Advanced search
- TITLES
- NAMES
- COLLABORATIONS
Search filters
Enter full date
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
Only includes names with the selected topics
to
or just enter yyyy, or yyyy-mm below
to
1-50 of 264
- Actor
- Producer
- Writer
Alain Fabien Maurice Marcel Delon was born in Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, France, to Édith (Arnold) and Fabien Delon. His father was of French and Corsican Italian descent, and his mother was of French and German ancestry. His parents divorced early on, and Delon had a stormy childhood, being frequently expelled from school.
In 1953/1954 he served with the French Marines in Indochina. In the mid-'50s he worked at various odd jobs including waiter, salesman and porter in Les Halles market. He decided to try an acting career and in 1957 made his film debut in Yves Allégret's Quand la femme s'en mêle (1957). He declined an offer of a contract from producer David O. Selznick, and in 1960 he received international recognition for his role in Luchino Visconti's Rocco and His Brothers (1960). In 1961 he appeared on the stage in "'Tis a Pity She's a Whore", directed by Visconti, in Paris. In 1964 he formed his own production company, Delbeau Productions, and he produced a short film directed by Guy Gilles. In 1968 he found himself involved in murder, drug and sex scandal that indirectly implicated major politicians and show-business personalities, but he was eventually cleared of all charges. In the late 1960s he formed another company. Adel Film, and the next year he began producing features. In 1981 he directed his first film, To Kill a Cop (1981).
Delon was a sensation early in his career; he came to embody the young, energetic, often morally corrupted man. With his breathtaking good looks he was also destined to play tender lovers and romantic heroes, and he was a French embodiment of the type created in America by James Dean. His first outstanding success came with the role of the parasite Tom Ripley in 'Rene Clement''s sun-drenched thriller Purple Noon (1960). Delon presented a psychological portrait of a murderous young cynic who attempts to take on the identity of his victim. A totally different role was offered to him by Visconti in Rocco and His Brothers (1960). In this film Delon plays the devoted Rocco, who accepts the greatest sacrifices to save his shiftless brother Simon.
After several other films in Italy, Delon returned to the criminal genre with Jean Gabin in Any Number Can Win (1963). This work, a classic example of the genre, was distinguished not only by a soundly worked-out screenplay, but also by the careful production and the excellent performances of both Delon and Gabin. It was only in the late 1960s that the sleek and lethal Delon came to epitomize the calm, psychopathic hoodlum, staring into the camera like a cat assessing a mouse. His tough, ruthless side was first used to real effect by Jean-Pierre Melville in The Samurai (1967). In 1970 he had a huge success in the bloodstained Borsalino (1970)--which he also produced--playing a small-time gangster in the 1930s who, with Jean-Paul Belmondo, becomes king of the Marseilles underworld. Delon later won critical acclaim for his roles, against type, in Joseph Losey's Mr. Klein (1976) in which he played (brilliantly) the icily sinister title role, and the art-movie Swann in Love (1984). He has an older son Anthony Delon (who has also acted in a number of movies) from his first marriage to Nathalie Delon, and has a young son and daughter, Alain-Fabien and Anouchka with Rosalie.- Actor
- Producer
- Stunts
The son of the renowned French sculptor Paul Belmondo, he studied at Conservatoire National Superieur d'Art Dramatique (CNSAD); after the minor stage performances he made his screen debut in À pied, à cheval et en voiture (1957) but the episodes with his participation were cut before release. However, the breakthrough role in Jean-Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) made him one of the key figures in the French New Wave. Since mid-60s he completely switched to commercial mainstream pictures and became a big comedy and action star in France. Following the example of Alain Delon he founded his own production company Cerito named after his grandmother's maiden name. In 1989 he was awarded Cesar for his performance in Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988) . Recently he returned to stage performing in the Théâtre Marigny, Paris, notably as Edmund Kean or Cyrano de Bergerac. He still appears in the movies but not so often as before preferring mostly dramatic roles. The president of France distinguished him with order of Legion of Honour. Belmondo had three children with his first spouse Elodie Constant: Patricia Belmondo ( who died in a fire in 1993), Florence Belmondo and Paul Belmondo. In 2003, he had another daughter, Stella Belmondo, with his second spouse Natty Belmondo. None of his children became actors though you could have seen his son Paul in an episodic role (the same as his father, at an earlier age) in Itinerary of a Spoiled Child (1988).- Composer
- Music Department
- Actor
Composer and conductor Alexandre Desplat, Oscar winner and seven-time Academy Award nominated, for his prolific filmography and his collaborations with Stephen Frears, Terrence Malick, Ang Lee, Kathryn Bigelow, Jacques Audiard, Wes Anderson, Roman Polanski, George Clooney or Matteo Garrone is one of the most worthy heirs of the French masters of film music.
