Deaths in Cinema in 2017

Another year has passed, and as usual, the cinema of the world lost some of its well-known figures; from renowned filmmakers like Jerry Lewis and Jonathan Demme to actors like Jeanne Moreau and Roger Moore. Jerry Lewis; a discovery of the French. Jerry Lewis, the American filmmaker and actor, passed away in August this year at the age of 91. Lewis had successful comedic performances in the 1940s in collaboration with Dean Martin, which soon made their way to television and cinema, forming a comedy team that resulted in sixteen films; this collaboration ended in 1956. The last time they performed together was in 1989 in Las Vegas. Jerry Lewis was a comedian who was first taken seriously by French critics in the magazine "Cahiers du Cinéma" and praised as an auteur filmmaker. However, the extent of praise for him in America was not as it should have been, and even in television shows, there were jokes about the idea that "only the French understand Lewis," and a book titled "Why the French Love Jerry Lewis" was published. Nevertheless, some top American filmmakers like Martin Scorsese have always paid tribute to him, and Scorsese's well-known film, "The King of Comedy" (which is actually Jerry Lewis's title), is a kind of homage to him. Lewis is mostly praised for the films he directed in the early 1960s; from "The Ladies' Man" to "The Nutty Professor," in which he creates a mad absurd world. These films were often dubbed in Iran during the 1940s and gained great popularity with the voice of Hamid Ghambari. At the same time, Kiumars Vajdani, a well-known critic of that era, wrote a detailed article in the monthly magazine Star of Cinema (New Cinema) in praise of Jerry Lewis's world, which is considered one of the few serious articles in Persian about this filmmaker. Sam Shepard, the American playwright and actor, also passed away in the same August at the age of seventy-three; one of the narrators of contemporary America who mocked the "American Dream." In acclaimed plays like "Buried Child," Shepard critiques the foundation of the American Dream, namely the concept of family, but aside from that, with his attractive persona, he also became a professional actor who even received an Oscar nomination for a film like "The Right Stuff" (1983). Robert Altman adapted one of his plays, "Fool for Love," into a film, and Shepard himself took on the lead role in this film. Shepard is also the screenwriter of one of the most acclaimed films of the 1980s: "Paris, Texas" directed by Wim Wenders. Jonathan Demme, the well-known American filmmaker who is recognized by everyone for the film "The Silence of the Lambs" (1991), passed away in April at the age of seventy-three. Demme interned at Roger Corman's studios and made three films there. However, his early works were never as successful as those of his peers like Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg, and perhaps for this reason, Demme had a tumultuous career and despite huge successes like "The Silence of the Lambs," he was not taken seriously as an auteur filmmaker. However, his best film is a small, intimate one called "Rachel Getting Married," created in 2008; an inexpensive experimental film that penetrates into the main female character with a fluid camera. The filmmaker who created nightmares. George Romero, one of the fathers of modern horror cinema, passed away in July at the age of seventy-seven. Romero began his career in the 1960s and gained global fame with films like "Night of the Living Dead"; a humorous and witty filmmaker who, quoting Stephen King, said, "We have no nightmares because we give them all to you." Two years before his death, he told me in an interview, "For me, if I don't want to say something, there is no reason to make a film; we must talk about the conditions of society and humanity. I have never made a film like 'Friday the 13th,' meaning I have never made a slasher film, a film that just wants to scare. I always try to have a reason for it." In July, Jeanne Moreau, one of the most acclaimed actresses of French cinema, passed away at the age of eighty-nine. Jeanne Moreau may have been one of the first great actresses to change the concept of beauty on the cinema screen. In her, there was no trace of the classical beauty that was praised - blonde hair and blue eyes - and perhaps even each of her facial features alone was not particularly "beautiful," but their combination seemed so astonishing that one of the most captivating women in the history of cinema was formed on screen and soon became immortal; her presence in every scene was a weight that irresistibly drew the gaze: a calm and seemingly cold woman whose beauty was defined in silence; in penetrating, mysterious, and sometimes drowsy eyes. For this reason, she became a symbol of sexual freedoms with an acclaimed film called "Jules and Jim" (1962), which showcased her at the peak of François Truffaut's cinematic love. Over several decades of activity, she worked with a diverse treasure of great filmmakers from around the world: from Louis Malle and Luis Buñuel to Orson Welles and Theo Angelopoulos. It seems that Agent "007" never dies, but Roger Moore, the fourth actor to play James Bond, passed away in May at the age of eighty-nine. Moore played James Bond in seven films from 1973 to 1985; in films like "The Spy Who Loved Me" and "Octopussy." Moore began his career in the mid-1940s by playing bit parts. In the 1950s, he worked as a model and appeared in roles with short dialogues, and in the late 1950s, he achieved his first success with a role in the series "Ivanhoe." However, he owes all his fame to his James Bond roles, and outside of that, he has no memorable performances in his career. And others... Anthony Harvey, a British filmmaker, passed away in November at the age of eighty-seven. His most well-known film is "The Lion in Winter" (1968), which brought him close to an Oscar nomination, and although he did not win the Best Director award, the film returned home with three Oscars - including for Katherine Hepburn's performance. John Hurt, an English actor, passed away in January at the age of seventy-seven; an actor whom David Lynch called "the greatest actor in the world." He became known for the film "A Man for All Seasons" (1966) and later shone in films like "The Elephant Man" (David Lynch, 1980) and appeared in a wide range of roles throughout his cinematic career; from acting in the "Harry Potter" series to films by Jim Jarmusch and Lars von Trier. John Avildsen, an American filmmaker, passed away in June at the age of eighty-one. His greatest success was directing the film "Rocky" in 1977, which earned him the Oscar for Best Director.