Pablo O. Scholz
09/06/2021 12:25
Clarín.com
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Updated 09/06/2021 12:35
"This has been an invention of the press," said
Jean-Paul Belmondo
and
Alain Delon
more than twenty years ago, when seeking rivalry between the two holy monsters of French cinema was a one way but not a return path.
"There was no kind of enmity between us," Delon declared in 1999, when they premiered, together,
Los Profesionales
, by Patrice Leconte.
"We had two parallel and complementary paths, which was very beneficial: without this conjunction, without a doubt our careers would not have been so successful," said the gallant, now 85 years old.
The truth is that, although there was no apparent rivalry between the artists, because each one had their audience, and they could even share it, when it came to fighting the cachet, the salary, or at least the French poster -who appeared first in the posters or in the opening credits of the film -, the interpreter of
Breathless
, by
Jean-Luc Godard
, had the upper hand.
September 14, 2010, in Boulogne-Billancourt, Delon attended the opening of the museum that Belmondo opened in honor of his father.
AFP photo
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It all started before the premiere of
Borsalino
(1970), and the issue of who "led" and who "accompanied" ended up being settled in court.
Jacques Deray's film was set during the 1930s, in Marseille, and Belmondo and Delon - in that order ... - played two low-level criminals working for the local mafia, until they decided to start their own business.
Few, but good
There were not many times that Belmondo and Delon agreed to work on the same set.
Just four.
"Borsalino".
Jean-Paul Belmondo and, further back, Alain Delon, almost like a metaphor, in Jacques Deray's film.
There were cartel problems.
AP Photo
Thirty years before
The Professionals
, as the film was titled in Argentina, surely trying to emulate the success of
The Professional
(1981, Gorges Lautner's film with Belmondo, and with the catchy music of Don Ennio Morricone, which remained for months in the Atlas Lavalle - what times! -), they had shared, as we said, the filming of
Borsalino
.
"We wanted to work together again for a long time", explained a Belmondo at that point more accustomed to action cinema, but immediately clarified that "the alchemy of a success is so complex that I think it is useless to look for the causes of this relative failure ... "The Professionals did not work, strangely, in French cinemas.
Delon shared the thought, because it is already known that the truth is never sad, what has no remedy.
But he searched for them, arguing that confirming, without much ado, his disappointment at "the reception of the film by the French public."
November 17, 2017. Together, at the inauguration of the "Wheel" in Paris.
AP Photo
Their first film together was
A Dangerous Blonde
(1958), Marc Allégret's comedy.
Belmondo was Pierrot, Delon, Loulou, and the protagonist was Mylène Demongeot, as Virginie.
Then came
Paris Burning?
(1966), by René Clément, the film of almost three hours and with a cast that yes, Belmondo headed, but that in addition to Delon had Leslie Caron, Charle Boyer, jean-Pierre Cassel, Yves Montand, Kirk Douglas, Glenn Ford, Anthony Perkins… It happened in August 1944, when the Allies approached the capital of France and the rebels began to plan an uprising against the Germans.
And in 2017 they made a new joint appearance, at the inauguration of the “Wheel” in Paris.
Delon will surely say goodbye today to his friend, with whom he shared more moments of joy than rivalry or sadness.
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