Brought up in a cultural and musical mix thanks to his Greek mother and his French father who studied and got married in California, he grew up listening to French symphonists, Ravel or Debussy , world music and jazz.
He studied piano and trumpet before choosing the flute as the main instrument. As a free auditor in Claude Ballif's analysis class at the CNSM, he enriches his classical musical education by studying Brazilian and African music. He will record later with Carlinhos Brown or Ray Lema.
Passionate about film music, it's as much his musical sensitivity as his intimate approach to cinematographic language that will allow his privileged relationship with filmmakers. Inspired by the scores of Maurice Jarre, Bernard Herrmann, Nino Rota or Georges Delerue, it is after hearing the score of John Williams for Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977) that he decides to compose exclusively for the big screen.
During the recording of his first feature film he meets violinist Dominique Lemonnier. This is the beginning of an exceptional artistic exchange as she becomes her favorite soloist, artistic director and wife. With his strong sense of interpretation, his creative spirit and his singular violin playing, Solré inspired Alexandre's compositions, influencing his music in depth, initiating a new way of writing for the strings in the cinema.
Collaborator of Jacques Audiard since his first film, he creates for his works strong and singular compositions and he won in 2005 for The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005) the Silver Bear of the Berlinale, and his first Caesar. He works in France with Philippe de Broca and Francis Girod but Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003) of Peter Webber, his 50th score for the film, he gets a first Golden Globe nomination and BAFTA and began his rise in Hollywood. Leading American career and European collaborations and remaining faithful to his directors, he composes among others Syriana (2005)'s scores of Stephen Gaghan, Birth (2004) of Jonathan Glazer, Coco Before Chanel (2009) by Anne Fontaine, Army of Crime (2009) by Robert Guédiguian, The Heir Apparent: Largo Winch (2008) by Jérôme Salle, Intimate Enemies (2007) or Hostage (2005) by Florent-Emilio Siri.
Prizes and collaborations with the greatest directors follow one another. In 2007, he received his first Oscar nomination for Stephen Frears's The Queen (2006) and won his first European Film Award. The same year, he won the Golden Globe, the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and the World Soundtrack Award for John Curran's score The Painted Veil (2006), performed by pianist Láng Lang. He composed in 2008 for Lust, Caution (2007) by Ang Lee and The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) by David Fincher which will earn him a second Oscar nomination and a fourth Golden Globes and BAFTA nomination.
With his score for The Ghost Writer (2010) by Roman Polanski, he won in 2010 a second César and a second European Film Award. The same year he wrote the music of The Twilight Saga: New Moon (2009) by Chris Weitz, whose album was a platinum record, and Tom Hooper's The King's Speech (2010) for which he won the BAFTA, the Grammy Award, and was nominated for the fourth time at the Oscars and for the fifth time at the Golden Globes.
In 2010-2011 he wrote the music of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 1 (2010) and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011) which became the third greatest success of all time. He composed in 2011 nine partitions, The Tree of Life (2011) of Terrence Malick, Carnage (2011) by Roman Polanski, Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009) by George Clooney , which earned him another Oscar nomination, The Well-Digger's Daughter (2011) by Daniel Auteuil and The Ides of March (2011) by George Clooney.
