Robert Hossein
Robert Hossein was a French film actor of Parsi origin, director and writer. He directed the 1982 adaption of Les Misérables, and appeared in Vice and Virtue, Le Casse, Les Uns et les Autres and Venus Beauty Institute. His most recent roles include starring as Michèle Mercier's husband in the Angélique series and as a Catholic priest who falls in love with Claude Jade and becomes a communist in Prêtres interdits (Forbidden Priests) in 1973. Hossein started directing films in 1956 with Les salauds vont en enfer from a story by Frédéric Dard whose novels and plays went on to furnish Hossein with much of his later film material. Right from the start Hossein established his characteristic trademarks: using a seemingly straightforward suspense plot and subverting its conventions (sometimes to the extent of a complete disregard of the traditional demand for a final twist or revelation) in order to concentrate on ritualistic relationships. This is the director's running preoccupation which is always stressed in his films by an extraordinary command of film space and often striking frame compositions where the geometry of human figures and set design is used to accentuate the psychological set-up of the scene. The mechanisms of guilt and the way it destroys relationships is another recurring theme, presumably influenced by Hossein's lifelong interest in the works of Dostoyevski. Although Hossein had some modest international successes with films like Toi, le venin and Le vampire de Dusseldorf, he was much singled out for scorching criticism by the critics and followers of the New Wave for the unashamedly melodramatic frameworks of his films. The fact that he was essentially an auteur director with a consistent set of themes and an extraordinary mastery of original and unusual approaches to staging his stories, was never appreciated. He was not averse to trying his hand at widely different genres and was never defeated, making the strikingly different spaghetti western Une corde, un Colt and the low-budgeted but daringly subversive period drama J'ai tué Raspoutine. However, because of the lack of wider success and continuing adverse criticism, Hossein virtually ended his film directing career in 1970, having concentrated on theatre where his achievements were never questioned, and subsequently returning to film directing only twice. With two or three exceptions, his films remain commercially unavailable and very difficult to see. He is the son of André Hossein a Zoroastrian French composer of Azerbaijani-Tajik descent, and a Jewish comedy actress from Kiev. He was married three times: first to Marina Vlady (he has two sons with her, Pierre and Igor), later to Caroline Eliacheff (with whom he has a son, Nicholas). He is currently married to actress Candice Patou, with whom he has one son, Julien. According to an article written by Emannuel Peze, Hossein experienced a conversion to Catholicism in 1971 during a visit to the Marian apparition at San Damiano in Lombardo Italy. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Hossein, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Angelique and the Sultan
as Joffrey de Peyrac "Le Rescator"This film finds Angélique in a North African Muslim kingdom where she is now part of the...
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The Professional
as Commissaire RosenFrench secret service agent Josselin Beaumont is dispatched to take down African warlord N'Jala....
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Rififi
as Rémi GrutterOut of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo...
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Angelique
as Jeoffrey de PeyracIn 17th-century France, beautiful country maiden Angélique marries wealthy neighbor Jeoffray de...
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Angelique and the King
as Jeoffrey de PeyracSoon after her latest husband death, the King himself (Louis XIV) meets with our heroine and...
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Les Miserables
as Le maître de cérémonieIn France during World War II, a poor and illiterate man, Henri Fortin, is introduced to Victor...
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Untamable Angelique
as Joffrey de Peyrac "Le Rescator"Angelique goes in search of her husband Joffrey de Peyrac who did not die on the stake.
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The Burglars
as RalphIn Athens a collection of emeralds is successfully stolen by a team of robbers, led by...
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Cemetery Without Crosses
as ManuelMaria seeks revenge on the killers of her husband. She enlists the help of her husband's best...
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Bolero: Dance of Life
as Simon Meyer / Robert PratThe film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and...
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Venus Beauty Institute
as L'aviateurAging beautician Angèle, already wounded by a long-ago romance, gets awkwardly dumped at a train...
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The Battle of El Alamein
as Erwin RommelJune 1942. As Rommel swept toward the Nile, the fall of Egypt and the capture of the Suez Canal...
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Highway Pick-Up
as Daniel BoissetAn escaped convict makes a remote gas station his safe haven. But soon the cunning, devious wife...
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Don Juan or If Don Juan Were a Woman
as Louis PrévostJeanne lives in Paris and believes she is the reincarnation of Don Juan. She visits a priest and...
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OSS 117: Panic in Bangkok
as Dr. SinnA secret agent sets out to stop an evil scientist who is about to unleash on the world a...
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Judge Roy Bean
as Black BirdIn a small western town the ineffable judge Roy Bean metes out justice in his own special way. A...
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Love on a Pillow
as Renaud SartiA young girl rescues a man from a suicide attempt. He turns out to be a sociopath, who begins to...
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Marco the Magnificent
as Prince NayamYoung Marco Polo travels to China to help Kublai Khan fight against rebels, headed by his own...
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The Wax Mask
as Boris VolkoffParis, 1900: a couple are horribly murdered by a masked man with a metal claw who rips their...
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A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Later
as Robert HosseinJean-Louis and Anne have had their fling and separated. Now 20 years have passed. He is still...
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San Antonio
as Le ministre de l'intérieur / The MinisterWhile a terrorist epidemy strikes the world leaders, the commissaire San-Antonio and his...
