Visit our website:
http://www.france24.com
Like us on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/FRANCE24.English
Follow us on Twitter:
https://twitter.com/France24_en
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00He is one of France's biggest movie stars.
00:02He had a six-decade career.
00:04Now, here are just some of the awards he's won.
00:07Over those decades, he won a César Award,
00:10that's the equivalent in France of an Oscar,
00:13a Cannes, a Pandore, that's one of the top prizes,
00:16at the world's biggest film festival,
00:18an honorary Golden Bear at Berlin,
00:21as well as a Legion of Honor,
00:24another iconic award to win in France.
00:26Now, his career really took off in the 60s
00:29during what was called the New Wave movement,
00:32which was really the resurgence, like post-war,
00:34of France's cinema industry.
00:36Now, as the last report mentioned,
00:38his films included the likes of Plan Soleil,
00:42Rocco, and his brothers.
00:43And I think his most acclaimed ones
00:45would have to be La Piscine or The Swimming Pool.
00:47That was actually adapted in recent years
00:49into a film starring Tilda Swinton,
00:52as well as Le Samurai.
00:53Now, that really had quite an impact
00:56on many of the world's top filmmakers,
00:59including Martin Scorsese and Quentin Tarantino.
01:03Now, what kind of linked all his roles
01:05were he often played policemen or hitmen,
01:09or these really kind of charming chancers,
01:12because he really played on his good looks
01:15and charm in most of his films.
01:17Now, he's worked with some of the most iconic directors
01:20in cinema, such as Louis Mal, Jean-Luc Godard,
01:23and Antonioni.
01:25Now, he actually retired from acting in 1997,
01:29and despite being admired by Scorsese, Tarantino,
01:33as well as Leonardo DiCaprio,
01:35saying that he was one of the coolest actors
01:37in the history of cinema,
01:39he actually never made it in Hollywood.
01:42Jenny, tell us a bit more about his personal life.
01:44It was colorful, to say the least,
01:46perhaps more controversial.
01:49That's right.
01:50Very colorful, very controversial.
01:52Now, you could say he was a bit of a playboy in the day.
01:56He had many different relationships with actresses,
01:59such as Mireille d'Arc, Nathalie Delon,
02:02as well as quite early on in his career
02:05with the iconic actress, Romy Schneider.
02:08Now, he actually said in recent years
02:09that she was the real love of his life,
02:12but he actually regretted having not married her.
02:15Now, in more complicated legal matters,
02:18he was involved in something called the Markovic affair
02:20in 1968.
02:22Now, that was after Delon's bodyguard
02:24was found dead,
02:26and there were many conspiracies around his death,
02:29such as involving the criminal underworld,
02:32as well as the then presidential candidate, George Pompidou.
02:36So all very mysterious.
02:38We never really found out what happened with that.
02:40Now, actually, this year, he had more controversy,
02:43a legal controversy.
02:44His home was actually raided,
02:46and police seized 72 firearms
02:50and 3,000 rounds of ammunition,
02:52and he was actually not allowed to have any of those.
02:55So hopefully he'll be remembered
02:57for his illustrious film career
02:58and not for these kind of complicated legal matters.