In 2012 he worked with Kathryn Bigelow for Zero Dark Thirty (2012), Matteo Garrone for Reality (2012), Gilles Bourdos for Renoir (2012), Jérôme Salle for Zulu (2013), George Clooney for Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and Jacques Audiard for Rust and Bone (2012) for which he won a third Cesar. For his score of Argo (2012) of Ben Affleck, Oscar for Best Picture, it is named for the sixth time BAFTA, and for the fifth time at the Golden Globes and the Oscars.
He signed in 2013 the partition The Monuments Men (2014) from George Clooney, Venus in Fur (2013) of Roman Polanski, and was appointed to the BAFTAs and the Oscars for Philomena (2013) of Stephen Frears.
In 2014 he composed the music Godzilla (2014) of Gareth Edwards, and receives exceptional fact, two Oscar nominations for The Imitation Game (2014) of Morten Tyldum and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014) by George Clooney, for which he won a BAFTA, Grammy and Oscar.
Member of the jury of the Cannes Film Festival in 2012, he became in 2014 the first composer President of the jury of the Venice Film Festival. Crowning long years of collaboration, he directed the London Symphony Orchestra in December 2014 for a concert of his works at the Barbican Theater in London.
In 2018, Alexandre Desplat received a second Oscar, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA for The Shape of Water (2017) of Guillermo del Toro.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
French character actress Lilyan Chauvin may be one of those actors or actresses whose face you know without knowing their names. Chauvin was a long time veteran of the European stage, and was adept at playing strict, but sometimes loving characters. To horror fans, she might be best known as the sinister Mother Superior in Silent Night, Deadly Night (1984), but her career started back in the 1950s when she was plucked from the stage to appear in small minor roles in motion pictures. One notable film was with John Wayne in North to Alaska (1960). For about thirty years, Chauvin was one of the busiest character actresses in Hollywood, appearing in over forty films as well as on television. Her many film credits include Private Benjamin (1980), Predator 2 (1990), No Place to Hide (1992), Universal Soldier (1992) as Jean-Claude Van Damme's mother, and most recently Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can (2002) with Tom Hanks and Leonardo DiCaprio.- Actress
- Soundtrack
This provocative sex kitten had the obvious makings of a superstar blonde bombshell and could have ended up in film history annals as merely a second-rate Brigitte Bardot, but Marina Vlady rose above her sex symbol status and proved she was capable of so much more. In her prime she was nominated for a Golden Globe and won a "Best Actress" award at the 1963 Cannes Film Festival for her stunning performance in The Conjugal Bed (1963) with Italy's Ugo Tognazzi.
She was born Marina De Poliakoff-Baïdaroff, in Clichy, France on May 10, 1938, the youngest of four acting sisters. Her Russian-born father was a well-established painter in France. While young Marina trained in dance and initially seemed to entertain thoughts of becoming a prima ballerina, she discovered, as did her sisters, a closer kinship to acting. The most outgoing of her siblings, Monica caught the eye of talent agents via more uninhibited roles. Older sister Odile Versois, who possessed a similar feline beauty, was the first of her family to enter pictures. Marina (playing a youthful roller-skater) and another sister Olga Baïdar-Poliakoff made their minor film debuts in Orage d'été (1949) [Summer Storm], which featured Odile. The remaining sister Hélène Vallier was featured in Marina's highly-praised film Penne nere (1952) (Black Feathers).
In 1955, at the ripe young age of 17, Marina met and married director/writer/actor Robert Hossein, who featured her prominently and seductively in a number of his films including The Wicked Go to Hell (1955), as a femme fatale bent on revenge, Pardonnez nos offenses (1956), Double Agents (1959) and, notably, Toi... le venin (1958) [aka Nude in a White Car], which co-starred sister Odile. She had two sons by Hossein but the marriage lasted only a few years.
