French filmmaker Jean-Paul Rappeneau, the director of Cyrano de Bergerac and Le Hussard sur le toit, has died at the age of 94, his family announced.
Rappeneau achieved his greatest commercial and critical triumph in 1990 with Cyrano de Bergerac, an adaptation of the classic play by Edmond Rostand starring Gérard Depardieu in the title role.
The film won ten César awards in France, took the best actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival for Depardieu, and won the Golden Globe for best foreign language film. The box-office hit drew 4.7 million viewers in French cinemas and more than 10 million worldwide.
The César Awards represent France's highest cinematic honours, while the Cannes Film Festival is among the most prestigious gatherings in global cinema. Rostand's 1897 verse play about a swashbuckling poet with a large nose is a cornerstone of French literature, and Rappeneau's lavish period adaptation brought the story to a massive international audience.
Screenwriting and Early Directing Career
Known as a popular filmmaker who favoured quality over quantity throughout his career, Rappeneau initially entered the industry as a screenwriter. He co-wrote Louis Malle's Zazie dans le métro in 1960 and Vie privée in 1962, as well as Philippe de Broca's 1964 comedy L'Homme de Rio starring Jean-Paul Belmondo.
Rappeneau made his directorial debut with La Vie de Château in 1966. He scored his first major success as a director with Les Mariés de l'an II in 1971, which paired Jean-Paul Belmondo with Marlène Jobert.
He followed that success with Le Sauvage in 1975, starring Yves Montand and Catherine Deneuve, and Tout feu, tout flamme in 1982, in which Montand starred alongside Isabelle Adjani.
Belmondo, Deneuve, Montand, and Adjani were among the most celebrated stars of French cinema during the late twentieth century, establishing Rappeneau as a premier maker of popular cinematic comedy and drama.
Later Films and Family Legacy
Following the triumph of Cyrano de Bergerac, Rappeneau directed Le Hussard sur le toit in 1995. Adapted from the novel by Jean Giono, the period drama starred Olivier Martinez and Juliette Binoche.
After a long hiatus in his directorial career, Rappeneau returned to make two final feature films. He directed Bon voyage in 2003, reuniting with Depardieu and Adjani, and concluded his filmography with Belles familles in 2015, starring Mathieu Amalric, Marine Vacth, and Gilles Lellouche.
Rappeneau came from a creative family and passed that artistic legacy on to his children. He was the brother of film director Elisabeth Rappeneau, and is survived by his sons, director Julien Rappeneau and musician Martin Rappeneau.
