Philippe de Broca

Philippe de Broca

Born: March 15, 1933
Died: November 26, 2004
in Paris, France
Philippe de Broca (15 March 1933 – 26 November 2004) was a French movie director.

He directed 30 full-length feature films, including the highly successful That Man from Rio (L'Homme de Rio), The Man from Acapulco (Le Magnifique) and On Guard (Le Bossu). His works include historical, romantic epics such as Chouans! and King of Hearts (Le Roi de cœur), as well as comedies with a charismatic, breezy hero ready to embark upon any adventure which comes his way, so long as it means escaping everyday modern life: Practice Makes Perfect (Le Cavaleur), The Devil by the Tail (Le Diable par la queue), The African (L'Africain). He had links with the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo, with whom he made six films, as well as with Jean-Pierre Cassel, Philippe Noiret and Jean Rochefort.

Philippe de Broca was born on 15 March 1933 in Paris, France. He was the son of a cinema set designer and the grandson of a well-known painter, Philippe de Broca. He studied at the Paris Photography and Cinematography School (école Vaugirard), graduating in 1953. He carried out his military service with the service cinématographique des armées (army film service) in Germany and then in Algeria, directing or acting as head cameraman on short films. Greatly affected by the war he witnessed, he vowed to show life in its best light in his future films “because laughter is the best defence against upsets in life”. After his discharge from the military, he set off on a journey taking in the length of Africa in Berliet trucks before returning to Paris.

He began working as an intern with Henri Decoin, before finding assistant positions with Claude Chabrol: Bitter Reunion (Le Beau Serge), The Cousins (Les Cousins), Web of Passion (À Double Tour), François Truffaut: The 400 Blows (Les 400 Coups) and Pierre Schoendoerffer: Ramuntcho. In 1959, Claude Chabrol produced de Broca's first film for him, The Love Game (Les jeux de l’amour) with Jean-Pierre Cassel. De Broca went on to work with Cassel again in The Joker (Le Farceur, 1960), Five Day Lover (L’Amant de cinq jours, 1961), and Male Companion (Un Monsieur de Compagnie, 1964).

De Broca's first commercial success came with Swords of Blood (Cartouche), filmed in 1962. This film also saw two more names become associated with de Broca: the actor Jean-Paul Belmondo and the producer Alexandre Mnouchkine. International acclaim came with That Man from Rio (L'Homme de Rio) in 1964, Up to His Ears (Les tribulations d'un Chinois en Chine) in 1965, The Man from Acapulco (Le Magnifique) in 1973 and Incorrigible (L'Incorrigible) in 1975.

In 1966, he co-wrote, directed and produced King of Hearts (Le Roi de Cœur). This parody of the Great War, which some cinema-lovers consider his masterpiece, was a commercial and personal failure, to de Broca's dismay. Yet it eventually achieved genuine cult-film status during the mid 1970s when it was presented in repertory movie theaters as well as non-theatrical college and university film series across the United States, eventually running for five years at the now defunct film house, the Central Square Cinemas in Cambridge, Massachusetts. ...

Source: Article "Philippe de Broca" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Movies for Philippe de Broca...

