Tribute to Michel Piccoli

6 films

Centenary of his birth 1925 - 2025

To celebrate the centenary of the birth of Michel Piccoli on December 27, 1925 in Paris, revisit the journey of an exceptional actor, a major figure in French and European cinema. From his iconic roles with Sautet, Buñuel and Godard to his more secret and daring collaborations, he reveals an incomparable interpretive palette. This program, which offers classics and restored films, offers a living portrait of a free, demanding and profoundly modern artist.

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Drama, Classics19701h29
by Claude Sautet

An ordinary accident on a country road, a car driving at excessive speed, rolls over several times... The victim is a forty-year-old architect, Pierre, well-to-do, separated from his wife Catherine, with a grown son and a mistress Helene. He is at the age where one asks oneself questions. Ejected from the car, lying in the grass of the meadow, half conscious but already dying without knowing it. Pierre relives a few episodes from his past, rediscovering the sweetness of the "things of life", until the moment when, dreaming with his family, next to the family boat, he sinks without recourse into death.

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Thriller, Classics, Comedy-drama19711h55
by Claude Sautet

Max is a Paris detective, aloof, independently wealthy, and frustrated by gangs of robbers whom he cannot catch. To re-establish his stature and save face, he decides to inveigle a group of petty thieves (led by an old acquaintance) to rob a bank. A reluctant captain provides Max intelligence and Max starts spending evenings with Lilly, a prostitute who's the girlfriend of the group's leader. He poses as a rich banker with money to burn and encourages Lilly to think about her future. He hints at a payroll that comes through his bank. The plot works, the petty thieves think they're ready for a big score, and the cops are in place. What could go wrong with Max's cold plan? Who's entrapped?

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Comedy-drama, Classics19742h00
by Claude Sautet

Three friends face mid-life crises. Paul is a writer who's blocked. François has lost his ideals and practices medicine for the money; his wife grows distant, even hostile. The charming Vincent, everyone's favorite, faces bankruptcy, his mistress leaves him, and his wife, from whom he's separated, wants a divorce. The strains on the men begin to show particularly in François and Paul's friendship and in Vincent's health. A younger man, Jack, becomes attractive to Lucie, François's wife. Another young friend, the boxer Jean, who's like a son to Vincent and whose girlfriend is pregnant, has taken a bout with a merciless slugger. Has happiness eluded this circle of friends?

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Comedy, Thriller, Literary adaptation, Classics19651h35
by Costa-Gavras

Six people travel by train overnight from Marseilles to Paris. When the train arrives at its destination, one of the passengers, a girl, is found dead in a sleeping berth. The police led by Inspector Grazzi investigate the other five passengers, suspecting that one of them was responsible. However, as the investigation is stepped up, the other passengers start turning up dead. It is then up to the last remaining two to solve the case, before they become the next victims.

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Literary adaptation, Drama, Classics19631h50
by Jean-Luc Godard

American film producer Jeremy Prokosch hires respected Austrian director Fritz Lang to direct a film adaptation of Homer's Odyssey. Dissatisfied with Lang's treatment of the material as an art film, Prokosch hires Paul Javal, a novelist and playwright, to rework the script. The conflict between artistic expression and commercial opportunity parallels Paul's sudden estrangement from his wife Camille Javal , who becomes aloof with Paul after being left alone with Prokosch, a millionaire playboy.

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Historical film, Classics, Literary adaptation19671h50
by Costa-Gavras

In this WW II drama, twelve captured French soldiers await their impending executions in a German prison camp. Fortunately, a wily resistance fighter and his men come to rescue the ill-fated dozen. The rescue attempt succeeds, but the rebels become worried when they discover a thirteenth prisoner who has come with the others. This fellow carries no ID, and now the fighters must decide whether he should die on the spot or continue on with the others. One of the group members votes for immediate execution. Later the stranger accompanies the group on a raid and ends up nearly sacrificing his life to save a child from being shot. The rebel leader is not impressed and orders that one of the men kill the stranger down by the river. The dutiful soldier listens to the stranger who tells him the truth: he is a deserter and a fervent pacifist. The soldier allows the deserter to escape. That night the stranger returns and tries to warn the rebels of a Nazi ambush. The group leader heads off to warn the others, but he is too late and they are all recaptured. Later all but the pacifist are hanged.

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