Michel Legrand

Sound

Michel Legrand

Born 1932-02-24 · Bécon-les-Bruyères, Paris, France

Michel Jean Legrand (24 February 1932 – 26 January 2019) was a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, jazz pianist, and singer. Legrand was a prolific composer, having written more than 200 film and television scores, in addition to many songs. His scores for two of the films of French New Wave director Jacques Demy, The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), earned Legrand his first Academy Award nominations. Legrand won his first Oscar for the song "The Windmills of Your Mind" from The Thomas Crown Affair (1968), and additional Oscars for Summer of '42 (1971) and Barbra Streisand's Yentl (1983). Legrand was born in Paris, France, to his father, Raymond Legrand, who was himself a conductor and composer, and his mother, Marcelle Der-Mikaëlian, who was the sister of conductor Jacques Hélian. Raymond and Marcelle were married in 1929. His maternal grandfather was Armenian. Legrand composed more than two hundred film and television scores. He won three Oscars and five Grammys. He studied music at the Conservatoire de Paris from the age of 11, working with, among others, Nadia Boulanger and graduated with top honors as both a composer and a pianist. He burst upon the international music scene at 22 when his 1954 album I Love Paris became a surprise hit. He established his name in the United States by working with such jazz stars as Miles Davis and Stan Getz. His sister Christiane Legrand was a member of The Swingle Singers and his niece Victoria Legrand is a member of the dream pop band Beach House. Legrand composed music for Jacques Demy's films The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) (from which Recit de Cassard came and in turn, in English became the standard Watch What Happens) and The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967), from which the relyricized "You Must Believe in Spring" is considered a jazz standard. Legrand appeared and performed in Agnès Varda's Cléo from 5 to 7 (1961). He also composed music for Joseph Losey's Eva (1962), The Thomas Crown Affair (1968) (which features "The Windmills of Your Mind"), Ice Station Zebra (1968), The Picasso Summer (1969), The Lady in the Car with Glasses and a Gun (1970), The Go-Between (1971), Summer of '42 (1971), Clint Eastwood's Breezy (1973), The Three Musketeers (1973), Orson Welles's last-completed film F for Fake (1974), TriStar Pictures 1998 family film Madeline, and would later compose the score for Welles's posthumously released movie The Other Side of the Wind (2018). He also composed the score for Yentl (1983), as well as the film score for Louis Malle's film Atlantic City (1980). His instrumental version of the theme from Brian's Song charted 56th in 1972 on the Billboard's pop chart. Legrand died of sepsis, during the night of 25–26 January 2019, at the American Hospital of Paris in Neuilly-sur-Seine, where he had been hospitalized for two weeks for a pulmonary infection. His funeral was held in Paris at the Alexander Nevsky Cathedral on 1 February 2019. He was interred at the Père Lachaise Cemetery. He remained active until his death and had concerts scheduled to take place in the spring. ... Source: Article "Michel Legrand" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Acting credits

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg poster
7.4

This simple romantic tragedy begins in 1957. Guy Foucher, a 20-year-old French auto mechanic, has fallen in love with 17-year-old Geneviève Emery, an employee in her widowed mother's chic but financially embattled umbrella shop. On the evening before Guy is to leave for a two-year tour of combat in Algeria, he and Geneviève make love. She becomes pregnant and must choose between waiting for Guy's return or accepting an offer of marriage from a wealthy diamond merchant.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

1964

Cléo from 5 to 7 poster
7.7

Agnès Varda eloquently captures Paris in the sixties with this real-time portrait of a singer set adrift in the city as she awaits test results of a biopsy. A chronicle of the minutes of one woman’s life, Cléo from 5 to 7 is a spirited mix of vivid vérité and melodrama, featuring a score by Michel Legrand and cameos by Jean-Luc Godard and Anna Karina.

Cléo from 5 to 7

1962

Love Lasts Three Years poster
5.7

A heartbroken literary critic turns his despair into creativity following a bitter divorce, only to encounter an enchanting beauty who poses a major challenge to his newfound cynicism. Marc Marronnier thought his marriage was going well until his wife deemed him immature, and left him for a high-profile writer. Devastated, he began filtering all of his heartache into a misanthropic manuscript decrying the virtues of true love. But later, when Marc falls hard for his cousin's radiant and gorgeous wife, his entire life is turned upside down. Louise Bourgoin and Gaspard Proust star in a film by actor and author-turned-director Frederic Beigbeder.

Love Lasts Three Years

2011

The Beaches of Agnès poster
7.7

Filmmaking icon Agnès Varda, the award-winning director regarded by many as the grandmother of the French new wave, turns the camera on herself with this unique autobiographical documentary. Composed of film excerpts and elaborate dramatic re-creations, Varda's self-portrait recounts the highs and lows of her professional career, the many friendships that affected her life and her longtime marriage to cinematic giant Jacques Demy.

The Beaches of Agnès

2008

The World of Jacques Demy poster
6.9

Agnès Varda's documentary portrait of her late husband, Jacques Demy. A companion piece to her Jacquot de Nantes.

The World of Jacques Demy

1995

Callas Assoluta poster
6.5

This revealing documentary from director Philippe Kohly examines the storied life of renowned soprano Maria Callas, from her troubled childhood in New York City to her scandal-laden but triumphant international career in opera. Featuring archival interviews with Callas herself and footage of contemporaries such as her lover Aristotle Onassis, this celebration of "La Divina" pays tribute to her enduring legacy some three decades after her death.

Callas Assoluta

2007

Her Last Christmas poster
7.0

A very ill little girl having expressed the wish to live until Christmas, the whole neighborhood agrees to anticipate the celebration.

