Skip to main content
Claude Lelouch

Claude Lelouch

Director · b. 1937 · Paris, France

Claude Barruck Joseph Lelouch (born 30 October 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer. Lelouch grew up in an Algerian Jewish family. He emerged as a prominent director in the 1960s. Lelouch gained critical acclaim for his 1966 romantic melodrama film A Man and A Woman. At the 39th Academy Awards in 1967, A Man and a Woman won Best Original Screenplay and Best Foreign Language Film. Lelouch was also nominated for Best Director. While his films have gained him international recognition since the 1960s, Lelouch's methods and style of film are known for attracting criticism. Lelouch was born in the 9th arrondissement of Paris to Charlotte (née Abeilard) and Simon Lelouch. His father was born to an Algerian Jewish family while his mother was a convert to Judaism. Lelouch says that his first contact with cinema was very young: "My mother hid me in movie theaters when I was little. We were wanted by the Gestapo. [...] Cinema, for starters, saved my life." Of his personal faith, he says "Today I believe in God. My faith was sparked when I made a film in Israel. Over there, it is impossible not to believe in God. I loved the places of worship of all the religions. Everything which happens is for the best. I sometimes have the feeling that my inspiration comes from heaven. I think it is wonderful to be Jewish." His father bought him a camera as a fresh start after his failure in the baccalaureat. He started his career with a reportage – one of the first to film daily life in the Soviet Union, with the camera hidden under his coat as he made his personal journey. He also filmed sporting events, like the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the Tour de France. Lelouch served in the French Army working in the film unit where he made over 100 films. He was demobilized in 1960. His first full-length film as director, Le Propre de l'homme, was decried by the critics: "Claude Lelouch, remember this name well, because you will not hear it again" – Cahiers du cinéma said. La femme spectacle (1963), following prostitutes, women shopping, going for nose-jobs, was censored for its misogynist tendency. A Man and a Woman changed his fortunes and was met with favour even by the Cahiers group. The 1981 musical epic Les Uns et les Autres is widely considered as his masterpiece, and his credits now add up to 50 or so films. His 1976 film, C'était un rendez-vous purportedly features a Ferrari 275 GTB being driven at extreme speed through the streets of Paris at dawn. The entire short is shot from the point of view of the car. Legend has it that Lelouch was arrested after it was first shown publicly. In a 2006 interview, Lelouch stated that he drove his own Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 in the film and created a soundtrack of the radically different sounding Italian sports car for effect. He collaborated more than two dozen times with composer Francis Lai. They scored a great hit with the theme song for the film A Man and a Woman sung by Nicole Croisille and Pierre Barouh, and more than 300 versions of the song exist. In 1993 he was the president of the jury at the 18th Moscow International Film Festival. ... Source: Article "Claude Lelouch" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA.

Series24

  • TV5.7

    Sacrée soirée

    1987 · 5 votes

  • TV6.8

    Champs-Elysées

    1982 · 9 votes

  • TV3.6

    Vivement dimanche

    1998 · 9 votes

  • TV7.0

    The Oscars

    1953 · 84 votes

  • TV9.0

    Midi Première

    1975 · 2 votes

  • TV9.5

    Spécial cinéma

    1974 · 2 votes

  • TV6.0
  • TV6.1

    C à vous

    2009 · 4 votes

  • TV8.0

    Le Grand Échiquier

    1972 · 3 votes

  • TV5.0

    Ciné regards

    1978 · 1 votes

  • TV4.3
  • TV6.0

    Midi trente

    1972 · 1 votes

  • TV8.0

    Discorama

    1959 · 1 votes

  • TV5.8

    Télématin

    1985 · 2 votes

  • TV6.1

    Nulle part ailleurs

    1987 · 8 votes

  • TV6.0

    Samedi soir

    1971 · 1 votes

  • TV4.5

    Clique

    2013 · 3 votes

  • TV8.0

    En aparté

    The Apartment

    2001 · 4 votes

  • TV3.3
  • TV
  • TV4.6

    Cérémonie des César

    1976 · 5 votes

  • TV1.0

    Beau geste

    2023 · 1 votes

  • TV7.7

    Dix pour cent

    Call My Agent!

    2015 · 210 votes

  • TV9.0

    Un dimanche à la campagne

    The Unexpected Getaway

    2022 · 1 votes

Movies22

  • Movie8.3

    Bardot

    2025 · 8 votes

  • Movie7.7

    Belmondo, itinéraire...

    2011 · 12 votes

  • Movie7.9

    D'un film à l'autre

    2011 · 7 votes

  • Movie6.0

    Viva la vie

    Long Live Life

    1984 · 21 votes

  • Movie6.0
  • Movie7.0

    Un jour dans la vie du cinéma français

    A Day in the Life of French Cinema

    2002 · 1 votes

  • Movie8.0

    Belmondo l'incorrigible

    Belmondo: The Incorrigible

    2022 · 6 votes

  • Movie7.6
  • Movie

    La légende de la Palme d'Or... continue

    The Legend of the Palme d’Or Continues

    2025

  • Movie
  • Movie6.2

    Tourner pour vivre

    Shoot to Live

    2022 · 2 votes

  • Movie6.8

    Trintignant par Trintignant

    Trintignant by Trintignant

    2021 · 5 votes

  • Movie6.0
  • Movie6.5

    Le Far West

    Far West

    1973 · 10 votes

  • Movie7.8

    Belmondo par Belmondo

    Belmondo by Belmondo

    2016 · 12 votes

  • Movie4.2

    Une pour toutes

    One 4 All

    1999 · 9 votes

  • Movie4.8
  • Movie7.1

    Visions of Eight

    1973 · 17 votes

  • Movie5.8

    Happy New Year

    1987 · 11 votes

  • Movie7.4

    C'était un rendez-vous

    1976 · 92 votes

  • Movie6.3
  • Movie7.0