Claude Berri
Biography: Claude Berri (1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, writer, producer, actor and distributor. Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), was from Romania, and his father, Hirsch Langmann, was a furrier from Poland. His sister was the screenwriter and editor Arlette Langmann. Berri won the "Best Film" BAFTA for Jean de Florette, and was also nominated for twelve César Awards, though he never won. Berri also won the Oscar for Best Short Film for Le Poulet at the 38th Academy Awards in 1966, and produced Roman Polanski's Tess which was nominated for Best Picture in 1981. Internationally, however, two films in 1986 overshadow all his other achievements. Jean de Florette and its sequel Manon des Sources were huge hits. In 1991, his film Uranus was entered into the 41st Berlin International Film Festival. Six years later, his film Lucie Aubrac was entered into the 47th Berlin International Film Festival. In 2003, he was elected President of the Cinémathèque Française where he obtained enough state subsidies to cover the costs of its resurgence at its new site in the rue de Bercy. Berri's wife, Anne-Marie Rassam, committed suicide in 1997, jumping from the apartment of Isabelle Adjani's mother. Berri and Rassam had two children: actor Julien Rassam and actor and film producer Thomas Langmann. Berri died of a stroke, in Paris, aged 74. After his death, a group of nine works by Robert Ryman, Ad Reinhardt, Giorgio Morandi, Richard Serra and Lucio Fontana was promised to the Centre Pompidou in Paris in lieu of tax. But the heirs of the film director finally sold them through French art dealer Philippe Ségalot for about €50 million to Qatar. Source: Article "Claude Berri" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Place of Birth: Not available
Birthday: July 01, 1934
Deathday: January 12, 2009
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Known For
The Wounded Man
1983-05-25
The Wounded Man
Overview: Henri is a lonely, isolated young man who lets no one get close to him. He meets a street hustler and comes out of his shell, going 180 degrees into gay obsession. Though he has yet to physically approach the object of his affection, Henri builds up so much unrequited lust that it explodes with horrible results.
Genres: Romance Crime Horror
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1983-05-25
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Catherine Deneuve by Chance, or, A Certain Blondeness
1978-09-18
Catherine Deneuve by Chance, or, A Certain Blondeness
Overview: A documentary interview with the French actress while on the sets of films in production. Several of the directors for whom she has made films are also interviewed
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1978-09-18
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Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra
2002-01-30
Asterix & Obelix: Mission Cleopatra
Overview: The Egyptian Queen Cleopatra bets against the Roman Emperor, Julius Caesar, that her people are still great, even if the times of the Pharaohs has long passed. She vows (against all logic) to build a new palace for Caesar within three months. Since all her architects are either busy otherwise or too conservative in style, this ambivalent honor falls to Edifis. He is to build the palace and be covered in gold or, if not, his fate is to be eaten by crocodiles. Edifis calls upon an old friend to help him out: The fabulous Druid Getafix from Gaul, who brews a fantastic potion that gives supernatural strength. In order to help and protect the old Druid, Asterix and Obelix accompany him on his journey to Egypt. When Julius Caesar gets wind of the project succeeding, he has the building site attacked by his troops in order to win the bet and not lose face. But just like the local pirates, he hasn't counted on Asterix and Obelix.
Genres: Family Fantasy Comedy Adventure
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2002-01-30
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Good Lord Without Confession
1953-10-09
Good Lord Without Confession
Overview: Stuck in a loveless marriage, bourgeois industrialist Francois falls in love with Janine, another man's wife. Francois sets up Janine as his mistress, and she, mercenary soul that she is, likes the set-up so much that she continues the relationship even when her own husband returns from WW II. In the long run, however, Janine is the loser in the situation.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1953-10-09
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Tess: The Experience
2004-09-28
Tess: The Experience
Overview: A documentary that interviews the cast and crew of Roman Polanski's 1979 film "Tess."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-09-28
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Once Upon a Time... 'Tess'
2007-03-16
Once Upon a Time... 'Tess'
Overview: Television documentary about the making of Roman Polanski's 1979 film "Tess."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2007-03-16
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The Good Girls
1960-04-22
The Good Girls
Overview: Four Parisian women navigate the world of romance and daily life looking to fulfill their dreams.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1960-04-22
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Happily Ever After
2004-08-25
Happily Ever After
Overview: Is love compatible with coupledom? And what of freedom and fidelity? These are some of the questions facing two married men.
