Alain Delon receives Cannes honorary Golden Palm prize
Jochen Kürten / dbMay 20, 2019
The French actor is a European cinema star, famous for unforgettable roles in the 1960s. But his private life also made headlines — and Cannes Film Festival's decision to award him an honorary Palme d'Or sparked protest.
Image: Imago/United Archives
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13 cult films starring Alain Delon
French film legend Alain Delon has died at the age of 88. The actor was popular in the 1960s, and worked with some of the finest directors.
Image: picture alliance/picture alliance
'Rocco and his Brothers'
Alain Delon was 25 when he played in Italian director Luchino Visconti's 1960 "Rocco and his Brothers" — his first international movie.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
'Purple Noon'
That same year, Delon shot a movie that became a classic: "Purple Noon," based on "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith. The thriller catapulted Delon to stardom.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
'The Eclipse'
This early film by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni is still considered a milestone in film history today. In the 1962 work, Alain Delon starred opposite Monica Vitti.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'The Leopard'
In 1963, Visconti worked once again with the young French actor. In "The Leopard," adapted from the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Delon starred alongside Claudia Cardinale.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
'The Swimming Pool'
Delon starred alongside Romy Schneider in the classic 1968 film 'The Swimming Pool.' He went on to have an affair with the German actor.
Image: Constantin/dpa/picture alliance
'The Last Adventure'
Alain Delon shone beside beautiful women, but he was also good at portraying characters in movies on men's friendships and conflicts. In "The Last Adventure," he and the much older Lino Ventura were a perfect match.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'The Samourai'
In 1967, the French actor played his most career-defining, iconic role in Jean-Pierre Melville's classic, "The Samourai." In the cult movie, Delon depicts an ice-cold contract killer.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'Borsalino'
He played in many films in the early 1970s, often alongside other super stars — like Jean-Paul Belmondo in the gangster film "Borsalino."
Image: Impress/United Archives/picture alliance
'The Assassination of Trotzky'
Co-starring with German-French actress Romy Schneider, Delon put on an impressive act in the 1971 film "Assassination of Trotzky," where he plays the assassin of Russian revolutionary Leo Trotzky (Richard Burton), in exile in Mexico.
Image: AP
'Scorpio'
By the early 1970s, Alain Delon was an international star. In 1973, the French actor made a film in the US, cast in the role of a hitman in the spy film "Scorpio."
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'Mr. Klein'
Delon enjoyed success and fame in the '70s. In Joseph Losey's 1976 film "Mr. Klein," Delon took on the role of a French art dealer under Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'Swann in Love'
During the second part of his long acting career, Delon worked mainly with French directors. But in 1984, he played in a film by German film director Volker Schlöndorff: "Swann in Love," based on a novel by Marcel Proust.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'New Wave'
"New Wave," directed by Jean-Luc Godard, follows the story of a drifter played by an ageing Delon. "Nouvelle Vague," the movie's original French title, refers to the French cinematic revolution by the same name in the early 1960s.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
Delon dies at 88
Delon had millions of fans around the world who adored him. But, he also drew legions of critics, with feminists appalled by the lifetime achievement award given to him at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. This was his last major public appearance.
Cult imagery of film history definitely include Charlie Chaplin's Tramp, James Dean's utter cool, Marilyn Monroe's swirling white dress — and Alain Delon's performance as hit man Jeff Costello in the 1967 movie The Samurai.
Delon's motionless face, fixed gaze, meticulous appearance and total arrogance in the movie are simply unforgettable.
Along with Jean-Paul Belmondo and Michel Piccoli, Delon was one of the biggest stars in French cinema. On Sunday at the 2019 Cannes Film Festival, he received an honorary Palme d'Or ("Golden Palm") award "to pay tribute to his wonderful presence in the history of film."
In announcing Delon as this year's prize recipient, Cannes director Thierry Fremaux had praised Delon as "a giant, a living legend and a global icon," but the festival announcement also prompted controversy based on Delon's personal life.
Beauty and elegance
Following his success in the 1960s, Delon later starred in several more or less memorable gangster movies. The Swimming Pool (1969) is a movie that is more unforgettable, with Delon and Romy Schneider lounging naked by the pool.
In 1973, Alain Delon once again played a hit man, this time in a Hollywood production, Michael Winner's film Scorpio, which is one of the few exceptions in his more or less French portfolio.
