Jean-Claude Lord Explained

Jean-Claude Lord
Birth Date:	6 June 1943
Birth Place:	Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Death Place:	Dublin, Ireland
Occupation:	Film director screenwriter
Years Active:	1964–2022
Children:	2

Jean-Claude Lord (6 June 1943 – 15 January 2022) was a Canadian film director and screenwriter.^[1] He was one of the most commercial of the Québécois directors in the 1970s, aiming his feature films at a mass audience and dealing with political themes in a mainstream, Hollywood style.

Early life

Lord was born in Montreal on 6 June 1943.^{[2] [3]} He first worked as an assistant director and scriptwriter in the private sector.^[3] He was an apprentice to Pierre Patry at the company Coopératio.^[4]

Career

Lord's first feature was Délivrez-nous du mal, released in 1965.^[3] It depicted a gay couple, reportedly a first for a Québécois film and regarded as a breakthrough since the influence of the Catholic Church was still strong in Quebec.^[5] His 1974 film Bingo exploits the post-October Crisis, post-Watergate paranoia prevalent in North America at the time with considerable panache. It was the subject of an intensive critical debate about its credentials as a left-wing film.^[6]

Lord directed his first English-language film, Visiting Hours, in 1982. The low-budget horror movie, which featured William Shatner and Michael Ironside, became a cult favourite.^[7] Four years later, Lord worked for the first time in television on the series Lance et Compte. It centred around a fictitious ice hockey team, whose uniforms were similar to the Quebec Nordiques, contending for the Stanley Cup and the World Cup of Hockey. The series – which ran from 1986 to 1989 – was credited with establishing a new benchmark for television shows in Quebec. It also aired in English on CBC as He Shoots, He Scores, and was shown in France in 1987.^[8] He won a Prix Gémeaux in 1987 for the series.^[5]

Lord subsequently worked primarily in television on several other series and made-for-TV movies.^[3] He directed the revival of Lance et Compte that aired from 2000 until 2008. He was conferred the Prix Guy-Mauffette by the National Assembly of Quebec in November 2017, in recognition of the contributions he made to the audiovisual industry and culture.^{[7] [8]}

Personal life

Lord was in a domestic partnership with Lise Thouin until his death.^[5] Together, they had two children: Marie-Noëlle and Jean-Sébastien,^[5] who is also a film and television director, most noted for the films Heaven (Le petit ciel) and Guardian Angel (L'Ange-gardien).^[9]

Lord died on the evening of 15 January 2022. He was 78, and had suffered a major stroke on 30 December of the previous year.^{[5] [7] [10]}

Filmography

Features

• Deliver Us from Evil (Délivrez-nous du mal) – 1969^[11]
• The Doves (Les Colombes) – 1972^{[11] [12]}
• Bingo – 1974^{[11] [12]}
• Let's Talk About Love (Parlez-nous d'amour) – 1976^{[11] [12]}
• Panic (Panique) – 1977^{[12] [13]}
• Chocolate Eclair (Éclair au chocolat) – 1979^{[11] [12]}
• Visiting Hours – 1982^{[11] [12]}
• Covergirl – 1984^{[11] [12]}
• The Vindicator – 1986^{[11] [12]}
• Toby McTeague – 1986^{[11] [12]}
• The Tadpole and the Whale (La Grenouille et la baleine) – 1988^{[11] [12]}
• Mindfield (La mémoire assassinée) – 1989^{[11] [12]}
• – 1989^{[11] [12]}
• – 1992^{[11] [12]}
• North Station (Station Nord) – 2002^{[11] [12]}