Genres: Drama Comedy Romance
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2004-08-25
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The Truth
1960-11-02
The Truth
Overview: As Dominique Marceau is being tried for the murder of Gilbert Tellier, accounts by different witnesses paint a picture of the kind of relationship the two used to share.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1960-11-02
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Un grand cri d'amour
1998-01-07
Un grand cri d'amour
Overview: A famous couple is going on stage after ten years of separation and hate.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1998-01-07
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Le Cinema de Papa
1971-02-10
Le Cinema de Papa
Overview: Claude Berri plays himself as he relates his own experiences through youth and adolescence. His father owns a profitable fur shop. Initially, Claude's father hopes his son will take over the fur shop, but he later gives in to Claude's desire to become involved in filmmaking.
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1971-02-10
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Hard Off
1999-05-17
Hard Off
Overview: This French romantic comedy-drama concerns Claude Langmann, a middle-aged auctioneer, who is in a loving marriage with his second wife of 15 years. Though he is deeply in love with his wife and has remained faithful to her, he finds himself unable to perform in bed. His wife says she is satisfied with Claude's love and tenderness, but he visits a sex specialist anyway. There he learns of Viagra, which is not yet approved in France, though it is available in Switzerland over the counter. Soon Claude is on his way to Geneva, and eager to prove his manhood, tries to bed Agnes, his very attractive and very available assistant. His daughter, who also comes along for the trip, interferes with her own problems.
Genres: Romance Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1999-05-17
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I Spit on Your Grave
1959-06-26
I Spit on Your Grave
Overview: Joe Grant, a light-skinned African American, heads to a small Southern town to investigate the lynching death of his brother. He draws the attention of a gorgeous heiress whom he learns may have been involved in the killing.
Genres: Thriller Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1959-06-26
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Sex Shop
1972-10-25
Sex Shop
Overview: On the advice of a friend, Claude, married to the charming Isabelle and father of two, decided to transform his library, hardly flourishing, into a sex shop. This change of activity proves to be very lucrative and sharpens his desire to spice up his married life through various erotic experiences. Claude asks his wife to share with him the audacity he dreams of. Soon, the household meets a dentist and his wife and is engaged, without much success, to new discoveries. Isabelle, full of good will, tries to follow her husband ...
Genres: Comedy Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1972-10-25
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Stan the Flasher
1990-03-07
Stan the Flasher
Overview: Claude Berri, who usually participates in films by directing them, here returns to the screen as Stan, an over-the-hill lothario, much given to quoting Shakespeare, who occasionally goes around naked under his raincoat and exposes himself to strangers, who are usually not interested in his primitive display of genitalia. It also appears that he is unable to sexually satisfy his much younger lover, and he suspects her of having another boyfriend. He earns his living tutoring students (mostly young girls) in English literature. When, in his frustration, he gropes one of the girls in her home during a tutoring session, she protests, her father (who is at home) beats him up, and he is sentenced to a jail term. There, he is teamed up with a slightly loopy murderer. When he gets out of jail, he finds his girlfriend has left for good, and ends his life.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1990-03-07
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Va Savoir (Who Knows?)
2001-09-28
Va Savoir (Who Knows?)
Overview: After finding love and success in Italy, French actress Camille returns to Paris, the city she fled three years ago. She secretly dreads confronting her ex-boyfriend Pierre. Her new lover Ugo also has a secret, as he’s meeting with the intriguing Dominique while on his quest for an unpublished manuscript.
Genres: Drama Comedy Romance
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2001-09-28
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The Machine
1994-05-28
The Machine
Overview: This deftly made French psychological thriller terrifies with its exploration of an experiment gone horribly wrong. Dr. Marc Lacroix, a psychiatrist specializing in brain functions, is obsessed with the link between mind and spirit. To find his link he studies the criminally insane. He builds a secret machine, known only to his mistress Marianne, in which he hopes to exchange minds between humans. He simultaneously wants to help the mentally ill recover, and he wants to experience their madness. He chooses the psychotic killer, Zyto, a man who stabbed at least three women, for his experiment. The initial experiment is successful and the two exchange minds. But trouble ensues when Zyto refuses to reverse the switch. There is little Marc can do when Zyto takes over Marc's life, and more ominously his wife and child whom are unknowingly in mortal danger. Marc, encased in Zyto's body, is returned to the asylum. Will Marc's wife recognize the danger? Will Zyto kill again?
