French filmmaker and screenwriter Jean-Paul Rappeneau, best known for directing the Oscar-nominated Cyrano de Bergerac, has died aged 94.
He died on Tuesday (September 1), his son confirmed to French news agency AFP today (September 2).
Rappeneau directed eight features over a career spanning nearly five decades. His adaptation of Edmond Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, starring Gérard Depardieu in the title role, was an international success with five Oscar nominations in 1991, winning for costume design, and a Golden Globe win for best foreign-language film. It dominated France’s César Awards, winning 10 prizes including best film and best director.
Rappeneau was born in Auxerre in 1932 and began his career as an assistant director before establishing himself as a screenwriter with credits including Louis Malle’s Zazie Danes Le Métro and A Very Private Affair, and Philippe de Broca’s Jean-Paul Belmondo-starring That Man From Rio.
He made his feature directing debut with A Matter Of Resistance (La Vie De Château), starring Catherine Deneuve and Philippe Noiret, which won France’s prestigious Louis Delluc prize. He went on to direct The Married Couple Of The Year Two (Les Mariés Ee L’an II) starring Belmondo and Marlène Jobert, which played in competition at Cannes, Lovers Like Us (Le Sauvage) with Yves Montand and Deneuve, and All Fired Up (Tout Feu, Tout Flamme), starring Isabelle Adjani and Montand.
His further notable films include large-scale literary adaptation The Horseman On The Roof (Le Hussard sur le toit) starring Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez, wartime comedy-drama Bon Voyage, starring Isabelle Adjani and Depardieu, and his final feature Families (Belles Familles) that premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) in 2015.
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