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Boris Leven is a Production Design Russe born on 13 august 1908 at Moscow (Russie)
Boris Leven (August 13, 1908 - October 11, 1986) was a Russian-born Academy Award-winning art director and production designer whose Hollywood career spanned fifty-three years.
Born in Moscow, Leven emigrated to the United States in 1927 and became a naturalized citizen in 1938. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from the University of Southern California, he attended the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York City.
Leven began his film career as a sketch artist at Paramount Pictures in 1933 and moved to 20th Century Fox three years later. His first screen credit was as the art director for Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), which garnered him the first of nine Oscar nominations.
The designs Leven created over the years ranged from realistic to highly stylistic. For Giant (1956), he constructed the Victorian home that sits isolated in a wide expanse of open field, which became an iconic image for the film. His work for West Side Story (1961), which won him the Academy Award for Best Color Art Direction, included actual New York City locations combined with a tenement rooftop and fire escape, inspired by the more abstract stage production, that were built on a soundstage. For New York, New York (1977), he created a fantasized version of Manhattan set in the 1940s.
As an art director, Leven contributed to The Flying Deuces (1939), Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), Invaders from Mars (1953), The Silver Chalice (1954), and Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973), among others. His credits as production designer include Donovan's Brain (1953), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Two for the Seesaw (1962), The Sand Pebbles (1966), The Sound of Music (1965), Star! (1968), The Andromeda Strain (1971), Mandingo (1975), The Last Waltz (1978), The King of Comedy (1982), Fletch (1985) and The Color of Money (1986).
Leven wed Vera Glooshkoff on February 8, 1946. He died in Los Angeles, California. Mrs. Leven died at the age of 101 in June 2011. Prior to her death she had passed several of Boris Leven's paintings and film drawings to the University of Southern California and New York's MOMA.
Son premier film comme directeur artistique est La Folle Parade d'Henry King (avec Tyrone Power et Alice Faye), sorti en 1938, année où il est naturalisé américain. Suivent plus de soixante-dix autres films américains (parfois comme chef décorateur).
En particulier, il collabore avec le réalisateur Robert Wise sur six films, depuis West Side Story (1961, avec Natalie Wood et Richard Beymer) jusqu'à Le Mystère Andromède (1971, avec Arthur Hill et David Wayne), en passant entre autres par La Mélodie du bonheur (1965, avec Julie Andrews et Christopher Plummer).
En fin de carrière, il travaille sur quatre réalisations de Martin Scorsese, dont New York, New York (1977, avec Liza Minnelli et Robert De Niro) et La Couleur de l'argent (avec Paul Newman et Tom Cruise), son dernier film sorti le 17 octobre 1986, six jours après sa mort.
Parmi ses autres films notables, citons Shanghai Gesture de Josef von Sternberg (1941, avec Ona Munson et Gene Tierney), Pour toi j'ai tué de Robert Siodmak (1949, avec Burt Lancaster et Yvonne De Carlo), Géant de George Stevens (1956, avec Rock Hudson et Elizabeth Taylor), Autopsie d'un meurtre d'Otto Preminger (1959, avec James Stewart et Lee Remick), ou encore Mandingo de Richard Fleischer (1975, avec Susan George et James Mason).
Il obtient neuf nominations à l'Oscar des meilleurs décors — voir détails ci-dessous — entre 1939 (pour son premier film La Folle Parade) et 1987 (à titre posthume, pour son dernier film La Couleur de l'argent), dont un gagné en 1962 (pour West Side Story).
Boris Leven est également directeur artistique à la télévision, sur deux téléfilms américains diffusés en 1974.
