CLAUDE BRASSEUR
TRIBUTE TO CLAUDE BRASSEUR
“Boring the audience would reveal an unforgivable and shameful lack of taste for a man who styles himself, at nearly 80, as an honest craftsman. Modesty, the wish to not cheat, and a certain sense of honor and of authenticity are all quite strange notions for a cinema which falls over itself in the face of the most insignificant American starlet.
[…] Because all we ever do is talk about the astronomic fees, bludgeoning promotional campaigns and box-office fluctuations, we have forgotten how much the actor’s craft is wonderful, simple, yet intelligent when it is practiced by a master like Claude Brasseur. His career – he wouldn’t like that productivist metaphor – has been spectacular!
[…] His track record would make any apprentice actor redden with shame. […] Here’s some proof: as a child, he bounced on the knees of Montand and Signoret; his godfather was nicknamed Papa (Ernest Hemingway) in Havana; of an evening, before bedtime, he’d share a stew with Maria Casarès, Jean Vilar, Louis Jouvet and Jean-Paul Sartre; he watched the Liberation of Paris from his balcony; in high school, his classmates included Jean-Jacques Debout, Philippe Noiret and Jacques Mesrine; as a young man, he was assistant photographer at Paris Match; he received congratulations from Marcel Pagnol for his first play; at the Conservatory, he was part of the generation blessed by the gods of the stage: Marielle, Rochefort, Rich, Cremer, Vernier, Beaune, the delicious Françoise Fabian and the inimitable Belmondo; when called up, he trekked for three years in the sun of the Aurès mountains; he was married to Peggy Roch, the close friend of Françoise Sagan; on television, he played Sganarelle and Vidocq; on the big screen, the father and lover of Sophie Marceau; he has been cycling with Stephen Roche; he won the Paris-Dakar with Jacky Ickx; he was French bobsleigh champion; he owned a Ferrari 275 GTB; he has worked with Godard and Onteniente; he has been a dentist, a vet, a car salesman, a judge, collector, police captain, a banker, and much more besides.
So for all that, thank you Claude!”
(Thomas Morales, Causeur, 28 septembre 2014)
SELECTED FILMOGRAPHY
1956
RENCONTRE À PARIS (Meeting in Paris) Georges Lampin
LE PAYS D’OÙ JE VIENS (The Country I Come From) Marcel Carné
1957
L’AMOUR DESCEND DU CIEL Maurice Cam
1959
RUE DES PRAIRIES Denys de La Patellière
LA VERTE MOISSON (Green Harvest) François Villiers
1960
LES YEUX SANS VISAGE (Eyes Without a Face) Georges Franju
LES DISTRACTIONS Jacques Dupont
PIERROT LA TENDRESSE (Pete the Tender) François Villiers
1961
LA BRIDE SUR LE COU Jean Aurel, Jack Dunn Trop & Roger Vadim
LES MENTEURS Edmond T. Gréville
1962
LES ENNEMIS (Touch of Treason) Édouard Molinaro
LES SEPT PÉCHÉS CAPITAUX (The Seven Deadly Sins) – collectif
LE CAPORAL ÉPINGLÉ Jean Renoir
UN CLAIR DE LUNE À MAUBEUGE (Moonlight in Maubeuge) Jean Chérasse
NOUS IRONS À DEAUVILLE (We Will Go to Deauville) Francis Rigaud
1963
LA SOUPE AUX POULETS Philippe Agostini
LES CAVALIERS DE LA TERREUR (Il Terrore dei mantelli rossi) Mario Costa
DRAGÉES AU POIVRE Jacques Baratier
GERMINAL Yves Allégret
PEAU DE BANANE Marcel Ophüls
1964
BANDE À PART (Band of Outsiders) Jean-Luc Godard
LUCKY JO Michel Deville
L’ENFER (Inferno) Henri-Georges Clouzot
1965
LA BONNE OCCASE (The Real Bargain) Michel Drach
LE MYSTÈRE DE LA CHAMBRE JAUNE – TV
1966
DU RIFIFI À PANAME (The Upper Hand) Denys de La Patellière
LE CHIEN FOU (The Mad Dog) Eddy Matalon
1967
UN HOMME DE TROP (Shock Troops) Costa-Gavras
1969
CATHERINE Bernard Borderie
LA CHASSE ROYALE (The Royal Chase) François Leterrier
1970
TROP PETIT MON AMI Eddy Matalon
