Claude Sautet

Writer, Director

February 23, 1924 — July 22, 2000 (76 years)
Claude Sautet (23 February 1924 – 22 July 2000) was a French film director and screenwriter.

He was a chronicler of post-war French society. He made a total of five films with his favorite actress Romy Schneider.

Born in Montrouge, Hauts-de-Seine, France, Sautet first studied painting and sculpture before attending a film university in Paris where he began his career and later became a television producer. His first movie, Hello Smile! (originally Bonjour Sourire) was released in 1956.

He earned international attention with The Things of Life (Les choses de la vie, 1970), which he wrote and directed, like the rest of his later films. Featuring Michel Piccoli in the male lead, it was shown in competition at the 1970 Cannes Festival. The film also revived the career of Romy Schneider; she acted in several of Sautet's later films. In his next film Max and the Junkmen (Max et les Ferrailleurs, 1971) Schneider played a prostitute, while in César and Rosalie (César et Rosalie, 1972) she portrayed a married woman who copes with the reappearance of an old flame.

Vincent, François, Paul and the Others (Vincent, Paul, François, et les Autres, 1974) is one of Sautet's most acclaimed films. Four middle-class men meet in the country every weekend mainly to discuss their lives. As well as Piccoli, it featured Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, and Stéphane Audran. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian in a 2020 tribute article to Michel Piccoli thought it was "arguably the best" of the "five very well-regarded movies" on which the actor and director collaborated. Sautet achieved even further critical success with Mado (1976).

His film A Simple Story (Une Histoire simple, 1978) was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film. The film featured Schneider again, this time as a dissatisfied working woman in her 40s. She won the César Award for Best Actress for her performance.

In the 1980s, he made only two films Waiter! (Garçon!, 1983), a drama starring Yves Montand as a middle-aged waiter, and the comedy A Few Days with Me (Quelques Jours Avec Moi, 1988).

Claude Sautet won the Silver Lion at the Venice Film Festival and the César Award for Best Director for A Heart in Winter (Un cœur en hiver, 1992) and received the César once more for Nelly and Mr. Arnaud (Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud, 1995). Both films starred Emmanuelle Béart. Apart from his own directing, he also wrote screenplays for other directors.

Claude Sautet died of liver cancer in Paris in July 22, 2000 and was buried there in the Montparnasse Cemetery.

In 2001, from May 5th to July 14th, Canal Plus aired eleven of its feature films in their final versions, following the work done with Béatrice Valbin.

Description above from the Wikipedia article Claude Sautet, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Movies & Shows on Plex

  • Eyes Without a Face
    Eyes Without a Face1960

Known For

  • A Heart in Winter
    A Heart in Winter1992
  • Eyes Without a Face
    Eyes Without a Face1960
  • The Things of Life
    The Things of Life1970
  • Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud
    Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud1995
  • The Big Risk
    The Big Risk1960
  • Max and the Junkmen
    Max and the Junkmen1971
  • Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others
    Vincent, Francois, Paul and the Others1974
  • Intersection
    Intersection1994
  • Borsalino
    Borsalino1970
  • A Bad Son
    A Bad Son1980
  • A Simple Story
    A Simple Story1978
  • A Few Days with Me
    A Few Days with Me1988
  • A Matter of Resistance
    A Matter of Resistance1966
  • Death of a Corrupt Man
    Death of a Corrupt Man1977
  • Mado
    Mado1976
  • Waiter!
    Waiter!1983
  • The Dictator's Guns
    The Dictator's Guns1965
  • The Devil by the Tail
    The Devil by the Tail1969
  • Symphony for a Massacre
    Symphony for a Massacre1963
  • Back to the Wall
    Back to the Wall1958

Filmography

1995
Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud · as Screenplay
1994
Intersection · as Original Film Writer
1992
A Heart in Winter · as Screenplay
1988
1983
Waiter! · as Screenplay
1980
A Bad Son · as Screenplay
1978
1977
Death of a Corrupt Man · as Screenplay
1976
Mado · as Screenplay
1974
1972
Cesar & Rosalie · as Screenplay
1971
1971
Max and the Junkmen · as Screenplay
1970
1970
The Things of Life · as Screenplay
1969
1969
1966
1966
A Matter of Resistance · as Screenplay
1964
That Tender Age · as Screenplay
1964
1964
1963
Banana Peel · as Screenplay
1963