On the evening of July 26, local time, the 2024 Paris Summer Olympics kicked off smoothly. The opening ceremony was full of whimsical ideas and flashes of the spirit of the times, and the cultural achievements of the host country throughout the ages. It is worth mentioning that from the Lumière brothers, who invented the film and the projector, to the "new wave" that set off the revolution, they were all born in this land. So, it's no surprise that cinematic elements were naturally present throughout the opening ceremony.
Minions
At the opening ceremony, the mischievous Minions not only stole the Mona Lisa from the Louvre, but also hosted the Olympics themselves.
Minions stealing the Mona Lisa
As we all know, Minions are from the animated movie "Despicable Me" series, and "Despicable Me 4" is also being screened around the world. While the series United States was created by Illumination Entertainment, which is owned by Universal Pictures, an important part of the team behind it is Mac Guff Ligne, a France-based special effects production company. In 2011, Illumination Entertainment completed the acquisition of Mac Guff Ligne and expanded its animation production team on top of that.
Minions who lift weights
Jule & Jim
In the opening ceremony, the picture of three young people chasing and playing on the stairs was jokingly called plagiarism "Burning Winter" by many domestic netizens.
Playful young man
In fact, this scene is a tribute to the classic "Jules and Jim" (also translated as "Zu and Zhan") directed by François · Truffaut, the standard-bearer of France's "New Wave". In the future, Bertolucci's "Dreaming of Paris", Alfonso · Cuarón's "Your Mother is the Same" and Chen Zheyi's "Burning Winter" can all be regarded as Fan Shui Mo Mountain.
"Jule and Jim" poster
A Trip to the Moon
In the opening ceremony, the playful animation scene of the balloon flying over the moon with "one eye" is intended to pay homage to the film pioneer Georges · Méliès's "Journey to the Moon".
On the other side of the moon with one eye, there is also the little prince.
Inspired by Verne's novel From the Earth to the Moon, this 14-minute short film was born in 1902 and was the first science fiction film in human history.
"Journey to the Moon" poster
"The Train Arrives"
During the torch relay of the opening ceremony, after the mysterious parkour runners broke into the Musée d'Orsay, a train suddenly broke through the curtain and sped away. This scene is from the Lumière brothers' "The Train Arrives".
train
On December 28, 1895, the Lumière brothers showed the short documentary on a movie projector for the first time in the Grand Café in Paris – and the film was born.
"The Train Enters the Station" poster
Playtime
The Parisian street scene presented from a bird's-eye view at the beginning of the opening ceremony is clearly a tribute to the famous scene in France comedy master Jacques · Tati's "Playtime".
A shot that pays homage to Playtime
Born in 1967, this dialogue-free film depicts the bizarre encounters of provincials in the modern metropolis of Paris with colorful images and buzzing sounds.
Stills from "Playtime".
Alice · Guy
One of the most touching moments of the opening ceremony of the Paris Olympics was the golden statue of 10 outstanding women in history. Among them, Alice · Quay, like Lumière and Méliès, is a pioneer in the art of cinema. A few months after the Lumière brothers showed their first film at the Grand Café de Paris, Guy finished the film The Cabbage Fairy. Today, it is considered the first fictional work in film history.
Alice · Guy
However, just as the Olympic Games have gone from excluding women to achieving a complete parity in the number of male and female athletes, it has gone through a century of ups and downs; For a long time, Alice ·'s name was also lost to the dust, and it was only in recent years that it was corrected.
"Cabbage Fairy" poster
"Shimbashi Lovers"
Thomas ·Jolly, who served as the chief director of the opening ceremony, previously revealed that the opening ceremony will pay tribute to the classic "Pont Sinkya" directed by Leo · Carax. However, after watching the entire opening ceremony, it seems that there is no relevant content. However, in the image of a group of young people parading through Paris with colorful flags held aloft, the bridge they passed was indeed the most famous Pont Neuf in Paris.
Shimbashi
Called Pont Neuf, it is actually the oldest bridge in Paris, and it is known to many precisely because of Léo · Carax's "Pont Neuf Lovers".
Stills from "Shimbashi Lovers".
Joan of Arc
At the end of the opening ceremony, the female knight rode a white horse to the scene to complete the handover ceremony of the five-ring flag. The image of this female knight is very reminiscent of the heroic Joan of Arc. In film history, the story of Joan of Arc has been brought to the screen many times. The female knight at the opening ceremony can be said to be the same as the image of the protagonist in France director Luc · Besson's 1999 "Joan of Arc".
Female knight
A still from "Joan of Arc".