963	La belle marinière [Jean-Pierre Marchand] tvm
1964	La chambre [Michel Mitrani] tvm
1968	Le danseur [Maurice Béjart] doc/50m
1969	Charles Aznavour [Jean-Christophe Averty] ep series 'Music Hall de France'
1974	Histoires insolites [ep 'Une dernière fois Catherine' dir by Pierre Grimblat] 11-part series; other ph: Jacques Loiseleux, Jean Rabier & Claude Robin
1977	Madame le juge [ep #2 'Monsieur Bais' dir by Claude Barma] 6-part series; other ph: Alain Levent, Jean Rabier, a.o.
1977	Claudine à Paris [Edouard Molinaro] tvm

FILMS AS CAMERA ASSISTANT/OPERATOR
1947	Blanc comme neige [André Berthomieu] 2nd c.asst; ph: Fred Langenfeld
1948	Cent ans de mission [Jean-Jacques Méhu; short] 2nd c.asst; ph: Edmond Séchan
1948	Mademoiselle de la Ferte [Roger Dallier & (superv) Georges Lacombe] 2nd c.asst; ph: ?
1948	L'évangile de la pierre [André Bureau; doc] c.asst; ph: Edmond Séchan & André Villard
1949	Retour à la vie [seg #5 'Le retour de Jean' dir by Henri-Georges Clouzot] 2nd c.asst; ph: Louis Page
1949	La perspective/Le dessin de perspective [Georges Régnier; short] 1st c.asst; ph: ?; also part of 'Le dessin' (1952)
1949	La profession de géomètre expert [Marcel Gibaud; short] 1st c.asst; ph: ?
1949	Moissons d'aujourd'hui/Chevaux d'acier [Jacques Dupont; short] 1st c.asst; ph: Edmond Séchan
1949	Pétrole de la Gironde [Jacques Lemoigne; doc] c.op; ph: ?
1949	Un certain monsieur [Yves Ciampi] 2nd c.asst; ph: Roger Arrignon
1950	Georges Braque [André Bureau; doc] 1st c.asst; ph: André Villard
1950	L'espoir au village [Serge de Boissac; short] 1st c.asst; ph: ?
1950	Hommes des oasis [Georges Régnier; short] 1st c.asst; ph: Roger Arrignon
1950	Les musiciens de la mine [Jean-Jacques Méhu; doc] c.op; ph: ?
1950	Avalanche [Raymond Segard] 1st c.asst; ph: Roger Arrignon
1951	La petite diligence [Georges Croses; short] c.op; ph: ?
1951	Labor Goes to School [Georges Croses; short] 1st c.asst; ph: ?
1951	The Green Glove/The Gauntlet/The White Road [Rudolph Maté] 1st c.asst; ph: Claude Renoir
1952	Il est minuit, docteur Schweitzer/Dr. Schweitzer [André Haguet] 1st c.asst; ph: Lucien Joulin
1953	La classe de mathématiques [Daniel Lecomte; short] c.op; ph: ?
1953	La classe de lettres [Daniel Lecomte; short] c.op; ph: ?
1953	La classe d'histoire [Daniel Lecomte; short] c.op; ph: ?
1953	L'homme à l'oeillet blanc [Jacques Séverac; short] c.op; ph: ?
1953	Le grand pavois/The Big Flag [Jacques Pinoteau] 1st c.asst; ph: Roger Arrignon
1954	Napoléon [Sacha Guitry] 1st c.asst 2u; 2uc: Roger Dormoy; ph: Pierre Montazel
1955	Les possédées/Passionate Summer [Charles Brabant] c.op; ph: Edmond Séchan
1956	Les aventures d'Arsène Lupin [Jacques Becker] c.op; ph: Edmond Séchan
1957	Le piège/No Escape [Charles Brabant] c.op; ph: Edmond Séchan

MISCELLANEOUS
1982	Sans soleil/Sunless [Chris Marker; doc] co-friend/adviser (Paris); ph: Chris Marker, Jean-Michel Humeau, a.o.