Claude Lelouch in songs – episode 1: A man and a woman

On the occasion of his Symphonic Cinema Show, a musical journey through his works, the filmmaker reveals to us the secrets of making some of the cult songs from his films. Starting with the legendary title signed Francis Lai and Pierre Barouh

It was only supposed to be a one shot! Last November, to celebrate his 85th anniversary, 50 films and a career spanning more than 60 years, the Palais des Congrès in Paris hosted “Claude Lelouch – Le Symphonique”, a show like a journey in music and images in his filmography, where the musicians of the Symphonic group performed the most beautiful music from his feature films on a unique montage projected on a giant screen. But a packed and enthusiastic room could only give rise to encores. So from November 10, “Claude Lelouch – Le Symphonique” takes a stroll across France, passing through the Salle Pleyel in Paris on November 15. The opportunity for First to meet the filmmaker so that he can tell us about the cult songs that populate his cinema. In the following episodes, we will talk about Johnny, Brel, Dutronc, Michel Legrand, Mireille Mathieu, Gilbert Bécaud, Didier Barbelivien, Philippe Léotard or Maurane. But this soap opera could only begin with the song from the film that launched her career: Chabadabadesque A man and a woman co-signed by Francis Lai and Pierre Barouh, nominated for a Golden Globe for best original song in 1967.

Do you remember the first time you heard the song? A man and a woman ?

Claude Lelouch: How to forget it? It was in a bed with Francis Lai…

In a bed ?

Yes, Francis then lived in a small concierge lodge in the Montmartre district and in order not to disturb his neighbors because of the noise of the accordion with which Francis accompanied himself, we got under the covers where we quickly ended up sweating! (laughs) That evening, he made me listen to around ten themes which were all magnificent. But without me having the trigger. Without me hearing this melody which at a given moment, my heart would have suddenly started to beat differently. Without this little thing she would be able to talk to everyone. And then, after a little while, he said to me: “Listen, I have another music, but I’m a little ashamed to let you listen to it” because he found it too basic. And from the first notes, even if he had difficulty believing it, I knew that we had it

Why ?

It’s always a little intangible. That famous click. This certainty deep down inside me that everyone was going to get it. Starting from this base, we worked all night on it to improve it. We started at 11 p.m., we finished at 5 a.m. Despite Francis’ doubts, as shy as he is modest. And at 6 a.m., we called Pierre Barouh to tell him that we needed his lyrics for this music. I then started singing to him the melody “Da ba da ba da.” Da ba da ba da.” And when he started to put words to these notes, I immediately told him that I would like us to keep “Da ba da ba da” so that each spectator can imagine their own words. Because, for me, this song had to belong to everyone. We were going to portray a man and a woman, and not an actor and an actress. We left there, with all the innocence of the age we had. And we were rewarded without having searched for the tube

Did you make your actors Anouk Aimée and Jean-Louis Trintignant hear it before or on set?

I always record the music for my films before shooting because they constitute characters in their own right. And yes, on the setA man and a woman, I regularly sent Francis and Pierre’s song so that Anoux and Jean-Louis had it in mind and sometimes even moved to its rhythm. She was a great help in my acting direction and all of this remains an obviously unforgettable memory. The perfect illustration of the saying that has often accompanied me in life: to the innocent with their hands full!

Claude Lelouch- The Cinema- symphonic show. November 10 at the Zénith de Caen. November 15 at the Salle Pleyel in Paris. November 17 at the Zénith in Rouen. December 1st at the Zénith de Caen. December 3 at the Zénith de Lille