(1965)
(Production Design)
(1985)
(Production Design)
(1986)
(Production Design)
(1961)
(Production Design)
(1956)
(Production Design)
(1938)
(Art Direction)
Source : Wikidata
Boris Leven
- Infos
- Photos
- Best films
- Family
- Characters
- Awards
Nationality Russie
Birth 13 august 1908 at Moscow (Russie)
Death 11 october 1986 (at 78 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
Birth 13 august 1908 at Moscow (Russie)
Death 11 october 1986 (at 78 years) at Los Angeles (USA)
Boris Leven (August 13, 1908 - October 11, 1986) was a Russian-born Academy Award-winning art director and production designer whose Hollywood career spanned fifty-three years.
Born in Moscow, Leven emigrated to the United States in 1927 and became a naturalized citizen in 1938. After receiving a Bachelor of Arts in architecture from the University of Southern California, he attended the Beaux-Arts Institute of Design in New York City.
Leven began his film career as a sketch artist at Paramount Pictures in 1933 and moved to 20th Century Fox three years later. His first screen credit was as the art director for Alexander's Ragtime Band (1938), which garnered him the first of nine Oscar nominations.
The designs Leven created over the years ranged from realistic to highly stylistic. For Giant (1956), he constructed the Victorian home that sits isolated in a wide expanse of open field, which became an iconic image for the film. His work for West Side Story (1961), which won him the Academy Award for Best Color Art Direction, included actual New York City locations combined with a tenement rooftop and fire escape, inspired by the more abstract stage production, that were built on a soundstage. For New York, New York (1977), he created a fantasized version of Manhattan set in the 1940s.
As an art director, Leven contributed to The Flying Deuces (1939), Hello Frisco, Hello (1943), Invaders from Mars (1953), The Silver Chalice (1954), and Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973), among others. His credits as production designer include Donovan's Brain (1953), Anatomy of a Murder (1959), Two for the Seesaw (1962), The Sand Pebbles (1966), The Sound of Music (1965), Star! (1968), The Andromeda Strain (1971), Mandingo (1975), The Last Waltz (1978), The King of Comedy (1982), Fletch (1985) and The Color of Money (1986).
Leven wed Vera Glooshkoff on February 8, 1946. He died in Los Angeles, California. Mrs. Leven died at the age of 101 in June 2011. Prior to her death she had passed several of Boris Leven's paintings and film drawings to the University of Southern California and New York's MOMA.
Biography
Après un premier apprentissage de la peinture et de l'architecture dans son pays natal, Boris Leven émigre en 1927 aux États-Unis, où il poursuit ses études d'architecture. En 1933, il s'installe à Los Angeles et oriente sa formation (jusqu'en 1937) dans le domaine des décors de cinéma, ayant notamment comme maître Hans Dreier.Son premier film comme directeur artistique est La Folle Parade d'Henry King (avec Tyrone Power et Alice Faye), sorti en 1938, année où il est naturalisé américain. Suivent plus de soixante-dix autres films américains (parfois comme chef décorateur).
En particulier, il collabore avec le réalisateur Robert Wise sur six films, depuis West Side Story (1961, avec Natalie Wood et Richard Beymer) jusqu'à Le Mystère Andromède (1971, avec Arthur Hill et David Wayne), en passant entre autres par La Mélodie du bonheur (1965, avec Julie Andrews et Christopher Plummer).
En fin de carrière, il travaille sur quatre réalisations de Martin Scorsese, dont New York, New York (1977, avec Liza Minnelli et Robert De Niro) et La Couleur de l'argent (avec Paul Newman et Tom Cruise), son dernier film sorti le 17 octobre 1986, six jours après sa mort.
Parmi ses autres films notables, citons Shanghai Gesture de Josef von Sternberg (1941, avec Ona Munson et Gene Tierney), Pour toi j'ai tué de Robert Siodmak (1949, avec Burt Lancaster et Yvonne De Carlo), Géant de George Stevens (1956, avec Rock Hudson et Elizabeth Taylor), Autopsie d'un meurtre d'Otto Preminger (1959, avec James Stewart et Lee Remick), ou encore Mandingo de Richard Fleischer (1975, avec Susan George et James Mason).