Her Last Christmas

1952

A Final Cut for Orson: 40 Years in the Making poster
6.8

A glimpse behind the scenes into the complicated process of recovering and completing Orson Welles' final film The Other Side of the Wind.

A Final Cut for Orson: 40 Years in the Making

2018

Quincy Jones, Music Man poster
9.0

No synopsis available yet.

Quincy Jones, Music Man

2025

Michel Legrand, sans demi-mesure poster
9.0

This documentary recounts the life of the late composer Michel Legrand, known for his works on Les Parapluies de Cherbourg or Les Demoiselles De Rochefort with the famous director Jacques Demy.

Michel Legrand, sans demi-mesure

2018

Jacques Demy: The Pink and the Black poster
7.2

Jacques Demy’s ability to enchant audiences was rooted in his personal struggles and doubts as a showman, establishing him as one of French cinema’s greatest artists.

Jacques Demy: The Pink and the Black

2024

La La La poster
7.2

When the silent cinema learned to speak, the audience was surprised not only by the voices of the actors and the sound effects, but also by a new element, the music, which, combined with the dance and an unprejudiced imagination, gave rise to a new genre, as important to Hollywood cinema as the western was: the musical. A journey through the history of this genre, from its beginnings to the present day.

La La La

2018

Behind the screens : Les demoiselles de Rochefort poster
NR

Six-part documentary on the making of Jacques Demy's 'Le demoiselles de Rochefort'

Behind the screens : Les demoiselles de Rochefort

1966

Once Upon a Time Michel Legrand poster
6.7

Michel Legrand, jazz musician and composer extraordinaire, has left his mark on the history of cinema, including the films of Jacques Demy, especially The Umbrellas of Cherbourg, the 60th anniversary of which is being celebrated in Cannes. Using never-before-seen archives and personal accounts, the film looks back on a lifetime dedicated to music, and the career of a man who served it masterfully to the very end.

Once Upon a Time Michel Legrand

2024

Françoise Dorléac, from The Man from Rio to The Young Girls of Rochefort poster
8.0

Born into a family of actors, Françoise Dorléac, Catherine Deneuve's older sister, began her career at the age of 15. She shone a few years later alongside Jean-Paul Belmondo in "L'Homme de Rio". From there, a great international career is announced to the young actress. But in 1967, a few months after filming the "Demoiselles de Rochefort" with her sister, she died tragically in a road accident, at the age of 25. Nevertheless, she leaves behind an abundant career and thus continues to be present in the minds of cinephiles.

Françoise Dorléac, from The Man from Rio to The Young Girls of Rochefort

2021

A Time for Loving poster
5.0

The story of an apartment in Paris and the various people that occupy it over the years.

A Time for Loving

1972

The Young Girls Turn 25 poster
7.1

Agnes Varda's documentary of the celebrations arising from the 25th anniversary of her husband Jacques Demy's film The Young Girls of Rochefort.

The Young Girls Turn 25

1993

Françoise Dorléac, une promesse poster
6.0

A portray of French actress Françoise Dorléac

Françoise Dorléac, une promesse

2018

Michel Legrand and the Cinema poster
NR

Recorded at the Salle Pleyel, Paris, the award-winning composer, conductor, songwriter and pianist performs a selection of his film scores accompanied by the Orchestre National d'Ile-de-France. Performers featured include Patrick Fiori, Liane Foly, Maurane, Mario Pelchat, Catherine Michel and Helene Sagara.

Michel Legrand and the Cinema

2011

Ann-Margret Smith poster
7.0

Book-ending the year 1975 with two big budget TV Specials, Ann -Margret also earned her second Oscar nomination that year, for Tommy. In January, "Ann-Margret Olssen" premiered and was titled with the star's maiden name. This second special premiered late in the year and was titled with the star's married name. Her husband Roger Smith also appears in the opening sequences. Presented by the Bell System's Family Theatre, the program was filmed at the ATV Studios at BBC Elstree Centre, Borehamwood, England.

Ann-Margret Smith

1975

Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer poster
5.0

"Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer" is a feature-length documentary. In this entertaining look at the legendary singer's life, hosted by two-time Grammy award singer Lou Rawls, Frankie tells his own story. Classic archive footage of the great performances of the past has been painstakingly collected, and new interview material shot with distinguished guests such as Clint Eastwood,Tom Jones, Frank Sinatra, Dick Clark, Ringo Starr, Patti Page, Pat Boone, Maria Cole, Mitch Miller, Michel Legrand, John Williams, Kay Starr, Jack Jones, Herb Jeffries, Peter Marshall, Howard Keel, Terry Moore, Lucy Marlow, Sammy Nestico, and A.C. Lyles. From Dick Clark's American Bandstand to The Bob Hope Show, from Rawhide to Blazing Saddles, from the Ed Sullivan Show to Gunfight at the O.K. Corral, audiences will journey through the life of one of the most popular male vocalists of all time.

Frankie Laine: An American Dreamer

2006

La chanson 'Lola' poster
NR

Michel Legrand, Agnès Varda, and Anouk Aimee share the story behind the song they created for Jacques Demy's first feature film, LOLA, “C’est moi, c’est Lola".

La chanson 'Lola'

2008

Once Upon a Time... The Umbrellas of Cherbourg poster
8.0

Television documentary about the making of Jacques Demy's 1964 film "The Umbrellas of Cherbourg".

Once Upon a Time... The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

2008

Dans les pas de Jean-Paul Rappeneau poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Dans les pas de Jean-Paul Rappeneau

2022

Behind the camera