Television

• Lance et Compte (TV series, 1986) ^{[13] [14]}
• Urban Angel (TV series, 1991)^[15]
• Sirens (TV series, 1994–1995)^[14]
• Jasmine (TV series, 1996)^{[14] [16]}
• Lobby (TV series, 1997)^[13]
• Diva (TV series, 1997)^{[14] [17]}
• Maurice Richard: Histoire d'un Canadien (TV miniseries Co-Directed with Pauline Payette, 1999)^[18]
• Quadra (TV series, 2000)^{[14] [19]}
• L'or (TV series, 2001)^{[14] [20]}
• Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension (TV series, 2002)^{[14] [21]}
• Lance et Compte: La nouvelle génération (TV series, 2002)^[22]
• Lance et Compte: La reconquete (TV series, 2004)^[23]
• Lance et Compte: La revanche (TV series, 2006)^[24]
• Lance et Compte: Le grand duel (TV series, 2009)^[25]
• Secrets of the Summer House (TV movie, 2008)^{[11] [12]}
• Out of Control (TV movie, 2009)^{[11] [12]}
• Ring of Deceit (TV movie, 2009)^{[11] [12]}
• Second Chances (TV movie, 2010)^{[11] [12]}

Notes and References

1. Web site: Jean-Claude Lord - Northern Stars . dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20110820100035/http://www.northernstars.ca/directorsal/lord_jean-claude.html . 20 August 2011 .
2. Book: Bonneville, Léo. Le cinéma québécois par ceux qui le font. Éditions Paulines. 1979. 581. 978-2-89039-684-5. fr.
3. Book: Self Portrait: Essays on the Canadian and Quebec Cinemas. Canadian Film Institute. 1980. Véronneau. Pierre. Handling. Piers. 210. 978-0-919096-20-2.
4. Encyclopedia: Canadian Film Encyclopedia. Jean-Claude Lord. 16 January 2022. Film Reference Library.
5. News: Le cinéaste Jean-Claude Lord s'éteint à l'âge de 78 ans. Luc. Boulanger. 16 January 2022. 16 January 2022. La Presse. Montreal. https://web.archive.org/web/20220117034133/https://www.lapresse.ca/cinema/2022-01-16/jean-claude-lord-1943-2022/mort-d-un-cineaste-populaire.php. 17 January 2022. live. fr.
6. Web site: Bingo at the Canadian Film Encyclopedia . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20120515214734/http://tiff.net/CANADIANFILMENCYCLOPEDIA/content/films/bingo . 15 May 2012 .
7. News: Quebec filmmaker Jean-Claude Lord dies at 78, weeks after stroke. 16 January 2022. 16 January 2022. CBC News. The Canadian Press.
8. News: Quebec filmmaker Jean-Claude Lord dies at 78. Marian. Scott. 16 January 2022. 16 January 2022. Montreal Gazette. https://web.archive.org/web/20220117041559/https://montrealgazette.com/entertainment/filmmaker-jean-claude-lord-78-dies-of-stroke?r. 17 January 2022. live.
9. Genevieve Royer, "Director's debut aims for the sky: Le Petit Ciel is a take on life and death". Montreal Gazette, 17 March 2000.
10. News: Le réalisateur Jean-Claude Lord s'est éteint à 78 ans . 16 January 2022 . Le Soleil . 16 January 2022.
11. Web site: Jean-Claude Lord. Rotten Tomatoes. 16 January 2022.
12. Web site: Jean-claude Lord – Filmography. Turner Classic Movies. 16 January 2022.
13. Web site: Jean-Claude Lord. https://web.archive.org/web/20211208173504/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b9f8b743f. dead. 8 December 2021. British Film Institute. 16 January 2022.
14. Web site: Jean-Claude Lord. 31 October 2017. 16 January 2022. Prix du Québec. fr.
15. Web site: Urban Angel. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
16. Web site: Jasmine. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
17. Web site: Diva. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
18. Web site: Maurice Richard: Histoire d'un Canadien. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
19. Web site: Quadra. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
20. Web site: L'or. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
21. Web site: Galidor: Defenders of the Outer Dimension. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
22. Web site: Lance et Compte: Nouvelle Génération. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
23. Web site: Lance et Compte: La Reconquête. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
24. Web site: Lance et Compte: La Revanche. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.
25. Web site: Lance et Compte: Le Grand Duel. 16 January 2022. Cinémathèque québécoise. fr.