Genres: Horror Thriller Science Fiction
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1994-05-28
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Janine
1962-01-01
Janine
Overview: During a desultory night on the town, two men talk about their experiences with women. One of them disparages his ex-wife, while the other is enamored of the prostitute he was with earlier in the evening. Without realizing it, both men are talking about Janine.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1962-01-01
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The Seven Deadly Sins
1962-03-07
The Seven Deadly Sins
Overview: Seven directors each dramatize one of the seven deadly sins in a short film. In "Anger," a domestic argument over a fly in the Sunday soup escalates into nuclear war. In "Sloth," a movie star would rather pay someone to tie his shoe than bend over to do it himself, and he can't be bothered to accept a starlet's sexual favors. In "Gluttony," a peasant family on its way to the funeral of a relative who died from indigestion stops regularly to eat and drink en route, arriving in time to eat some more. In "Greed," a high-class prostitute refunds the price of a cadet's lottery ticket. In "Pride," an unfaithful wife finds reason to reform. And so on through lust and envy.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1962-03-07
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Once Upon a Time... Tchao Pantin
2003-05-18
Once Upon a Time... Tchao Pantin
Overview: A documentary on the making of Tchao Pantin (1983), featuring interviews with writer-director Claude Berri, novelist Alain Page, stars Richard Anconina, Mahmoud Zemmouri, Agnès Soral, cinematographer Bruno Nuytten and others.
Genres: Documentary TV Movie
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2003-05-18
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Didier
1997-01-29
Didier
Overview: Jean-Pierre Costa is a football manager upon whom fate appears not to be smiling. First, a friend, Annabelle, dumps a pet Labrador named Didier on him whilst she goes off to make a report in Los Angeles. Next, one of his star players is injured, leaving him one player short for a crucial match. As if things could not get any worse, Costa wakes up one morning to find that that Didier has been transformed into a man...
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1997-01-29
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The Three Brothers
1995-12-13
The Three Brothers
Overview: Three half-brothers are reunited at their mother's funeral. After being told of their inheritance they quickly spend the money, only to find out that they will not receive it after all. The men grow closer while deciding how to proceed.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1995-12-13
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Rue de l'Estrapade
1953-04-14
Rue de l'Estrapade
Overview: While Henri Laurent speeds along on the racing circuits, his pretty wife Françoise goes from luxury boutique to luxury boutique with her best friend Denise. One day, Denise lets her know that Henri has a lover. Outraged, Françoise moves out of marital home and rents a maids' room in Rue de l'Estrapade. Henri tries to get his wife back but Françoise does not listen. She even looks for a job in a prêt-à-porter shop and lets herself be courted by Robert, her neighbor across the landing...
Genres: Comedy Romance
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1953-04-14
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French Cancan
1954-12-27
French Cancan
Overview: Nineteenth-century Paris comes vibrantly alive in Jean Renoir’s exhilarating tale of the opening of the world-renowned Moulin Rouge. Jean Gabin plays the wily impresario Danglard, who makes the cancan all the rage while juggling the love of two beautiful women—an Egyptian belly-dancer and a naive working girl turned cancan star.
Genres: Comedy Drama Romance Music
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1954-12-27
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Asphalt
1959-02-18
Asphalt
Overview: Françoise Arnould plays here a married woman who decides one day to get away from her husband and return to her childhood place, where she meets all her former friends, and lovers.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1959-02-18
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The Man with Connections
1970-04-15
The Man with Connections
Overview: Following "The Two of Us", Claude is now 21 years old. Content with his life, he has a girlfriend Tania and he aspires to become an actor. When he receives his draft notice, a friend convinces Claude he can get out of military service with his connections in Paris. When the connections fall through, Claude is sent for basic training outside Paris before being shipped off to Algeria. His stops in Morocco and Algeria are uneventful as far as military action goes. He returns home with few bad memories of his army life ...
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1970-04-15
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Marry Me! Marry Me!
1968-09-18
Marry Me! Marry Me!
Overview: Claude and Isabella met on a beach one summer and got easily involved. But while he has dreams of settling down with a family, she just wants to have fun. When Isabelle becomes pregnant, Claude is advised by both families to marry but things get more complicated when he meets an English woman.