Il obtient neuf nominations à l'Oscar des meilleurs décors — voir détails ci-dessous — entre 1939 (pour son premier film La Folle Parade) et 1987 (à titre posthume, pour son dernier film La Couleur de l'argent), dont un gagné en 1962 (pour West Side Story).
Boris Leven est également directeur artistique à la télévision, sur deux téléfilms américains diffusés en 1974.
Best films
(1965)(Production Design)
(1985)(Production Design)
(1986)(Production Design)
(1961)(Production Design)
(1956)(Production Design)
(1938)(Art Direction)
Usually with
Filmography of Boris Leven (55 films)
Art
Add to a movie listThe Color of Money (1986)
, 1h59Directed by Martin Scorsese
Origin USA
Genres Drama
Themes Sports films
Actors Paul Newman, Tom Cruise, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Helen Shaver, Forest Whitaker, John Turturro
Roles Production Design
Rating69%
Eddie Felson (Paul Newman) is a former pool hustler turned successful liquor salesman. One night he meets Vincent Lauria (Tom Cruise), a young, charismatic pool player and video gamer who plays small-time nine-ball games while working as a sales clerk at a toy store. Eddie, who still stakes bets for talented players like Julian (John Turturro), persuades Vincent and girlfriend/manager Carmen (Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio) to go on the road, where he can teach Vincent how to make much more money through hustling pool.
Wildcats (1986)
, 1h46Directed by Michael Ritchie
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Action
Themes Films about racism, Sports films, American football films
Actors Goldie Hawn, Jan Hooks, Swoosie Kurtz, Wesley Snipes, Woody Harrelson, Robyn Lively
Roles Production Design
Rating61%
Molly McGrath is the daughter of a famed football coach who is dying to head her own team. When her wish is finally granted, Molly leaves her job coaching girls' track at an affluent high school (Prescott High School) to take over a football team at an inner-city high school (Central High School)--the kind of place where guard dogs are needed to patrol the campus. At first the new coach’s idealism and optimism are suffocated with racial and gender prejudice, but eventually her overriding spirit begins to whip her unruly team into shape. At the same time, she must also struggle to win a battle for the custody of her two young daughters. The real test for Molly comes when her Central High team faces Prescott in the city championship.
Fletch (1985)
, 1h38Directed by Michael Ritchie
Origin USA
Genres Thriller, Comedy, Crime
Themes Films about writers, Films about journalists
Actors Chevy Chase, Joe Don Baker, Richard Libertini, Geena Davis, Dana Wheeler-Nicholson, Tim Matheson
Roles Production Design
Rating68%
Los Angeles Times reporter Irwin "Fletch" Fletcher (Chase) is writing an article exposing the drug traffic on the beaches of Los Angeles. Posing as an addict during his investigation, he is approached by Boyd Aviation executive vice president Alan Stanwyk (Matheson) who mistakenly assumes Fletch is a junkie. Stanwyk claims to have bone cancer, with only months left to live, and wishes to avoid the pain and suffering. Stanwyk offers $50,000 for Fletch to come to his mansion in a few days time, kill him, and then escape to Rio de Janeiro, staging the murder to appear as the result of a burglary.
The King of Comedy (1982)
, 1h45Directed by Martin Scorsese, Todd Phillips
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Thriller, Comedy, Comedy-drama, Crime
Themes Films about television, Children's films
Actors Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Sandra Bernhard, Diahnne Abbott, Shelley Hack, Martin Scorsese
Roles Production Design
Rating77%
Rupert Pupkin (De Niro), a stage-door autograph hound, is an aspiring stand-up comedian unsuccessfuly trying to launch his career. After meeting Jerry Langford (Lewis), a successful comedian and talk show host, Rupert believes his "big break" has finally come. He attempts to get a place on the show but is continually rebuffed by Langford's staff and, finally, by Langford himself. Along the way, Rupert indulges in elaborate and obsessive fantasies where he and Langford are colleagues and friends. He even takes a date, Rita, to Langford's home, uninvited, trying to impress her.
