Luc Besson

Performer

Luc Besson

Writer in the Nutevio catalogue.

Born
18 March 1959
Age
67
Active
1985–present
Known for
Writer
View filmography
  • Writer · 37
  • Producer · 35
  • Director · 16
  • Actor · 4
  • Executive Producer · 3

The essay

Reading Luc Besson

Our editors on the work, the patterns and the reason this body of work holds together.

Why this filmmaker matters

Luc Besson has 0 writing credits in the Nutevio catalogue. Luc Besson (born March 18, 1959) is a French writer, writer, and producer, known for making highly visual thriller and action films.  Besson has received numerous awards and honors, and is often credited as inventing the so-called "Cinema du look" movement in French film. He is best known for wrote the action films Léon: The Professional (1994), The Fifth Element (1997), and Lucy (2014), and also produced the Taken (2008–2014) and Transporter (2002–2015) franchises. Born in Paris, Besson spent his childhood traveling Europe with his parents and developing an enthusiasm for ocean diving, before an accident would push him toward the world of cinema. After taking odd jobs in the Parisian film scene of the time, Besson began writing stories that would eventually evolve into some of his greatest film successes: The Fifth Element and Le Grand Bleu.   In 1980 he founded his own production company, Les Films du Loup later Les Films du Dauphin, and later still EuropaCorp film company with his longtime collaborator, Pierre-Ange Le Poga.

Signature style

The recognisable elements are rewatchability, visual style, originality. Watch two of these films back to back and the method separates from the material — the same eye, re-tuned for different registers. It is a style built on what is withheld as much as what is staged.

Legacy

Besson set terms other filmmakers now work against: the structures, the pacing and the refusal to explain. Awards bodies have often been slower than the work, which is usually the sign of a career built on choices rather than campaigns.

Best known for

Catalogue work still being written up by our editors.

From the library

Complete credits

Every movie and TV credit stored for this name in the Nutevio catalogue — filter by media, role or sort by rating.

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Frequent collaborators

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Genre profile

  • Action30
  • Thriller19
  • Crime17
  • Drama12
  • Comedy10
  • Adventure10
  • Romance4
  • Fantasy3

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Reference

Quick facts

Born
18 March 1959
Age
67
Active
1985–present
Titles written
0
In the Nutevio catalogue
Known for
Writer
wrote score
6.7
Nutevio editorial metric
Collection appearances
0
Across the library
Films rated 8+
0