Pierre Boulle

Not to be confused withPierre BoileauorPierre Boulez.

Pierre Boulle
Born	Pierre François Marie Louis Boulle (1912-02-20)20 February 1912 Avignon,France
Died	30 January 1994(1994-01-30)(aged 81) Paris,France
Occupation	Author
Nationality	French
Period	1950–1992
Notable works	The Bridge over the River Kwai Planet of the Apes

Pierre François Marie Louis Boulle(20 February 1912 – 30 January 1994) was a French author. He is best known for two works,The Bridge over the River Kwai(1952) andPlanet of the Apes(1963), that were both made into award-winning films.

Boulle was an engineer serving as a secret agent with theFree Frenchin Singapore, when he was captured and subjected to two years' forced labour. He used these experiences inThe Bridge on the River Kwai,about the notoriousDeath Railway,which became an international bestseller. The film, namedThe Bridge on the River Kwai,byDavid Leanwon seven Academy Awards (including Best Adapted Screenplay), and Boulle was credited with writing the screenplay, because its two actualscreenwritershad beenblacklisted.

His science-fiction novelPlanet of the Apes,in which intelligent apes gain mastery over humans, developed into a media franchise spanning over 55 years that includes ten films, two television series, comic books and popular themed merchandise.

Life and career

Born inAvignon,France, Pierre Boulle was baptised and raised as aCatholic,although later in life he became anagnostic.He studied at the prestigiousÉcole supérieure d'électricité(Supélec) where he received anengineer's degreein 1933.From 1936 to 1939, he worked as a technician at Socfin plantations inMalaya.As fate would have it at, he met a Frenchwoman at a dinner held at his Boss 's residence The White Palace, she was separated from her husband, lost and lonely. She was soon to become the love of his life, to whom he would write tender love letters. She later chose to return to her husband, an official inFrench Indochina.DuringWorld War IIshe and her husband escaped into Malaya, but one of her children died in the process. Boulle would later meet her after the war, and they enjoyed a platonic friendship.

At the outbreak of World War II, Boulle enlisted with the French army in Indochina. After German troops occupied France, he joined theFree FrenchMission inSingapore.During the war he was a supporter ofCharles de Gaulle.

Boulle served as asecret agentunder the name Peter John Rule and helped the resistance movement in China,Burma,andFrench Indochina.In 1943, he was captured byVichy Franceloyalists on theMekong Riverand was subjected to severe hardship and forced labour. He was later made achevalierof theLégion d'Honneurand decorated with theCroix de Guerreand theMédaille de la Résistance.He described his war experiences in the non-fictionMy Own River Kwai.After the war he would keep in touch with his war comrades for the rest of his life.

After the war, Boulle returned to work for a while in the plantations of Socfin in Malaya, but in 1949he moved back toParisand began to write drawing from his memories of Malaya and Indochina. While in Paris, too poor to afford his own flat, he lived in a hotel until his recently widowed sister, Madeleine Perrusset, allowed him to move into her large apartment. She had a daughter, Françoise, whom Pierre helped raise, but plans for him to officially adopt the girl never materialized.

The Bridge on the River Kwai

Main article:The Bridge on the River Kwai

While in Paris, Boulle used his war experiences in writingLe Pont de la rivière Kwaï(1952;The Bridge on the River Kwai), which became a multi-million-copy worldwide bestseller, winning the French "Prix Sainte-Beuve".The book was a semi-fictional story based on the real plight ofAlliedPOWsforced to build a 415 km (258 mi) railway that passed over the bridge, and which became known as the "Death Railway".16,000 prisoners and 100,000 Asian conscripts died during construction of the line.His character of Lt-Col. Nicholson was not based on the real Allied senior officer at the Kwai bridges,Philip Toosey,but was reportedly an amalgam of his memories of collaborating French officers. Both the book and film outraged former prisoners because Toosey did not collaborate with the enemy, unlike the fictional Colonel Nicholson. Boulle outlined the reasoning which led him to conceive the character of Nicholson in an interview which forms part of the 1969 BBC2 documentaryReturn to the River Kwaimade by former POW John Coast. A transcript of the interview and the documentary as a whole can be found in the new edition of John Coast's bookRailroad of Death.

