---
name: "Léonce-Henri Burel"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/leonce-henri-burel"
fi1m_id: "leonce-henri-burel"
imdb_id: "nm0005662"
tmdb_id: 10349
wikidata_id: "Q544869"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "24 November 1892"
died: "21 March 1977"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 3
average_fi1m_score: 86
average_over: 3
updated: "2026-09-25T08:30:56.081343+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Léonce-Henri Burel

## Identity

Léonce-Henri Burel

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/leonce-henri-burel
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** leonce-henri-burel
- **IMDb ID:** nm0005662
- **TMDB ID:** 10349
- **Wikidata ID:** Q544869
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9once-Henri_Burel, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q544869, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005662/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10349

Cinematographer. Born 24 November 1892 in Indre, Loire-Atlantique, France. Died 21 March 1977.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 24 November 1892, Indre, Loire-Atlantique, France
- **Died:** 21 March 1977
- **Active:** 1923–1959
- **Also known as:** Léonce-Henry Burel, H. Burel, L.-H. Burel, L.H. Burel, L. Burel
- **Frequently works with:** [Robert Bresson](https://film.one/person/robert-bresson.md)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 86 to 82 across 3 titles
- **Score spread:** 3 at 80+, 0 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 3, Crime 1, Thriller 1
- **Screen time:** 5 hours of reviewed films
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%C3%A9once-Henri_Burel, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q544869, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005662/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/10349

## Biography

Léonce-Henri Burel was a French cinematographer. He was born on 23 November 1892 in Indre, Loire-Atlantique, and died on 21 March 1977 in Mougins, Alpes-Maritimes. His career spanned the silent era to the early 1970s, during which he served as director of photography on more than 120 films, working almost exclusively in black and white.

After studying at the University of Nantes, Burel worked as a photoengraver before becoming a camera operator. He collaborated extensively with Abel Gance on films including *J'accuse* (1919), *La Roue* (1923) and *Napoléon* (1927), and with Jacques Feyder in the silent period. From the 1950s he worked regularly with Robert Bresson on *Diary of a Country Priest* (1951), *A Man Escaped* (1956), *Pickpocket* (1959) and *The Trial of Joan of Arc* (1962). Burel also directed three films between 1922 and 1932. He received the best cinematography award at the Venice Film Festival for *Diary of a Country Priest*.

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (3)

- *Pickpocket* (1959), Fi1m 84, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/pickpocket.md)
- *A Man Escaped* (1956), Fi1m 90, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-escaped.md)
- *Diary of a Country Priest* (1951), Fi1m 84, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/diary-of-a-country-priest.md)

## Complete filmography (76)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *Order of the Daisy* (1967), Cinematography
- *Highway Pick-Up* (1963), Director of Photography
- *Light-Fingered George* (1963), Director of Photography
- *The Trial of Joan of Arc* (1963), Director of Photography
- *One Night at the Beach* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Pickpocket* (1959), Director of Photography — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/pickpocket.md)
- *A Bomb for a Dictator* (1957), Director of Photography
- *A Man Escaped* (1956), Director of Photography — Fi1m 90, [page](https://film.one/film/a-man-escaped.md)
- *Diamond Machine* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Tant qu'il y aura des femmes* (1955), Director of Photography
- *La Madone des sleepings* (1955), Director of Photography
- *Marianne de ma jeunesse* (1955), Cinematography
- *The Secrets of the Bed* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Strange Desire of Mr. Bard* (1954), Director of Photography
- *Other Side of Paradise* (1953), Director of Photography
- *The Truth About Bebe Donge* (1952), Director of Photography
- *Diary of a Country Priest* (1951), Director of Photography — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/diary-of-a-country-priest.md)
- *Valse brillante* (1949), Director of Photography
- *Métier de fous* (1948), Director of Photography
- *Rocambole* (1948), Director of Photography
- *La Route du bagne* (1945), Director of Photography
- *Mysteries of Paris* (1943), Director of Photography
- *Sacred Fire* (1942), Director of Photography
- *Blind Venus* (1941), Director of Photography
- *For the Yellow Jersey* (1940), Cinematography
- *Return at Dawn* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Bargekeepers Daughter* (1938), Cinematography
- *Crossroads* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Mirages* (1938), Director of Photography
- *Abused Confidence* (1937), Director of Photography
- *The Virgin Bride* (1937), Director of Photography
- *Hélène* (1936), Director of Photography
- *The Last Waltz* (1936), Cinematography
- *The Man with a Broken Ear* (1935), Director of Photography
- *A Man and His Woman* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Toboggan* (1934), Director of Photography
- *Abbot Constantine* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Don't Need Money* (1933), Director of Photography
- *Baroud* (1933), Cinematography
- *Baroud* (1932), Director of Photography
- *Dragnet Night* (1931), Director of Photography
- *The stranger* (1931), Director of Photography
- *The Stranger* (1931), Director of Photography
- *La straniera* (1930), Director of Photography
- *The Mystery of the Yellow Room* (1930), Director of Photography
- *La Femme d'une nuit* (1930), Director of Photography
- *Princely Nights* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Vénus* (1929), Director of Photography
- *L'évadée* (1929), Director of Photography
- *Frivolities* (1929), Director of Photography
- *The Three Passions* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Woman of Destiny* (1928), Director of Photography
- *The Crew* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Morgane, the Enchantress* (1928), Director of Photography
- *Loves of Casanova* (1927), Director of Photography
- *Napoleon* (1927), Additional Photography, Director of Photography
- *Salammbô* (1926), Director of Photography
- *Michel Strogoff* (1926), Director of Photography
- *Faces of Children* (1925), Director of Photography
- *The Swallow and the Titmouse* (1924), Cinematography
- *The Portrait* (1923), Director of Photography
- *La Roue* (1923), Director of Photography
- *Crainquebille* (1922), Director of Photography
- *L'Arlésienne* (1922), Director of Photography
- *La Terre* (1921), Director of Photography
- *Mademoiselle de La Seiglière* (1921), Director of Photography
- *Facing the Ocean* (1920), Director of Photography
- *J'Accuse* (1919), Director of Photography
- *The Tenth Symphony* (1918), Director of Photography
- *The Count of Monte Cristo* (1918), Director of Photography
- *Barberousse* (1917), Director of Photography
- *The Torture of Silence* (1917), Director of Photography
- *The Right to Life* (1917), Director of Photography
- *Deadly Gas* (1916), Director of Photography
- *Alsace* (1916), Director of Photography
- *The Madness of Dr. Tube* (1915), Director of Photography

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/leonce-henri-burel