02-23-2019, 09:45 PM
Director Stanley Donen
Stanley Donen (/ˈdɒnən/ DON-ən;[1] April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are Singin' in the Rain and On the Town, both of which he co-directed with actor and dancer Gene Kelly. His other notable films include Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, Indiscreet, Damn Yankees!, Charade, and Two for the Road. He began his career in the chorus line on Broadway for director George Abbott, where he befriended Kelly. In 1943 he went to Hollywood and worked as a choreographer before he and Kelly made On the Town in 1949. He then worked as a contract director for MGM under producer Arthur Freed producing hit films amid critical acclaim. In 1952 Donen and Kelly co-directed the musical Singin' in the Rain, regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Donen's relationship with Kelly deteriorated in 1955 during their final collaboration on It's Always Fair Weather. He then broke his contract with MGM to become an independent producer in 1957. He continued making films throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, often financial successes that were critically acclaimed. His film output became less frequent in the early 1980s and he briefly returned to the stage as a director in the 1990s and again in 2002.
Donen is credited with having transitioned Hollywood musical films from realistic backstage dramas to a more integrated art form in which the songs were a natural continuation of the story. Before Donen and Kelly made their films, musicals – such as the extravagant and stylized work of Busby Berkeley – were often set in a Broadway stage environment where the musical numbers were part of a stage show. Donen and Kelly's films created a more cinematic form and included dances that could only be achieved in the film medium. Donen stated that what he was doing was a "direct continuation from the Astaire – Rogers musicals ... which in turn came from René Clair and from Lubitsch ... What we did was not geared towards realism but towards the unreal."[2]
Donen is highly respected by film historians; however his career is often compared to Kelly's, and there is debate over who deserves more credit for their collaborations. Donen and Kelly's relationship was complicated, both professionally and personally, but Donen's films as a solo director are generally better regarded by critics than Kelly's. French Film critic Jean-Pierre Coursodon has said that Donen's contribution to the evolution of the Hollywood musical "outshines anybody else's, including Vincente Minnelli's"[2] and David Quinlan called him "the King of the Hollywood musicals".[3] Among his awards are an Honorary Academy Award in 1998 and a Career Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival in 2004. Donen married five times and had three children. Film director and comedian Elaine May was his partner from 1999 until his death in 2019. He was the last surviving notable director of Hollywood's Golden Age.
Stanley Donen (/ˈdɒnən/ DON-ən;[1] April 13, 1924 – February 21, 2019) was an American film director and choreographer whose most celebrated works are Singin' in the Rain and On the Town, both of which he co-directed with actor and dancer Gene Kelly. His other notable films include Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Funny Face, Indiscreet, Damn Yankees!, Charade, and Two for the Road. He began his career in the chorus line on Broadway for director George Abbott, where he befriended Kelly. In 1943 he went to Hollywood and worked as a choreographer before he and Kelly made On the Town in 1949. He then worked as a contract director for MGM under producer Arthur Freed producing hit films amid critical acclaim. In 1952 Donen and Kelly co-directed the musical Singin' in the Rain, regarded as one of the greatest films ever made. Donen's relationship with Kelly deteriorated in 1955 during their final collaboration on It's Always Fair Weather. He then broke his contract with MGM to become an independent producer in 1957. He continued making films throughout the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s, often financial successes that were critically acclaimed. His film output became less frequent in the early 1980s and he briefly returned to the stage as a director in the 1990s and again in 2002.
Donen is credited with having transitioned Hollywood musical films from realistic backstage dramas to a more integrated art form in which the songs were a natural continuation of the story. Before Donen and Kelly made their films, musicals – such as the extravagant and stylized work of Busby Berkeley – were often set in a Broadway stage environment where the musical numbers were part of a stage show. Donen and Kelly's films created a more cinematic form and included dances that could only be achieved in the film medium. Donen stated that what he was doing was a "direct continuation from the Astaire – Rogers musicals ... which in turn came from René Clair and from Lubitsch ... What we did was not geared towards realism but towards the unreal."[2]
Donen is highly respected by film historians; however his career is often compared to Kelly's, and there is debate over who deserves more credit for their collaborations. Donen and Kelly's relationship was complicated, both professionally and personally, but Donen's films as a solo director are generally better regarded by critics than Kelly's. French Film critic Jean-Pierre Coursodon has said that Donen's contribution to the evolution of the Hollywood musical "outshines anybody else's, including Vincente Minnelli's"[2] and David Quinlan called him "the King of the Hollywood musicals".[3] Among his awards are an Honorary Academy Award in 1998 and a Career Golden Lion from the Venice Film Festival in 2004. Donen married five times and had three children. Film director and comedian Elaine May was his partner from 1999 until his death in 2019. He was the last surviving notable director of Hollywood's Golden Age.
- 1949 On the Town[62]
- 1951 Royal Wedding[62]
- 1952 Love Is Better Than Ever[62]
- 1952 Singin' in the Rain[62]
- 1952 Fearless Fagan[62]
- 1953 Give a Girl a Break[62]
- 1954 Seven Brides for Seven Brothers[62]
- 1954 Deep in My Heart[62]
- 1955 It's Always Fair Weather[62]
- 1957 Funny Face[62]
- 1957 The Pajama Game
- 1957 Kiss Them for Me
- 1958 Indiscreet[62]
- 1958 Damn Yankees![62]
- 1960 Once More, with Feeling![62]
- 1960 Surprise Package[62]
- 1960 The Grass Is Greener[62]
- 1963 Charade[62]
- 1966 Arabesque[62]
- 1967 Two for the Road[62]
- 1967 Bedazzled[62]
- 1969 Staircase[62]
- 1974 The Little Prince[62]
- 1975 Lucky Lady[62]
- 1978 Movie Movie[62]
- 1980 Saturn 3[62]
- 1984 Blame It on Rio[62]
- 1999 Love Letters[62]
The ideal subject of totalitarian rule is not the convinced Nazi or the dedicated Communist but instead the people for whom the distinction between fact and fiction, true and false, no longer exists -- Hannah Arendt.