Gracing both French and Italian productions throughout most of her career, Marina was not shy at playing unsympathetic, even caustic characters, and proved adept at both saucy comedy and edgy drama, appearing for such notable directors as Jean-Luc Godard and Christian-Jaque. Playing opposite some of Europe's finest leading men, she was a vision in loveliness alongside Marcello Mastroianni in Penne nere (1952), a touching WWII drama, she also co-starred with Italy's top character actor Aldo Fabrizi in Too Young for Love (1953). One of her rare English-speaking appearances came with the Orson Welles historical drama Chimes at Midnight (1965).
Marina became a strong social and political activist, notably for women's reproductive rights, into the 1970s. She continued strongly in films with Sapho ou La fureur d'aimer (1971), Tout le monde il est beau, tout le monde il est gentil (1972), Let Joy Reign Supreme (1975), the Hungarian film The Two of Them (1977), The Bermuda Triangle (1978) and L'oeil du maître (1980). As she moved Into the 1980's, the actress turned more and more towards TV work.
Married three times, Vlady was the widow of heralded Russian poet/songwriter/actor Vladimir Vysotskiy, her last husband, who allegedly died of heart failure in 1980 at the age 42 after years of alcohol and drug abuse.
Later films would include Bordello (1985), in which she played a French madam; a smaller role as the wife of hotel manager Philippe Noiret in the comedy Twist again à Moscou (1986); leads in both the Greek drama Anemos stin poli (1996) and the gay-themed French film A Few Days of Respite (2010). She also had a recurring role in the French TV dramedy series Sam (2016).
In her later years, Marina and longtime companion, Léon Schwartzenberg, a leading French-Jewish cancer specialist widely known as a radical political activist, became involved in a number of social injustices. He passed away in 2003. As a writer, she published a book on the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan and continued performing on stage, including a political one-woman show on one of her books about husband Vysotsky. Marina outlived all her her elder sisters. Odile died in 1980, Helene in 1988 and Olga in 2009.- Actor
- Camera and Electrical Department
- Composer
Thomas Mars was born on 21 November 1976 in Versailles, Yvelines, Île-de-France, France. He is an actor and composer, known for Now You See Me (2013), Boyhood (2014) and No Strings Attached (2011). He has been married to Sofia Coppola since 27 August 2011. They have two children.- Director
- Writer
- Animation Department
Sylvain Chomet was born on 10 November 1963 in Maisons-Laffitte, Seine-et-Oise [now Yvelines, Île-de-France], France. He is a director and writer, known for The Triplets of Belleville (2003), The Illusionist (2010) and Paris, I Love You (2006).- Alice Pol was born on 29 November 1982 in Saint-Pierre, Ile de la Réunion, France. She is an actress, known for Romantics Anonymous (2010), Queen to Play (2009) and Cezanne et Moi (2016).
- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Francis Veber was born on 28 July 1937 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France. He is a writer and director, known for Le Dîner de Cons (1998), The Birdcage (1996) and Ruby & Quentin (2003). He has been married to Françoise Veber since 11 January 1964. They have two children.- Actress
- Soundtrack
Claire Sombert was born in 1935 in Courbevoie, Seine [now Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France], France. She was an actress, known for La nuit perdue (1973), Les lumières du soir (1956) and Invitation to the Dance (1956). She died on 26 January 2008 in England, UK.- Gallic Actress Anne Vernon, who was born Edith Antoinette Alexandrine Vignaud in Saint-Denis, France, in January 1924, is not well known outside of Europe. Following graduation from the Paris Ecole des Beaux Arts, she found work as a model and apprenticed with an advertising designer. Developing an interest in acting, she subsequently toured with a French theatre group before embarking on a movie career. Glamorous leading lady roles came her way beginning in 1948, particularly in light post-war romantic souffles and farcical comedies where she sweetly played ingénues both English-speaking (Warning to Wantons (1949)) and non-English speaking (Edward and Caroline (1951)). Capable of tense dramatic roles as well, she made only one Hollywood film during her career, playing second femme lead in the film noir Shakedown (1950) with Howard Duff and Peggy Dow.
