Claude Berri (French: [bɛʁi]; 1 July 1934 – 12 January 2009) was a French film director, producer, screenwriter, distributor and actor.
Berri was a leading figure of the French film industry both a director and as a producer. Following a short film that won an Academy Award, Berri achieved success with his first feature film, The Two of Us (1967). He then had a varied career, producing and distributing both mainstream and avant-garde films. During the 1970s, Berri's films as a director were mostly comedies but he later found increased success with several high-profile literary adaptations. In 1986, his two-part film Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring won public and critical acclaim, becoming his best-known work. He next directed Uranus (1990) and most notably Germinal (1993). In 1997, he directed the historical biopic Lucie Aubrac.
Directors whose films were produced by Berri include Bertrand Blier, Edouard Molinaro, Francis Veber, Roman Polanski, Jacques Demy, Jean-Jacques Annaud, Jean Yanne, Claude Sautet, Costa Gavras, Miloš Forman, Philippe de Broca, Claude Zidi, Patrice Chéreau, Alain Chabat, Abdellatif Kechiche, Yvan Attal, Didier Bourdon, Bernard Campan, Christian Vincent and Dany Boon.
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Early life
Born Claude Beri Langmann in Paris, Berri was the son of Jewish immigrant parents. His mother, Beila (née Bercu), was from Romania, and his father, Hirsch Langmann, was a furrier from Poland. In 1943, during the Nazi occupation of France, Berri's parents entrusted him for his safety to a family in the countryside. He spent the rest of the occupation being fostered by "an antisemitic couple" who were unaware that he was Jewish. His sister, screenwriter and editor Arlette Langmann, was born after the war.
Career
Berri's original vocation was to be an actor. He began a career in the early 1950s but struggled to find roles, which prompted him to turn to directing and eventually producing. In 1965, he gained notice for The Chicken, which won the Award for best short film at the 38th Academy Awards.
In 1967, Berri directed The Two of Us (Le Vieil homme et l'enfant), a partially autobiographical film that told the story of a Jewish child, entrusted during World War II to a benevolent and antisemitic old farmer who remains unaware that the boy he is caring for is a Jew. The film was a great success in France and abroad. Berri also adapted the story into a novel, released the same year as the film.
During the years that followed, Berri became active as a producer and film distributor while continuing to direct his own films. Also in 1967, with his associate (later brother-in-law) Jean-Pierre Rassam, Berri bought the international distribution rights for Miloš Forman's The Firemen's Ball which was a great success and was nominated to the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film. Berri's company, Renn Productions, which he had founded to produce The Two of Us, gradually became a major player in the French film industry.
Whereas Berri's films as a director were not major box-office successes during the 1970s, he was more fortunate as a producer. He notably associated himself with Christian Fechner to produce Claude Zidi's successful comedies, including those starring the comedy team Les Charlots who were then particularly popular in France. He also produced films starring Pierre Richard, then France's new comedy star, directed by Richard himself or by Zidi. While enjoying box-office success as a producer or co-producer of comedies, Berri was also involved in producing more challenging avant-garde films, such as Jean Eustache's The Mother and the Whore (1973) or Jacques Rivette's Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974). In 1979, he produced Roman Polanski's Tess (1979), which won the César Award for Best Film in 1980 and was nominated in 1981 to the Academy Award for Best Picture.
Throughout his directing and producing career, Berri appeared occasionally as an actor, in his own films or in those of other directors. He played starring roles in five of his films, Mazel Tov ou le Mariage (1968), Le Cinéma de papa (1971), Sex Shop (1972), Le Mâle du siècle (1975) and La Débandade (1999). Most of his other appearances were supporting parts or cameos, one notable exception being a starring role in Serge Gainsbourg's Stan the Flasher (1989).
Personal life
Berri's first marriage was with Anne-Marie Rassam, sister of film producer Jean-Pierre Rassam. They had two children: actor Julien Rassam (1968–2002) and actor and film producer Thomas Langmann (b. 1971). They separated in the late 1970s, though they were not divorced until 1987. Anne-Marie, who suffered from bipolar disorder, committed suicide in 1997 by jumping from a balcony.
