Éric Serra is a
FrenchThe French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
composerA composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
. He has often worked on the movies of
Luc BessonLuc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
.
Biography
Éric Serra's father Claude was a famous French songwriter in the 1950s and '60s, and, as such, Éric was exposed to music and its production at a young age. His mother died when he was just seven years old. In the early '80s, Serra met director
Luc BessonLuc Besson is a French film director, writer, and producer. He is the creator of EuropaCorp film company. He has been involved with over 50 films, spanning 26 years, as writer, director, and/or producer.-Early life:...
and was asked to score his first movie
Le Dernier CombatLe Dernier Combat , released in 1983 French film is the first feature film made by Luc Besson. The film is a dark vision of post-apocalyptic survival.The plot explores the devastation of civilization and issues of brutality, hostility and isolation...
(1983). Serra has scored all of Besson's directed movies to date, except
Angel-AAngel-A , directed by Luc Besson, is a French fantasy and romantic drama featuring Jamel Debbouze and Rie Rasmussen. The film was premiered in the United States at the Sundance Film Festival of 2007.- Plot :...
(2005) (scored by
Anja GarbarekAnja Garbarek is a Norwegian singer-songwriter of mixed Norwegian and Polish descent. She is the daughter of the Norwegian jazz saxophonist Jan Garbarek and grew up around Oslo. She received the Spellemannsprisen in 2001 for her album Smiling & Waving in the open class category. She is married to...
), and several that Besson has written such as
WasabiWasabi is a 2001 movie directed by Gérard Krawczyk, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring Jean Reno, Michel Muller and Ryōko Hirosue...
.
In 1995, Éric Serra was chosen to compose the score to the
James BondJames Bond, code name 007, is a fictional character created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels and two short story collections. There have been a six other authors who wrote authorised Bond novels or novelizations after Fleming's death in 1964: Kingsley Amis,...
film
GoldenEyeGoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
, and produced a much more modern-sounding
avant-gardeAvant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
soundtrackGoldenEye is the soundtrack to the 17th James Bond film of the same name and was composed by Éric Serra. It was released by EMI on November 14, 1995...
compared to previous Bond films. It met with mixed reviews from film critics. Serra's score is often criticized by Bond fans, and is considered the farthest departure from a traditional Bond score and the most inappropriate in the series history. The producers later hired
John AltmanJohn Altman is a British film composer, music arranger, orchestrator and conductor.-Biography:Altman was introduced to the music of the 1930s and 1940s at an early age by an uncle who arranged and composed music for big bands and conducted for Judy Garland, the Marx Brothers, and Laurel and Hardy,...
to provide the music for the tank chase in St. Petersburg. Serra's original track for that sequence can still be found on the soundtrack as "A Pleasant Drive In St. Petersburg". The incidental music for the film has thus far been the only collaboration on a James Bond film.
Occasionally, and mainly due to his album released by this name, he is known in credits as RXRA . An example is "Little Light of Love" on
The Fifth ElementThe Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
soundtrack, which is credited to RXRA.
Other projects
From 1980 to 1988, Éric Serra played
bass guitarThe bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
for French singer
Jacques HigelinJacques Joseph Victor Higelin is a French pop singer who rose to prominence in the early 1970s. Early in his career, many of Higelin's songs were effectively blacklisted from French radio because of his controversial left wing political beliefs, and his association with socialist groups...
.
Éric Serra is also a songwriter, notably having written "It's Only Mystery" for the film
SubwaySubway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert and is part of the Cinema du look movement.-Plot:...
and "My Lady Blue" for
Le Grand BleuThe Big Blue is a 1988 English-language film made by French director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers.-Background:...
. In 1988, Éric Serra released an album of
rock musicRock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
titled
RXRA which resembles the artist's name when pronounced as initial letters in French.
Most recently he composed the music for the new Criss Angel/Cirque Du Soleil show 'Criss Angel: Be
lieve' to open at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, in October 2008.