Audiences might recognize her from the British films Terror on a Train (1953) [aka Terror on a Train] as a bomb defuser Glenn Ford's wife, and the mild comedy The Love Lottery (1954), as part of a love triangle with David Niven and Peggy Cummins. For the most part, however, Anne stayed on French/Italian soil appearing opposite such dashing leading men as Daniel Gélin, Vittorio Gassman and Jean Marais. In the 1960s she matured into chic, maternal roles, most noticeably as Catherine Deneuve's cautious, concerned mother in The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964) [The Umbrellas of Cherbourg]. Surprisingly, she also had a role in the notorious soft-core lesbian flick Therese and Isabelle (1968). Following some TV work in the early 1970s, she gently phased out her career. - Steve Tientcheu was born on 20 July 1982 in Villepinte, Île-de-France, France. He is an actor, known for Les Misérables (2019), AKA (2023) and Jungle Jihad (2019).
- Dominique Boschero was born on 27 April 1937 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. She is an actress, known for Full Hearts and Empty Pockets (1964), Faccia di spia (1975) and Secret Agent Fireball (1965).
- Actor
- Producer
Thierry Henry was born on August 17, 1977 in Les Ulis, Essonne, Île-de-France, France as Thierry Daniel Henry. As a footballer, Henry is one of the most successful, talented, and beloved players of all time. He is France's highest-ever international goalscorer and second-highest appearance maker with 123 caps and 51 goals. He was part of the France team that won the 1998 World Cup, UEFA Euro 2000, and the 2003 Confederations Cup, winning both the Golden Boot and Golden Shoe in the Confederations Cup win. Following the World Cup win, he was appointed 'Chevalier of the Legion d'honneur', Frances highest honour. In 2006 he made the FIFA World Cup All-Star Team. At club level, he achieved success at multiple clubs, winning his first league title at just 19 with AS Monaco, winning the UNFP Ligue 1 Young Player of the Year as a result. It was for Arsenal that he would have the most impact, and has frequently been voted the club's greatest player. With Arsenal he scored 228 goals in 376 appearances, winning 2 league titles and 3 FA Cups and was an integral part of the "Invicibles" team of 2003-04, scoring 30 goals and only missing 1 of 38 league games. He was PFA player of the year twice, in 2003 and 2004, and in the PFA team of the year for 6 consecutive years from 2000-01 to 2005-06.He won the Premier League Golden Boot 4 times and Goal of the Season in 2003. While an Arsenal player he was twice runner-up for FIFA World Player of the Year, runner-up for the European Player of the Year in 2003, and winner of the French Player of the Year 5 times. He won the European Golden Boot twice, in 2004 and 2005, and made the FIFA FIFPro World XI in 2006.In 2008, he was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame and there is a statue of him outside Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. At Barcelona he won 7 trophies, 6 of which came in 2009 including a historic treble. He was an MLS All-Star for 4 consecutive years, part of the Best XI 3 times, and part of the team that won the MLS Supporters Shield in 2013 while playing for New York Red Bulls. He retired from playing at the conclusion of the 2014 MLS season.
During his career, Thierry was considered highly marketable due to his flair, charisma, and success. He famously appeared in a series of advertisements for Renault that popularised the french phrase 'va-va-voom', leading to its inclusion in the Oxford English Dictionary in 2004. He has also represented several sports brands, Gillette, and Beats by Dr Dre.