1971
LE PORTRAIT DE MARIANNE (Portrait of Marianne) Daniel Goldenberg
1971-1973
LES NOUVELLES AVENTURES DE VIDOCQ – TV
1972
LE VIAGER (The Annuity) Pierre Tchernia
UN CAVE (A Loser) Gilles Grangier
UNE BELLE FILLE COMME MOI (A Gorgeous Girl Like Me) François Truffaut
1973
LES ENFANTS DE CHŒUR Duccio Tessari
BEL ORDURE (Lovely Swine) Jean Marboeuf
1974
LES SEINS DE GLACE Georges Lautner
1975
L’AGRESSION Gérard Pirès
IL FAUT VIVRE DANGEREUSEMENT (One Must Live Dangerously) Claude Makovski
1976
ATTENTION LES YEUX ! Gérard Pirès
LE GUÊPIER (The Hornet’s Nest) Roger Pigaut
UN ÉLÉPHANT ÇA TROMPE ÉNORMÉMENT Yves Robert – 1977 César Award for Best Supporting Actor
LE GRAND ESCOGRIFFE (The Big Operator) Claude Pinoteau – 1977 César Award for Best Supporting Actor
BAROCCO André Téchiné
1977
MONSIEUR PAPA Philippe Monnier
NOUS IRONS TOUS AU PARADIS (Pardon Mon Affaire, Too!) Yves Robert
1978
L’ÉTAT SAUVAGE (The Savage State) Francis Girod
L’ARGENT DES AUTRES (Other People’s Money) Christian de Chalonge
UNE HISTOIRE SIMPLE Claude Sautet
1979
UNE LANGOUSTE AU PETIT DÉJEUNER (Aragosta a colazione) Giorgio Capitani
ILS SONT GRANDS, CES PETITS Joël Santoni
AU REVOIR À LUNDI Maurice Dugowson
LA GUERRE DES POLICES Robin Davis – 1980 César Award for Best Actor
1980
LA BANQUIÈRE (The Lady Banker) Francis Girod
LA BOUM (The Party) Claude Pinoteau
1981
UNE ROBE NOIRE POUR UN TUEUR José Giovanni
L’OMBRE ROUGE Jean-Louis Comolli
UNE AFFAIRE D’HOMMES Nicolas Ribowski
JOSEPHA Christopher Frank
1982
GUY DE MAUPASSANT Michel Drach
ENSEMBLE, C’EST UN BORDEL… SÉPARÉS, UN DÉSASTRE (Quando la coppia scoppia) Steno
LÉGITIME VIOLENCE Serge Leroy
LA BOUM 2 Claude Pinoteau
1983
T’ES HEUREUSE ? MOI, TOUJOURS… Jean Marboeuf
LA CRIME (Cover Up) Philippe Labro
SIGNES EXTÉRIEURS DE RICHESSE Jacques Monnet
1984
LE LÉOPARD Jean-Claude Sussfeld
SOUVENIRS SOUVENIRS (Memories, Memories) Ariel Zeitoun
RALLYE PARIS – DAKAR Peter Welz
1985
PALACE Édouard Molinaro
DÉTECTIVE Jean-Luc Godard
LES LOUPS ENTRE EUX José Giovanni
1986
LA GITANE (The Gypsy) Philippe de Broca
TAXI BOY Alain Page
DESCENTE AUX ENFERS (Descent Into Hell) Francis Girod
1987
DANDIN Roger Planchon
1989
RADIO CORBEAU Yves Boisset
L’UNION SACRÉE Alexandre Arcady
L’ORCHESTRE ROUGE Jacques Rouffio
1990
DANCING MACHINE Gilles Béhat
1991
SALE COMME UN ANGE (Dirty Like an Angel) Catherine Breillat
1992
LE BAL DES CASSE-PIEDS Yves Robert
LE SOUPER Édouard Molinaro
UN, DEUX, TROIS, SOLEIL (1, 2, 3, Freeze) Bertrand Blier
1993
LE FIL DE L’HORIZON (On the Edge of the Horizon – O Fio do horizonte) Fernando Lopes
LES TÉNORS (The Tenors) Francis De Gueltz
1994
DÉLIT MINEUR Francis Girod
1997
L’AUTRE CÔTÉ DE LA MER Dominique Cabrera
1998
MATRIMONI Cristina Comencini
1999
LE PLUS BEAU PAYS DU MONDE (The Happiest Place on Earth) Marcel Bluwal
FAIT D’HIVER Robert Enrico
2000
LA DÉBANDADE (Hard Off) Claude Berri
LA TAULE Alain Robak
TORÉROS Éric Barbier
LES ACTEURS (Actors) Bertrand Blier
2001
LE LAIT DE LA TENDRESSE HUMAINE (The Milk of Human Kindness) Dominique Cabrera
2003
CHOUCHOU Merzak Allouache
2004
MALABAR PRINCESS Gilles Legrand
2005
L’AMOUR AUX TROUSSES Philippe de Chauveron
LES PARRAINS (The Do-Gooders) Frédéric Forestier
FAUTEUILS D’ORCHESTRE (Orchestra Seats) Danièle Thompson
2006
CAMPING Fabien Onteniente
J’INVENTE RIEN Michel Leclerc
LES PETITES VACANCES (Stolen Holidays) Olivier Peyon
LE HÉROS DE LA FAMILLE (Family Hero) Thierry Klifa
2007
SA MAJESTÉ MINOR (His Majesty Minor) Jean-Jacques Annaud
2010
CAMPING 2 Fabien Onteniente
2011
LÉGITIME DÉFENSE (Final Balance) Pierre Lacan
2012
QUAND JE SERAI PETIT Jean-Paul Rouve
MA BONNE ÉTOILE Anne Fassio
2013
LE RENARD JAUNE Jean-Pierre Mocky