Genres: Drama Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1968-09-18
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François Truffaut, une autobiographie
2004-10-01
François Truffaut, une autobiographie
Overview: A documentary tracing the career of filmmaker François Truffaut through the testimony of collaborators and admirers.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2004-10-01
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Male of the Century
1975-03-12
Male of the Century
Overview: The wife of an extremely jealous merchant is held hostage by a bank robber.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1975-03-12
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Dangerous Games
1958-12-12
Dangerous Games
Overview: Alain is the only son of a wealthy bourgeois couple. He takes violin lessons in Ménilmontant, where he is spotted by Fleur, a poor girl: she is going to kidnap him and demand a ransom from the young man's parents, money which will be used to pay for a good lawyer for her brother accused of killing a policeman.
Genres: Crime Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1958-12-12
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To Be... A Classic
2012-01-01
To Be... A Classic
Overview: Film historian/professor at UCLA Janet Bergstrom and Positif journalist N.T. Bihn discuss To Be or Not to Be and Ernst Lubitsch's career and legacy. The featurette also contains archival footage with Francois Truffaut and Claude Berri.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2012-01-01
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Tess: From Novel to Screen
2004-09-28
Tess: From Novel to Screen
Overview: Documentary about Roman Polanski's film adaptation of the 1891 novel "Tess of the d'Urbervilles" by Thomas Hardy.
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-09-28
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Filming 'Tess'
2004-09-28
Filming 'Tess'
Overview: Documentary about the making of Roman Polanski's 1979 film "Tess."
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: en
Release Date: 2004-09-28
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Zazie dans le Métro
1960-10-28
Zazie dans le Métro
Overview: A brash and precocious ten-year-old comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle.
Genres: Comedy Fantasy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1960-10-28
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Please, Not Now!
1961-04-19
Please, Not Now!
Overview: A sexy model pretends to have a new boyfriend in a wacky plan to make her ex-lover jealous.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1961-04-19
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The Car Keys
2003-12-10
The Car Keys
Overview: Who would think losing car keys could lead us that far ? Be careful, adventure is on every street corner...
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 2003-12-10
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On the Trail of the New Wave
2009-03-14
On the Trail of the New Wave
Overview:
Genres: Documentary
Original Language: fi
Release Date: 2009-03-14
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Line of Demarcation
1966-05-25
Line of Demarcation
Overview: It is based on upon the memoir Mémoires d'un agent secret de la France libre et La Ligne de démarcation by Gilbert Renault under his pseudonym Colonel Rémy. A small village in the Jura is split by the river Loue which creates the line of demarcation between Nazi occupied France and freedom. A French officer, Pierre, is released by the Nazi soldiers to find his chateau converted into a German command centre. Whilst he is obliged to co-operate with the enemy, his wife Mary supports the resistance movement and is willing to risk her life for it. The Nazis step up their activity against the resistance, insisting that any who attempt to cross the line of demarcation will be shot. When his wife is arrested, Pierre decides to switch his allegiance.
Genres: Drama War
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1966-05-25
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The Sleeping Car Murder
1965-11-17
The Sleeping Car Murder
Overview: Six people travel by train overnight from Marseilles to Paris. When the train arrives at its destination, one of the passengers, a girl, is found dead in a sleeping berth. The police led by Inspector Grazzi investigate the other five passengers, suspecting that one of them was responsible. However, as the investigation is stepped up, the other passengers start turning up dead. It is then up to the last remaining two to solve the case, before they become the next victims.
Genres: Crime Thriller Mystery
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1965-11-17
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My Baby Is Black!
1961-03-01
My Baby Is Black!
Overview: Black and white unite and are confronted with hatred in two color-line-busting classics from the classic years of exploitation.
Genres: Drama
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1961-03-01
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Greed
1962-03-07
Greed
Overview: A group of university students in Paris dream of a night of love with Suzon, whose rates are staggering. To raise the money, they organize a lottery among themselves so that at least the winner will enact their fantasy.
Genres: No genres available
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1962-03-07
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Germinal
1993-09-29
Germinal
Overview: It's mid 19th century, north of France. The story of a coal miner's town. They are exploited by the mine's owner. One day the decide to go on strike, and then the authorities repress them.
Genres: Drama Romance
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1993-09-29
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Le Roi des cons
1981-02-18
Le Roi des cons
Overview: Georges Le Roi lives odd jobs and shares his life between two girlfriends. One day, he falls in love with Sophie and records a message of love. The tape is mistakenly broadcast in the company. In the face of success, Sophie founded the company Tell me about love and spread the messages of Georges, who soon became a sex symbol.
Genres: Comedy
Original Language: fr
Release Date: 1981-02-18
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