Due to his high-profile, he was a popular television guest during his career, especially in England where he made appearances on Parkinson (1971), Match of the Day (1964), and [error]. He appeared in 2 installments of the Goal series of films, Goal II: Living the Dream (2007) & Goal! III (2009). His increased profile in the United States following his time at NYRB has led to appearances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (2009), The Late Late Show with James Corden (2015), and Entourage (2015). Following the end of his career, he moved into punditry with Sky Sports, and was an analyst for 13 games of Match of the Day: Euro 2016 (2016) for the BBC.- Actor
- Additional Crew
Nur Rossellini was born on 29 December 1957 in Paris, Île-de-France, France. He is an actor, known for The Witches' Sabbath (1988), Kill Gil Volume 1 (2005) and The Rossellinis (2020).- Actor
- Composer
- Soundtrack
Rabah Nait Oufella was born on 3 December 1992 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. He is an actor and composer, known for Raw (2016), The Class (2008) and The Crew (2015).- Cinematographer
- Director
- Camera and Electrical Department
Although Henri Decaë gained fame as a cinematographer, he actually entered the film industry as an editor and soundman. Serving as a cameraman in the French army during WW II, upon his release he began making documentaries and directing and photographing industrial and commercial films, then in 1947 made his first feature. His documentary background showed in the look of the films he photographed, and he worked often with directors Louis Malle and Claude Chabrol. From those early, gritty films, Decae evolved into one of the premier cinematographers of plush, big-budget extravaganzas.- Writer
- Actor
- Director
Michel Houellebecq was born on 26 February 1956 in Saint-Pierre, Ile de la Réunion, France. He is a writer and actor, known for La possibilité d'une île (2008), Déséquilibres (1982) and Elementarteilchen (2006).- Anouk was born Anne-Marie Levain in Paris. Her father was a cartoonist, Paul (or Pol) Ferjac, who worked for the satirical weekly publication Le Canard enchaîné (which translates in English to 'the chained newspaper'). As a child, Anouk learned to dance and eventually took acting and diction classes under René Simon . At fourteen, she performed a snake act at the Casino de Paris and made her film debut that same year. She had her first leading role a year later in a comedy drama about struggling artists, Cité de l'espérance (1948). Anouk featured in support in André Cayatte 's Justice Is Done (1950) and We Are All Murderers (1952), but was then little heard of until the 1960s when she enjoyed something of a resurgence in films of the Nouvelle Vague under directors Michel Deville (Lucky Jo (1964)), Alain Resnais (The War Is Over (1966) and I Love You, I Love You (1968)) and Claude Chabrol (This Man Must Die (1969)). From the mid-80s, she worked predominantly in French television.
- Adama Niane was born on 23 August 1966 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. He was an actor, known for Baise-moi (2000), Get In (2019) and Nicolas Le Floch (2008). He died on 29 January 2023 in Paris, France.
- Director
- Special Effects
- Editor
Julius Berg was born on 4 August 1977 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. He is a director and editor, known for The Owners (2020), The Forest (2017) and Off (1999).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Madeleine Renaud was born on 21 February 1900 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. She was an actress, known for Remorques (1941), The Longest Day (1962) and Hélène (1936). She was married to Jean-Louis Barrault and Charles Granval. She died on 23 September 1994 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France.- Françoise Christophe was born on 3 February 1923 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. She was an actress, known for The Three Musketeers: Part I - The Queen's Diamonds (1961), Les Thibault (1972) and The Possessors (1958). She died on 8 January 2012 in Paris, France.
- Mélodie Berenfeld was born on 7 January 1981 in Paris, Ile-de-France, France. She was an actress, known for Marie Antoinette (2006), The Affair of the Necklace (2001) and Affaires familiales (2000). She died on 27 February 2007 in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, Midi-Pyrénées, France.
- Patrick Puydebat was born on 12 July 1971 in Neuilly-sur-Seine, Hauts-de-Seine, Île-de-France, France. He is an actor and writer, known for Love in Paris (2011), Les vacances de l'amour (1996) and Hélène et les garçons (1992).