Marcel Ophuls is a German filmmaker. He specializes mainly in documentary films. In the past, Marcel has played roles in films himself. The military theme is often raised in Ophuls' works.
Biography and education
Marcel Ophuls was born on November 1, 1927 in Frankfurt am Main. He was an only child. Father - Max Ophüls - German film director, and mother - Hildegard Wall - actress. After the fascist party came to power, the Ophuls family left Germany and settled in France, in Paris. In 1940, they fled to Vichy, and a year later to the United States.
Marcel attended the High School of Hollywood and Western College in Los Angeles. In 1946, Ophuls served in the theatrical department of the American army in Japan. Marcel later attended the University of California, Berkeley.
Career and creativity
In 1950, Ophuls returned to Paris and became assistant director to Julien Duvivier. He also assisted the director, producer and screenwriter Anatol Litvak. In 1960, he directed the first short documentary film with the original title Matisse ou Le talent de bonheur. Roles in the film were played by Claude Dauphin, famous for the film "The main thing is to love", Jeanne Moreau from "The Fading Light" and Henri Serre, who starred in the film "Jules and Jim". Ophuls wrote the script himself.
Two years later, Marcel, together with Shintaro Ishihara and Renzo Rossellini, directed the melodrama Love at Twenty. The roles in the film were given to Jean-Pierre Leo from 400 Blows, Marie-France Pisier, who starred in the drama The Other Side of Midnight, Cristina Gaioni, Geronimo Meignier, Eleanor Rossi Drago from Girlfriends, Nami Tamura, Barbara Lass, Zbigniew Tsibulsky, who played in Ash and Diamond, Vladislav Kovalsky from The Double Life of Veronica, and Barbara Frey. In the center of the plot is the maturing Antoine, a rebel in the past. The main character falls in love with Colette. The painting is a psychological study of adolescence. She was nominated for a Golden Bear at the Berlin Film Festival.
Filmography
In 1963, Ophuls became the director of the comedy Banana Peel. The picture tells about the adventures of adventurers. Fraudsters are clever at getting money from millionaires. Together with Charles Williams and Daniel Boulanger, Marcel took part in the development of the film's script. The main roles were played by Jeanne Moreau, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Claude Brasseur, Jean-Pierre Mariel, Gert Frebe and Paulette Dubo. Ophuls has already collaborated with some of the actors. The comedy has been shown in Italy, France, Sweden, Germany, the Netherlands, Japan, Denmark. She also had success with audiences and film critics in Spain, Argentina, Finland, Uruguay, USA, Mexico, Turkey and Hungary.
Then came the thriller with the original title Faites vos jeux, mesdames. Marcel became its director and screenwriter. The main roles in the film were played by Eddie Constantin and Nelly Benedetti, Daniel Seccaldi and Laura Valenzuela. After a four-year hiatus, Marcel directed the drama Sadness and Pity. In the first part of the film, there is an interview with a man accused of desertion. He escaped from prison, fought with Charles de Gaulle's army in England and was promoted to prime minister in France. The second part tells the story of a French aristocrat who shares the ideas of fascism and goes to fight as part of the German army. The film was nominated for an Oscar for Best Documentary.
In 1970, Marcel directed the TV drama Clavigo, inviting actors such as Thomas Holtzmann, Rolf Boysen, Friedhelm Ptok, Christa Keller, Kira Mladek and Hans Heckermann to play the roles. In the script for the film, the works of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe were used. Then he became the director and screenwriter of the comedy "Full Two Days". In 1971, Ophuls began work on the documentary Feelings of Loss. The picture was filmed in 6 weeks. It consists of several interviews given by Protestants, Catholics, politicians and soldiers. Their stories are interspersed with television news of explosions and violence. In the center of the plot is the death of 4 people. With his film, Marcel wanted to show the value of life. When the drama was ready, the BBC called it pro-Irish.
In 1976, a military-themed documentary "In Memory of Justice" was filmed based on Telford Taylor's book with the original title Nuremberg and Vietnam: An American Tragedy. The picture contains several interviews with the writer. His book is a starting point for discussing concepts such as individual and collective responsibility. Six years later, the documentary Yorktown: Le sens d'une victoire was released.
Then Marcel acted as a director, screenwriter and producer of the military historical documentary "Hotel Terminus: The Time and Life of Klaus Barbie". The plot tells the story of the life of a man who was called the "butcher of Lyons". He was the chief of the Gestapo in Lyon. The picture shows his life in the pre-war period and after the war. 1994 saw the release of the documentary Veillées d'armes, co-produced by France, Germany and Great Britain. This war drama features actors such as Christiana Amanpour, Paul Amar, Sergio Apollonio, Nigel Bateson, Martin Bell and Eric Bove.
Among the director's recent works are the biographical documentary dramas The Traveler and Ain't Misbehavin. The Traveler has been featured at the Cannes Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Reykjavik International Film Festival, New York Jewish Film Festival and Thessaloniki Documentary Festival.