The Last Waltz (1978)
, 1h57Directed by Martin Scorsese, James Quinn
Origin USA
Genres Documentary, Musical
Themes Films about music and musicians, Documentary films about music and musicians, Documentaire sur une personnalité, Concert, Musical films
Actors Levon Helm, Robbie Robertson, Neil Diamond, Martin Scorsese, Bob Dylan, Neil Young
Roles Production Design
Rating80%
Commençant sur un panneau disant « This film should be played loud! » (« Ce film doit être écouté fort ! »), en référence à la pochette intérieure de l'album Let It Bleed des Rolling Stones, le documentaire étudie les influences du Band et sa carrière. Le groupe, composé de Rick Danko (guitare basse, violon, chant), Levon Helm (batterie, mandoline, chant), Garth Hudson (claviers, saxophone), Richard Manuel (claviers, percussions, chant), et le compositeur Robbie Robertson à la guitare, commença sa carrière à la fin des années 1950, sous la forme d'un groupe de rock 'n' roll mené par Ronnie Hawkins, le premier invité du concert. Le Band joua pour Bob Dylan dans les années 1960, et Dylan joue avec eux vers la fin du concert.
Matilda (1978)
, 1h45Directed by Daniel Mann
Origin USA
Genres Comedy, Crime
Themes Films about animals, Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films
Actors Elliott Gould, Harry Guardino, Art Metrano, Robert Mitchum, Roy Clark, Lionel Stander
Roles Production Design
Rating36%
New York, New York (1977)
, 2h35Directed by Woody Allen, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Political films
Actors Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro, Lionel Stander, Barry Primus, Mary Kay Place, Frank Sivero
Roles Production Design
Rating65%
The story opens on V-J Day in 1945. A massive celebration in a New York City nightclub is underway, music provided by the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra. While there, selfish and smooth-talking saxophone player Jimmy Doyle, meets small-time singer Francine Evans, who, although lonely, still wants nothing to do with Jimmy, who keeps pestering her for her phone number.
Mandingo (1975)
, 2h7Directed by Richard Fleischer
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Action, Adventure, Historical, Romance
Themes Films about slavery, Films about racism, Sports films, Martial arts films, Boxing films, Films based on plays
Actors James Mason, Susan George, Perry King, Paul Benedict, Lillian Irene Hayman, Richard Ward
Roles Production Design
Rating64%
The movie is set in the Deep South of the United States prior to the American Civil War. Falconhurst is a run-down plantation owned by widower Warren Maxwell (James Mason) and largely run by his son, Hammond (Perry King). Hammond and a friend go to a brothel where both men choose to have sex with virgin black women. Hammond chooses Ellen (Brenda Sykes). Hammond and Ellen watch as Hammond's friend abuses and rapes his choice, claiming that she likes it. Hammond asks Ellen if this is true, and she says no. Hammond then gently has sexual intercourse with Ellen.
Shanks (1974)
, 1h33Directed by William Castle
Origin USA
Genres Fantasy, Horror
Actors Marcel Marceau, Tsilla Chelton, Philippe Clay, Cindy Eilbacher, Larry Bishop, Helena Kallianiotes
Roles Production Design
Rating55%
Malcolm Shanks (Marceau) is a deaf, mute puppeteer who lives with his cruel sister (Chelton) and her husband (Clay). His skill with puppets is noticed by a doctor who takes him on as a lab assistant. The doctor's experiments involve reanimating the dead and controlling them like puppets. When the doctor dies unexpectedly, Shanks continues the experiments to exact revenge.