Onscreen appearances
Serra has spent little time in front of the camera, choosing to work behind the scenes instead. However, on French television he has made a number of appearances performing music, and notably appeared in the Luc Besson movie
SubwaySubway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert and is part of the Cinema du look movement.-Plot:...
in which he plays 'Enrico the bassist'.
Film scores
Éric Serra has created the scores for the following movies:
- Arthur and the War of the Two Worlds
Arthur 3: The War of the Two Worlds is a French/American film with live action and animation co-written, co-produced and directed by Luc Besson, based on his novel of the same title and starring Freddie Highmore and Mia Farrow...
(2010)
- The Extraordinary Adventures of Adèle Blanc-Sec (2010)
- Arthur and the Revenge of Maltazard (2009)
- Arthur and the Invisibles
Arthur and the Invisibles is a French/American part-animated, part-live action feature film adaptation of the 2002 children's book Arthur et les minimoys / Arthur and the Minimoys, and the 2003 sequel Arthur et la cité interdite /...
(2006)
- Bandidas
Bandidas is a 2006 French/Mexican/American Western comedy film starring Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz directed by Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg and produced and written by Luc Besson...
(2006)
- Bulletproof Monk
Bulletproof Monk is a 2003 action film starring Chow Yun-fat, Seann William Scott and Jaime King. The film was directed by Paul Hunter. It is loosely based on the comic book by Michael Avon Oeming....
(2003)
- Rollerball
Rollerball is a 2002 remake of the 1975 science-fiction film of the same name. This updated version stars Chris Klein, LL Cool J, Rebecca Romijn and Jean Reno, was directed by John McTiernan and has a much greater concentration on action with more muted social and political overtones...
(2002)
- Décalage horaire (2002)
- Wasabi
Wasabi is a 2001 movie directed by Gérard Krawczyk, written and produced by Luc Besson and starring Jean Reno, Michel Muller and Ryōko Hirosue...
(2001)
- L'Art (délicat) de la séduction (2001)
- The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc
The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc is a French/American historical drama film directed by Luc Besson. The screenplay was written by Besson and Andrew Birkin, and the original music score was composed by Éric Serra....
(1999)
- The Fifth Element
The Fifth Element is a 1997 French science fiction film directed, co-written, and based on a story by Luc Besson, starring Bruce Willis, Gary Oldman, and Milla Jovovich...
(1997) (collaborating on its famous "Diva Dance" with opera singer Inva Mulla Tchako)
- GoldenEye
GoldenEye is the seventeenth spy film in the James Bond series, and the first to star Pierce Brosnan as the fictional MI6 agent James Bond. The film was directed by Martin Campbell and is the first film in the series not to take story elements from the works of novelist Ian Fleming...
(1995)
- Léon
Léon is a 1994 French thriller film written and directed by Luc Besson...
a.k.a The Cleaner a.k.a. The Professional (1994)
- Atlantis
Atlantis is a 1992 film, filmed over a two year period by Luc Besson. Except for the last shot of the film, the entire documentary takes place underwater with only titles and music by Eric Serra existing beyond the imagery....
(1991)
- Nikita a.k.a. La Femme Nikita (1990)
- The Big Blue
The Big Blue is a 1988 English-language film made by French director Luc Besson. The film stars Jean-Marc Barr, Rosanna Arquette, Jean Reno and depicts a fictionalized account of the sporting rivalry between two famed free divers.-Background:...
a.k.a. Le Grand Bleu (1988) (European version; a separate soundtrack composed by Bill ContiWilliam "Bill" Conti is an American film music composer who is frequently the conductor at the Academy Awards ceremony.-Early life and career:...
was created for the US version)
- Kamikaze (1986)
- Subway
Subway is a 1985 French film directed by Luc Besson, starring Isabelle Adjani and Christopher Lambert and is part of the Cinema du look movement.-Plot:...
(1985)
- La Nuit du flingueur (1984) (TV)
- Le Dernier Combat
Le Dernier Combat , released in 1983 French film is the first feature film made by Luc Besson. The film is a dark vision of post-apocalyptic survival.The plot explores the devastation of civilization and issues of brutality, hostility and isolation...
(1983)
- L'Avant dernier (1981) (short film)
External links