Claude Berry - director, actor, screenwriter and producer

2024 Author: Leah Sherlock | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 05:25

Meet the hero of the article - Claude Berry, a popular French actor, screenwriter, director and producer. For a long time he was president of the French Academy of Cinema. Father of film producer and actor Tom Langmann and actress Julien Rassam.

Claude Berry, biography: beginning

The actor was born on July 1, 1934, in Paris, in a Jewish family that moved from Romania. Claude's father Hirsch Lagmann was a furrier, his mother, Beila Bercu, was a housewife. Younger sister Arlette Langmann, born in 1946, became a screenwriter.

Claude Berry began acting in films in 1953. Acting in small roles, the young man was proud of his involvement in cinematographic activities, but soon this seemed not enough to him, and he began to dream of his own productions. Directorial work attracted the young man as a creative process that makes the author famous and, in addition, provides a livelihood.

Berry Stage Director

He was determined to try his hand at directing and in 1962 made a 15-minute short film called "Chicken". The film turned out sosuccessful, which was noted at the Venice Film Festival, and then was awarded the prestigious Oscar. For a young filmmaker, this award is of great importance, as the director of a film that deserved the "golden statuette" becomes one with the best directors, and opportunities for further creativity open up for him.

In 1964, Claude Berry took part in the creation of a whole series of short stories, such as "A Chance in Love", "Kisses" and others. The young director also made his first feature film in 1964. The picture was called "The Old Man and the Child" and was a resounding success thanks to the talented game of Michel Simon, who managed to create an inimitable image of the old anti-Semite. Everything orthodox that had accumulated in the soul of the old hater suddenly began to soften in the process of communicating with an ordinary Jewish boy.

Do I need a chronology

Next Claude Berry, whose films have attracted more and more attention, began filming a series of films, mostly autobiographical, although he did not try to keep the chronology. Such carelessness failed the director, since any autobiography requires consistency in the presentation of facts. Berry ended up with scattered fragments, the meaning of which eluded. The director had to redo a lot.

A series of films such as "Marriage", "Daddy's Movie", "Thieves" somehow survived the rental, but "The Disease of the Century" and "Sex Shop" failed miserably.

Something needs to change

In the end, Claude Berry began to understand that the theme of the paintings needs to be updated. And in 1983, one of his best films called "Chao, Clown!" came out on the screens. In it, he filmed the popular French comedian Coluche, whom he gave an unusual role for that - not a comic one, as usual, but a deeply dramatic one. In the course of the story, the main character, a former policeman working at a gas station, suddenly appears as a ruthless avenger. His task is to pay for his friend.

Following pictures of Claude are also serious films, among which are the film adaptation of Marcel Pagnol - "Jean de Floret", Marcel Aimé - "Uranus", the novel "Germinal" by Emile Zola, "Manon from the source". In 1996, Berry directed the classic Lucie Aubrac.

In addition to acting and directing, Claude Berry has been a successful producer.

Cooperating with the "Renneproducion" company, he took over the production of Roman Polansky's films: "Lover", "Tess", "Bear". He took part in the creation of films by Milos Forman, Claude Zidi, Bertrand Blier and Claude Saute. Gathered around him a team of young directors: K. Miller, M. Piala, J. Doillon.

Filmography. Claude Berry as director

During his career as a director, Claude made about thirty feature films. Below is a sample list of his work.

• "The old man andchild" (1967).
• "Thieves" (1970).
• "Daddy's Movie" (1970).
• "Male of the Century (1975).
• "The First Time" (1976).
• "Moment of Delusion" (1977).
• "I Love You" (1980).
• "Schoolmaster" (1981).
• "Chao, buffoon!" (1983).
• "Jean de Florette" (1986).
• "Manon from the Source" (1986).
• "Uranus" (1990).
• "Germinal" (1993).
• "Lucy's War" (1997).
• "State of Panic" (1999).
• "Housewife" (2002).
• "Dry residue" (2005).
• "Trezor" (2009).

Among the films made by the director during the period from 1965 to 2010, there are several works that are distinguished by deep psychologism, of which "Just Together" - a film shot in 2007 - stands out in particular.

In the center of the plot - two loneliness, finally found each other. This is a young girl Camille (in her role as Audrey Tattoo) and a certain Philibert, her neighbor (Laurent Stoker).

She, as usual, moves in with him, but then a third character appears, Philibert's chef, Monsieur Franck (Guillaume Canet). A kind of triangle arises, not quite ordinary, but no less interesting for this. "Just Together" is a film about how to live according to the situation.

Literary nuances Berry overcame with brilliance. There was a temptation to introduce a fourth character, then the postulate "just together" would sounddifferently. The storyline in this case could be intertwined as you like. However, the author resisted, living with four is easy, but you try to live "just together" with the three of you!