Reflections of Murder (1974)
, 1h40Directed by John Badham
Origin USA
Genres Thriller
Actors Tuesday Weld, Joan Hackett, Sam Waterston, Lucille Benson, Michael Lerner, R.G. Armstrong
Roles Production Design
Rating67%
Claire (Hackett) is the abused wife of vicious schoolmaster Michael (Waterston), who takes great delight in belittling and emotionally abusing her both in public and in private. Michael is also openly carrying on an affair with one of the school's teachers, Vicky (Weld), whom he sometimes physically assaults. Having grown tired of his cruelty, the two women conspire to murder him and stage the act to look like an accident. But after committing the deed his body disappears, and the women begin to fear that someone might be trying to drive them mad.
Jonathan Livingston Seagull (1973)
, 2hDirected by Hall Bartlett
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction
Themes Films about animals, Films about birds
Actors James Franciscus, Juliet Mills, Hal Holbrook, Dorothy McGuire, Philip Ahn, David Ladd
Roles Production Design
Rating57%
As the film begins, Jonathan Livingston Seagull is soaring through the sky hoping to travel at a speed more than 60 miles per hour. Eventually, with luck he is able to break that barrier, but when Jonathan returns to his own flock he is greeted with anything but applause. The Elders of the flock shame Jonathan for doing things the other seagulls never dare to do. Jonathan pleads to stay and claims that he wants to share his newfound discovery with everybody, but the Elders dismiss him as an outcast, and he is banished from the flock. Jonathan goes off on his own, believing that all hope is lost. However, he is soon greeted by mysterious seagulls from other lands who assure him that his talent is a unique one, and with them Jonathan is trained to become independent and proud of his beliefs. Eventually, Jonathan himself ends up becoming a mentor for other seagulls who are suffering the same fates in their own flocks as he once did.
The Andromeda Strain (1971)
, 2h11Directed by Robert Wise, James Fargo
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Science fiction, Thriller
Themes Medical-themed films, Films based on science fiction novels, Films about viral outbreaks, Disaster films, American disaster films
Actors Arthur Hill, James Olson, Kate Reid, David Wayne, Paula Kelly, George Mitchell
Roles Production Design
Rating71%
Two crewmembers of the U.S. government's "Project Scoop" investigate the town of Piedmont, New Mexico, to retrieve the Scoop 7 satellite. They find townspeople dead in the streets and die themselves while reporting back to Scoop Mission Control. Suspecting the satellite may have brought back an extraterrestrial pathogen, Scoop Mission Control activates an elite scientific team it had previously recruited for just this type of emergency.
Happy Birthday, Wanda June (1971)
, 1h45Directed by Mark Robson
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Comedy, Comedy-drama
Themes Films based on plays
Actors Rod Steiger, Susannah York, George Grizzard, Don Murray, William Hickey, Pamelyn Ferdin
Roles Production Design
Rating59%
The opening of this play is "This is a simple-minded play about men who enjoy killing, and those who don't."
Star! (1968)
, 2h56Directed by Robert Wise
Origin USA
Genres Drama, Biography, Musical, Romance
Themes Films about music and musicians, Musical films, Children's films
Actors Julie Andrews, Richard Crenna, Daniel Massey, Michael Craig, Robert Reed, Bruce Forsyth
Roles Production Design
Rating64%
The film opens in 1940, with Lawrence in a screening room watching a documentary film chronicling her life, then flashes back to Clapham in 1915, when she leaves home to join her vaudevillian father in a dilapidated Brixton music hall. Eventually she joins the chorus in André Charlot's West End revue. She reunites with close childhood friend Noël Coward who provides witty commentary on Gertie's actions.
The Sand Pebbles (1966)
, 3h2Directed by Robert Wise
Origin USA
Genres Drama, War, Action, Adventure, Historical, Romance
Themes Seafaring films, Transport films, Political films, Children's films, United States Armed Forces in films
Actors Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough, Richard Crenna, Candice Bergen, Mako Iwamatsu, Charles Knox Robinson III
Roles Production Design
Rating74%
In 1926, Machinist's Mate First Class Jake Holman transfers to the Yangtze River Patrol gunboat USS San Pablo. The ship is nicknamed the "Sand Pebble" and its sailors "Sand Pebbles".