- Philippe de Broca
Philippe de Broca (
March 15 ,1933 –November 26 ,2004 ) was a Frenchfilm director .Born Philippe Claude Alex de Broca de Ferrussac in
Neuilly-sur-Seine ,Hauts-de-Seine , the son of a photographer of noble origins. de Broca was a cinephile from an early age, and he studied at the l'École technique de photographie et de cinématographie (ETPC). To carry out his national service, de Broca went to Algeria during theAlgerian War where he worked in the French army's film section for three years and saw a side of life which he disliked and wished to view in a different, more eccentric, light. de Broca began his career working as a camera man on several African documentaries, and later as an assistant to some of the most prominent directors of the French nouvelle vague (New Wave) movement in the 50s. He served an apprenticeship withHenri Decoin , became assistant toClaude Chabrol on "Le Beau Serge " (Handsome Serge) in 1957, and later assistedFrançois Truffaut with "Les quatre-cent coups" (The 400 Blows).He made his first film in 1959, a low-budget improvisational comedy "
Les Jeux de l'amour. " (The Love Game). de Broca did not have a real success, however, until directing "Cartouche " (1962). Cartouche was the first of a series of major box office hits by de Broca, including "L'Homme de Rio " (1964) and "Les Tribulations d'un chinois en Chine " (1965). He often worked in comedy, but not exclusively. He was well known for his combination of madcap farce and adventure, within France and beyond. His anti-war film "Le Roi de cœur" achieved international popularity (after suffering at the box office in France), and gained cult status in America. de Broca's most recent hit was "Le Bossu" (1997).Throughout his career de Broca worked with many giants of French cinema, among them
Jean-Paul Belmondo ,Patrick Dewaere ,Catherine Deneuve ,Daniel Auteuil ,Philippe Noiret ,Yves Montand andJean Rochefort . Many of his films' lead actors and actresses are in multiple films of his. These people includeGeneviève Bujold ,Jean-Pierre Cassel ,Nicole Garcia ,Catherine Deneuve ,Marthe Keller ,Jean-Paul Belmondo ,Annie Girardot , andPhilippe Noiret .De Broca had a son with Marthe Keller in 1971. He was married to another of his actresses
Margot Kidder (1983–1984), and later to actressValérie Rojan , with whom he had two children.De Broca died in
Neuilly-sur-Seine , France, as a result ofcancer . He was awarded theLegion of Honor for his contributions to French culture.Filmography
*"
Les Jeux de l'amour " (1959)
*"Le farceur " (1960)
*"Les Sept Péchés capitaux " (1961), sketches
*"L'amant de cinq jours " (1961)
*"Les Veinards " (1962), sketches
*"Cartouche" (1962)
*"Un Monsieur de compagnie " (1964)
*"L'Homme de Rio " (1964)
*"Les Tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine" (1965)
*"Le Roi de cœur" (1966)
*"Le Plus vieux métier du monde " (1967),sketches
*"Le Diable par la queue " (1968)
*"Les Caprices de Marie " (1969)
*"La Poudre d'escampette " (1971)
*"Le Magnifique " (1973)
*"L'Incorrigible " (1975)
*"Julie pot de colle " (1977)
*"Tendre Poulet " (1977)
*"Le Cavaleur " (1978)
*"On a volé la cuisse de Jupiter " (1980)
*"Psy " (1980)
*"L'Africain" (1983)
*"La Gitane " (1986)
*"Chouans ! " (1987)
*"Mes Mille et une nuits" (1990)
*"Les Clés du paradis " (1991)
*"Le Jardin des plantes " (1994)
*"Le Bossu" (1997)
*"Amazone" (2000)
*"Beau Masque" (2003)
*"Vipère au poing" (2004)Additional resources
* Wakeman, John, ed. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945–1985". New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988, pp 158–162.
External links
*imdb name | id=0003606 | name=Philippe de Broca
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.