David Leanmade the book into amotion picturethat won seven 1957Academy Awards,including theBest Picture,andBest ActorforAlec Guinness.Boulle himself won the award forBest Adapted Screenplaydespite not having written the screenplay and, by his own admission, not even speaking English. Boulle had been credited with the screenplay because the film's actual screenwriters,Carl ForemanandMichael Wilson,had beenblacklistedas communist sympathizers. Boulle was neither a socialist nor a communist.TheMotion Picture Academyadded Foreman's and Wilson's names to the award in 1984.

Kim Novakaccepted the Oscar on behalf of Pierre Boulle.

Planet of the Apes

Main article:Planet of the Apes (novel)

In 1963, following several other reasonably successful novels, Boulle published his other famous novel,La planète des singes,translated in 1964 asMonkey PlanetbyXan Fielding,and later re-issued asPlanet of the Apes.With inspiration drawn from observing the wildlife from his years in the plantations in Malaya, the book was highly praised and given such reviews as this example from England'sGuardiannewspaper: "Classic science fiction... full of suspense and satirical intelligence." In the year 2500, a group of astronauts, including journalist Ulysse Mérou, voyage to a planet in the star system ofBetelgeuse.They land to discover a bizarre world where intelligent apes are the Master Race and humans are reduced to savages: caged in zoos, used in laboratory experiments and hunted for sport. The story focuses on Ulysse's capture, his struggle to survive, and the shattering climax as he returns to Earth and a horrific final discovery. The novel is also a wry parable on science, evolution, and the relationship between man and animal.

In 1968, the book was made into an Oscar-winningfilm,directed byFranklin J. Schaffnerand starringCharlton Heston.The screenplay, originally written byRod Serling,focused more on action and deviated in many ways from the novel, including the addition of its own classictwist endingthat was different from the novel's. It inspired four sequels, a television series, an animated series, a2001 remakeof the original title byTim Burton,and a 2011reboot,Rise of the Planet of the Apes,directed byRupert Wyatt.

The five films of the original series (1968–1973) have become cult classics. Boulle, who had thought his novel to be unfilmable, was taken by surprise at the worldwide success and impact of the film. He wrote a script for a sequel titledPlanet of the Men,but the producers of the original film turned it down. The second film,Beneath the Planet of the Apes,which came out in 1970, was also very successful. It was followed byEscape from the Planet of the Apesin 1971,Conquest of the Planet of the Apesin 1972, andBattle for the Planet of the Apesin 1973.

In September 1973, the original film was first aired on network television. The marketing of toys and other products relating to the film series skyrocketed at this time, creating an 'Apemania' craze. In June 1974,Marvel Comicsalso released a magazine based on the novel and film calledPlanet of the Apes.By September 1974,Planet of the Apeshad become a television series. In 1975, an animatedReturn to the Planet of the Apesseries was shown on television.

Other adaptations

The French filmLe Point de mire,based on Boulle's novelLe Photographe,was released in 1977. There have also been TV films based on Boulle's novelsWilliam Conradin 1958 (US) and 1973 (France),La Facein 1959 (US) and 1966 (West Germany), andUn Métier de Seigneurin 1986 (France), as well as the short story"Le Miracle"(fromE=mc²) in 1985 (US).

Another film adaptation is in production for Boulle'sA Noble Profession(Un Métier de Seigneur), a spy thriller partly based on Boulle's real-life experience working as a secret agent during the Second World War. The movie is being produced by Tessa Bell andAndrea Chung.

Death

Pierre Boulle died inParis, France,on 30 January 1994, at age 81.