Julius Caesar in Asterix at the Olympic Games, a 2008 film based on the popular comic series, is one of Alain Delon's rare roles in a comedy. Other than that, he's rarely stepped before a camera in the past 15 years.
Delon and his lovely German fiancee Romy SchneiderImage: Getty Images
While Hollywood seemed to hold little allure for the French actor, his personal life, his affairs and marriages were of great interest to the public. He was engaged to actress Romy Schneider at the beginning of the 60s.
Rumors about shady friends
When his bodyguard was found dead in a public dump in 1968, Delon was suspected of being involved in the murder. The scandal shook France. The case was dropped and never solved, and since then rumors surrounding his connections with the mafia still circulate.
He cemented his reputation of having dubious friends by publicly standing by his friendship with French right-wing populist Jean-Marie Le Pen, the father of the current far-right leader Marine Le Pen, yet it never really hurt his career.
Controversy resurfaces at Cannes
Still the controversy around his persona was never laid to rest publicly. When Cannes announced Delon would be honored at the 2019 festival, an outcry ensued. More than 23,00 individuals signed an online petition against his receiving the award. In it, they called him a "racist, homophobic misogynist."
Delon has acknowledged slapping women in the past and says he opposes adoption of children by same-sex parents.
Cannes director Fremaux defended the decision to give Delon the prize, arguing that the actor comes from another generation and is free to express his personal opinions. "We're not giving him the Nobel Peace Prize," Fremaux added.
French film legend Alain Delon has died at the age of 88. The actor was popular in the 1960s, and worked with some of the finest directors.
Image: picture alliance/picture alliance
'Rocco and his Brothers'
Alain Delon was 25 when he played in Italian director Luchino Visconti's 1960 "Rocco and his Brothers" — his first international movie.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
'Purple Noon'
That same year, Delon shot a movie that became a classic: "Purple Noon," based on "The Talented Mr. Ripley" by Patricia Highsmith. The thriller catapulted Delon to stardom.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
'The Eclipse'
This early film by Italian director Michelangelo Antonioni is still considered a milestone in film history today. In the 1962 work, Alain Delon starred opposite Monica Vitti.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'The Leopard'
In 1963, Visconti worked once again with the young French actor. In "The Leopard," adapted from the novel by Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Delon starred alongside Claudia Cardinale.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
'The Swimming Pool'
Delon starred alongside Romy Schneider in the classic 1968 film 'The Swimming Pool.' He went on to have an affair with the German actor.
Image: Constantin/dpa/picture alliance
'The Last Adventure'
Alain Delon shone beside beautiful women, but he was also good at portraying characters in movies on men's friendships and conflicts. In "The Last Adventure," he and the much older Lino Ventura were a perfect match.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'The Samourai'
In 1967, the French actor played his most career-defining, iconic role in Jean-Pierre Melville's classic, "The Samourai." In the cult movie, Delon depicts an ice-cold contract killer.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'Borsalino'
He played in many films in the early 1970s, often alongside other super stars — like Jean-Paul Belmondo in the gangster film "Borsalino."
Image: Impress/United Archives/picture alliance
'The Assassination of Trotzky'
Co-starring with German-French actress Romy Schneider, Delon put on an impressive act in the 1971 film "Assassination of Trotzky," where he plays the assassin of Russian revolutionary Leo Trotzky (Richard Burton), in exile in Mexico.
Image: AP
'Scorpio'
By the early 1970s, Alain Delon was an international star. In 1973, the French actor made a film in the US, cast in the role of a hitman in the spy film "Scorpio."
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'Mr. Klein'
Delon enjoyed success and fame in the '70s. In Joseph Losey's 1976 film "Mr. Klein," Delon took on the role of a French art dealer under Nazi occupation during the Second World War.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'Swann in Love'
During the second part of his long acting career, Delon worked mainly with French directors. But in 1984, he played in a film by German film director Volker Schlöndorff: "Swann in Love," based on a novel by Marcel Proust.
Image: United Archives/IMAGO
'New Wave'
"New Wave," directed by Jean-Luc Godard, follows the story of a drifter played by an ageing Delon. "Nouvelle Vague," the movie's original French title, refers to the French cinematic revolution by the same name in the early 1960s.
Image: Granata Images/IMAGO
Delon dies at 88
Delon had millions of fans around the world who adored him. But, he also drew legions of critics, with feminists appalled by the lifetime achievement award given to him at the Cannes Film Festival in 2019. This was his last major public appearance.