Le Terminus des prétentieux
Title: Le Terminus des prétentieux
Character: Self (archive footage)
Released: October 14, 2020
Type: Movie
This year, Michel Audiard would have turned 100. To celebrate the life and work of the French screenwriter and director, Gaumont opens their vault and reveals some unknown information on the legendary witty dialogues writer.
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Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde
Title: Belmondo, il était une fois le beau monde
Character: (images d'archives)
Released: October 25, 2011
Type: Movie
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The Foreign Eye
Title: The Foreign Eye
Character: Self
Released: October 26, 2006
Type: Movie
Fantasies and clichés about Brazil and Brazilians as reinforced by international films, even those actually shot in Brazil. This documentary features interviews with non-Brazilian directors, writers and stars who have been involved in some of those films.
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Elle s'appelait Françoise
Title: Elle s'appelait Françoise
Character: Self
Released: December 12, 1996
Type: Movie
Françoise Dorléac et Catherine Deneuve were nearly twins. Only 18 months separated these sisters who liked to say “Both of us could make the ideal woman”. Françoise Dorléac created her own style, unique even in France : a rare mix of elegance, humor, glamour. This is a touching portrait of an actress whose glory was cut short, seen through the eyes of her sister Catherine.
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Title: Champs-Elysées
Character: Self
Released: January 16, 1982
Type: TV
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Droit de Réponse
Title: Droit de Réponse
Character: Self
Released: December 12, 1981
Type: Movie
"Droit de Réponse" (Right of Reply) is a French debate program broadcast between December 12, 1981 and September 19, 1987 on the TF1 channel, presented by Michel Polac and produced by Maurice Dugowson. Broadcast live on a weekly basis, on Saturdays from 8.30 p.m., the right of reply has been the source of many controversies, due to the various speakers who have come to present their point of view on the show (which leads to famous scandals , remained in the memory of viewers), but also for the variety and relevance of the topics covered, which ensured the success of the program on the air for several years. On French television, this program is considered by some observers as a “pioneer program in terms of controversy-show or clash, in modern language”.
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Title: Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 1975
Type: TV
A talk show presented by Michel Drucker
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Title: Spécial cinéma
Character: Self
Released: September 25, 1974
Type: TV
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The Magnificent One
Title: The Magnificent One
Character: Le second plombier (uncredited)
Released: November 23, 1973
Type: Movie
A writer of pulp fiction imagines himself as the dashing hero and his English neighbor as his love interest.
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Title: Le Grand Échiquier
Character: Self
Released: January 12, 1972
Type: TV
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Le Cinema de Papa
Title: Le Cinema de Papa
Character: Jean Timent
Released: February 10, 1971
Type: Movie
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.
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Title: Samedi soir
Character: Self
Released: January 9, 1971
Type: TV
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The Devil by the Tail
Title: The Devil by the Tail
Character: Un passant suédois
Released: February 7, 1969
Type: Movie
In this comedy, a run-down hotel drums up customers by sabotaging passing cars. The stuck motorists are then obliged to stay. Unfortunately, one of the sabotaged cars belongs to a bank robber. The hotel staff wants the robber out, but they also want to keep his ill-gotten money.
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King of Hearts
Title: King of Hearts
Character: Adolf Hitler
Released: December 21, 1966
Type: Movie
An ornithologist mistaken for an explosives expert is sent alone into a small French town during WWI to investigate a garbled report from the resistance about a bomb which the departing Germans have set to blow up a weapons cache.
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Les pieds nickelés
Title: Les pieds nickelés
Character: le chauffeur de taxi
Released: September 30, 1964
Type: Movie
Three tramps in search of adventure and fortune decide to try their luck at swindling. After an initial failure at shoplifting, they take over a bateau-mouche and exploit tourists in their own way.
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The Little Misses
Title: The Little Misses
Character: Le timide
Released: July 14, 1964
Type: Movie
Four young girls' love of boys put their newly opened all-services company in peril.
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People in Luck
Title: People in Luck
Character: Le passant qui reçoit l'affiche (« Une nuit avec la vedette »)
Released: April 26, 1963
Type: Movie
A light French comedy of 5 segments.
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The Girls of La Rochelle
Title: The Girls of La Rochelle
Released: August 22, 1962
Type: Movie
July 13, 1389. On the initiative of the Mayor, warned by a famous astrologer, the town of La Rochelle is getting ready - 400 years in advance! to celebrate the Fête Nationale with dignity! But the English, who already held almost every square in the Kingdom of France, set their sights on La Rochelle. The enemy fleet cruised off the coast, and while preparations for the festivities continued, orders were given to stretch the enormous chain that was to block access to the port between the two towers. However, this complicated maneuver and responsibility fear to provoke countless avatars.... The fatuity of the captain of the guards, Thimoléon, the reckless coquetry of the governor's daughter, Hiildegarde, the thick stupidity of the adjutant, the deceitfulness of the traitor and the scheming of a mysterious Scotsman lead the city to the brink of the abyss, while the people, excited, stage a fleeting riot in which the daughters of La Rochelle will have the last word.
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Cartouche
Title: Cartouche
Character: L'homme qui crie 'les aristocrates à la lanterne'
Released: March 7, 1962
Type: Movie
In the 18th century, Louis de Bourguignon is working with the Malichot's gang, but their ways are too 'unethical' for him. He creates his own band, acting under the name of Cartouche, making audacious robberies of the rich people, and even distributing the takings with the poor. Thus, cartouche attracts the people's sympathies, Venus's love, and hate from the Police and Malichot... Cartouche can escape all the traps they set at him - except the entrapments of love. Eventually, he will be saved by a woman, at her own cost.
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The Love Game
Title: The Love Game
Character: L'homme au cabaret Le Bateau Mouche
Released: June 1, 1960
Type: Movie
Victor (Jean-Pierre Cassel) and Suzanne (Genevieve Cluny) are a couple at odds about commitment in this light, fast-paced comedy-drama by Philippe de Broca. Suzanne needs more reassurance from Victor about the future of their relationship. He is a painter with an inspired creative side who finds it difficult to understand Suzanne's point of view. They are happy together; what is the problem? So when a friend comes into the picture and proposes to Suzanne, Victor suddenly realizes that Suzanne was right. Without a formal commitment, the suddenly insecure man does not like the view from the opposite shore.
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Breathless
Title: Breathless
Character: A Journalist (uncredited)
Released: March 16, 1960
Type: Movie
A small-time thief steals a car and impulsively murders a motorcycle policeman. Wanted by the authorities, he attempts to persuade a girl to run away to Italy with him.
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The 400 Blows
Title: The 400 Blows
Character: Man in Funfair (uncredited)
Released: June 3, 1959
Type: Movie
For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel, life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including his neglectful parents, Antoine spends his days with his best friend, Rene, trying to plan for a better life. When one of their schemes goes awry, Antoine ends up in trouble with the law, leading to even more conflicts with unsympathetic authority figures.
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Le beau Serge
Title: Le beau Serge
Character: Jacques Rivette de la Chasuble
Released: June 6, 1958
Type: Movie
François returns to his village after a long absence. He finds his friend Serge who has married Yvonne, and has developed an alcohol problem after the death of their stillborn child. Serge has become an angry, bitter figure not unlike the roles of James Dean, refusing to face reality and adulthood and François must help him.
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Title: Cinépanorama
Character: Self
Released: February 4, 1956
Type: TV