Works

Novels

• William Conrad(1950; tr. in 1955 asNot the GlorybyXan Fielding;also issued asSpy Converted)
• Le Sacrilège malais(1951; tr. in 1959 asSacrilege in Malayaby Xan Fielding; also issued asS.O.P.H.I.A.)
• Le Pont de la rivière Kwaï(1952; tr. in 1954 asThe Bridge on the River Kwaiby Xan Fielding)
• Le Bourreau(1954; tr. in 1961 by Xan Fielding, US title:The Executioner,UK title:The Chinese Executioner)
• L'Épreuve des hommes blancs(1955; tr. in 1957 asThe Testby Xan Fielding; also issued asWhite Man's Test)
• La Face(1956; tr. in 1956 asSaving Faceby Xan Fielding; also issued asFace of a Hero)
• Les Voies du salut(1958; tr. in 1958 asThe Other Side of the Coinby Richard Howard)
• Un métier de seigneur(1960; tr. in 1960 asA Noble Professionby Xan Fielding; also issued asFor a Noble Cause)
• La Planète des singes(1963; tr. in 1964 asMonkey Planetby Xan Fielding; later issued asPlanet of the Apes)
• Le Jardin de Kanashima(1964; tr. in 1965 asGarden on the Moonby Xan Fielding)
• Le Photographe(1967; tr. in 1967 by Xan Fielding, US title:The Photographer,UK title:An Impartial Eye)
• Les Jeux de l'esprit(1971; tr. in 1973 asDesperate Gamesby Patricia Wolf)
• Les Oreilles de jungle(1972; tr. in 1972 asEars of the Jungleby Michael Dobry and Lynda Cole) - story of the Vietnam war told from the perspective of a North Vietnamese commander
• Les Vertus de l'enfer(1974; tr. in 1974 asThe Virtues of Hellby Patricia Wolf)
• Le Bon Léviathan(1978; tr. in 1978 asThe Good Leviathanby Margaret Giovanelli)
• Les Coulisses du Ciel(1979; tr. in 1985 asTrouble in Paradiseby Patricia Wolf)
• L'Énergie du désespoir(1981)
• Miroitements(1982; tr. in 1986 asMirrors of the Sunby Patricia Wolf)
• La Baleine des Malouines(1983; tr. in 1984 by Patricia Wolf, US title:The Whale of the Victoria Cross,UK title:The Falklands Whale)
• Pour l'amour de l'art(1985)
• Le Professeur Mortimer(1988)
• Le Malheur des uns...(1990)
• À nous deux, Satan!(1992)
• L'Archéologue et le Mystère de Néfertiti(2005; posthumous)

Short story collections

• Contes de l'absurde(1953)
• E=mc²(1957)
• Histoires charitables(1965)
• Time Out of Mind: And Other Stories(1966; twelve stories from Boulle's first three collections tr. by Xan Fielding and Elisabeth Abbott)
• Quia absurdum: sur la Terre comme au Ciel(1966; tr. in 1970 asBecause It Is Absurd: On Earth as It Is in Heavenby Elisabeth Abbott)
• Histoires perfides(1976; tr. in 1977 asThe Marvelous Palace And Other Storiesby Margaret Giovanelli)
• L'Enlèvement de l'obélisque(2007; posthumous)

Non-fiction

• Le Siam (Walt Disney)(1955; tr. in 1958 asWalt Disney's Siamby Herbert Knapp)—in Walt Disney's "Le Monde et ses habitants" / "The World and its Inhabitants" series
• L'étrange croisade de l'empereur Frédéric II(1963)
• Aux sources de la rivière Kwaï(1966; tr. in 1967 by Xan Fielding, US title:My Own River Kwai,UK title:The Source of the River Kwai)—memoir
• L'univers ondoyant(1987)
• L'îlon(1990)—memoir

External links

• Pierre Boulleat theInternet Speculative Fiction Database
• Pierre BoulleatIMDb