Berri's second marriage was with costume designer Sylvie Gautrelet, with whom he had a son, Darius (b.1986).
Already suffering from depression and affected by the death of his first wife, Berri was further impacted when his eldest son also committed suicide in 2002. Julien Rassam had been physically disabled since an accident two years earlier. Berri's film L'Un reste, l'autre part (2005) was inspired by this family tragedy.
From 1998 to his death, Berri was the partner of author and producer Nathalie Rheims.
Berri was a connoisseur and collector of fine arts and photography. He was the owner of two galleries in Paris that specialized in modern art. Art collecting was a passion project for Berri: in 1986, he sold the majority of his shares in Renn Productions to Pathé in order to fund this activity.
Death and succession
Berri died of a stroke, in Paris, aged 74, one week info filming the comedy Trésor. The film was completed by François Dupeyron.
After Berri's death, a collection of nine works by Robert Ryman, Ad Reinhardt, Giorgio Morandi, Richard Serra and Lucio Fontana was promised to the Centre Pompidou in Paris in lieu of tax. But Berri's heirs ultimately sold them to Qatar, through French art dealer Philippe Ségalot, for about €50 million.
A legal dispute over Berri's succession eventually broke out between Thomas Langmann, his half-brother Darius, the latter's mother Sylvie Gautrelet, and Nathalie Rheims. Thomas accused Darius, Gautrelet and Rheims of misappropriating his father's assets, notably by stealing valuable works of art from his extensive collection. In July 2015, Thomas Langmann filed a complaint against his half-brother. In March 2025, Darius Langmann, Gautrelet, Rheims and several other people including an art expert, a family member and former employees of Claude Berri, were indicted for conspiracy to commit aggravated theft, breach of trust and tax evasion.
Filmography
Director
1962: Le Poulet (short) (released 1965) Winner Best Live Action Short Film Oscar (also produced)
1964: Les Baisers (segment « Baiser de 16 ans »)
1964: La Chance et l'amour (segment « La Chance du guerrier »)
1967: Le Vieil Homme et l'Enfant (US title: The Two of Us) (also screenwriter)
1968: Mazel Tov ou le Mariage
1969: Le Pistonné
1971: Le Cinéma de papa
1972: Sex-shop
1975: Le Mâle du siècle
1976: La Première fois
1977: Un moment d'égarement
1980: Je vous aime
1981: Le Maître d'école
1983: Tchao Pantin (English title: So Long, Stooge)
1986: Jean de Florette
1986: Manon des Sources (US title: Manon of the Spring) — sequel to Jean de Florette
1990: Uranus
1993: Germinal
1996: Lucie Aubrac
1999: La débandade
2002: Une femme de ménage (English title: A Housekeeper)
Producer
All his films as a director, plus:
Writer
1967: Le Vieil Homme et l'Enfant, novel released the same year as the film version. (English: The Two of Us. Helen Weaver (translation), Lydia Rosier (drawings). Morrow. 1968. OCLC 343943.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link))
1968: Mazel Tov ou le Mariage
1969: Le Pistonné
1970: Le Cinéma de Papa
1972: Sex-shop
1975: Le Mâle du Siècle (English title: Male of the Century )
1976: La Première Fois
1977: Un moment d'égarement
1980: Je vous aime
1981: Le Maître d'École
1983: Tchao Pantin (English title: So Long, Stooge)
1986: Jean de Florette
1986: Manon des Sources (US title: Manon of the Spring)
1990: Uranus
1993: Germinal
1997: Lucie Aubrac
1999: La Débandade
2002: Une Femme de Ménage (English title: A Housekeeper)
2004: L'un Reste, l'Autre Part (English title: One Stays, the Other Leaves)
2007: Ensemble, c'est tout (English title: [Hunting and Gathering)
Publications
Le Vieil homme et l'enfant, Raoul Solar, 1967
Autoportrait, Léo Scheer, 2003