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Madame
as Le sergent François-Joseph LefebvreCatherine Hubscher, who washes the shirts of young Napoleon and other soldiers fighting the...
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Trivial
as Antoine BérangèreAn inspector who just suffered a family tragedy is looking for a missing older man. Man's family...
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A Man and His Dog
as Un homme a la soupe populaireAn elderly gentleman and his dog find themselves out of a home with little means.
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Paris Pick-Up
as Robert HerbinOn a Christmas night, an ex-convict meets a beautiful Italian married woman who has got a lot of...
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The Big Pardon
as Manuel CarrerasThe Bettoun clan: Raymond (the patriarch), Maurice (the son), Jacky (the nephew), Roland (the...
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Aznavour by Charles
as Self - Actor (archive footage)In 1948, French singer Charles Aznavour (1924-2018) receives a Paillard Bolex, his first camera....
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Maya
as Un témoin du meurtre qui n'a rien vu (uncredited)Based on a venerable Legend of the Sea, the story concerns a pliable prostitute named Bella...
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The Conspirators
as Leonida MontanariRome, 1825. Bishop Rivarola and Colonel Nardoni are in charge of suppressing the liberal...
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OSS 117 Murder for Sale
as Dr. SaadiA secret agent is sent to the Middle East to destroy a gang of assassins.
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I Killed Rasputin
as Serge SukhotinGrigori Rasputin becomes a fixture of Russia's Imperial Court after saving the life of Alexei...
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The Thunder of God
as MarcelBrassac is a drunken veterinarian who can't resist bringing home stray animals and humans. Lilli...
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Crime and Punishment
as René BrunelA young tormented student can no longer stand his miserable life. To avoid his sister marrying...
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The Dirty Game
as DupontA U.S. intelligence general recalls three Cold War cases of Soviet, French and Italian spies.
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Stranger in the House
as Narrator (voice)Since the suicide of his wife, Jacques Loursat has gone downhill. Estranged from his daughter,...
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Brigade Anti Gangs
as Le commissaire principal Le GoffThe struggle between a ruthless leader of a bank robbers - Raymond Pellegrin - and the cops who...
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The Vampire of Dusseldorf
as Peter KuertenA true story of Peter Kurten, a serial killer who committed nine murders and many other offenses...
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Levy & Goliath
as Client de GoliathA very faithful Jewish man works making diamond dust in his family's workshop, to sell to...
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The Other Truth
as Pierre Montaud, the AdvocateMiddle-aged attorney Pierre falls for a young woman who dances in a discotheque to work her way...
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The Wretches
as Jess RoolandMeant to be a psychological study of a dysfunctional couple and an equally unbalanced maid, this...
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Enough Rope
as Inspektor CorbyTwo total strangers suspect each other of murdering their own wives.
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Provisional Liberty
as uncreditedJean-Paul is a Frenchman who yearns to live in communist Czechoslovakia. His wish is granted...
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The Menace
as SavaryJosepha is on the verge eighteen living with her drunken washed up actor uncle. She longs for...
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The Protector
as ArnaudRecently released from prison, Samuel Malakian, a wealthy architect, investigates the...
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Lamiel
as Roger ValberLamiel is a poor orphan girl who climbs to the social elite in this 19th-century costume drama....
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Mademoiselle de Maupin
as Capitaine AlcibiadeMademoiselle de Maupin escapes from her uncle's castle, invaded by Hungarian troops, under the...
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Death of a Killer
as Pierre MassaWhen Massa is released from prison, he's sure that Luciano, an old freind, is responsible for...
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Belmondo by Belmondo
as SelfJean-Paul Belmondo returns to the settings of a fantastic career, accompanied by his son Paul....
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La Musica
as HimA husband and wife meet three years after their formal separation, when they return to the...
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Antigone
as CréonHaving defied the ban on Creon and offered a burial to Polynice, her treacherous homeland...
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L'Affaire
as Paul HaslansA man who had everything taken away from him, including his family, by his brother teams up with...
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Vice and Virtue
as SS Oberst Erik Schörndorf1944 : Occupied France. Juliette (Vice) is Wehrmacht General Bamberg's mistress and enjoys a...
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The Devil Who Limped
as Un invité en blanc (non crédité)The film is a 125-minute, black-and-white biography of French priest and diplomat Charles...
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A Little Virtuous
as Louis BradyIn Paris, the young photographer Ferdinand falls in love with Claire, a pickpocket. Shortly...
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Falling Point
as Le CaïdThree men kidnap a young girl and keep her in a small house on an isolated beach, waiting for...
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The Verdict
as Georges LagrangeWW2 is coming to an end ;on the seaside,resistant fighters are captured and imprisoned in a...
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Tender Moment
as Enrico FontanaTeenage student Olivier (Verley) meets 25 year-old Frédérique (Delon), wife of race car driver...
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Hitch-Hike
as Edouard, le fouAgathe, 18, dreams of change. Gone are her vacations on the rainy beaches of Belgium! She...
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Time of the Wolves
as DillingerPatterning himself after the American gangster John Dillinger, the criminal (Robert Hossein) is...
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The Man Who Betrayed the Mafia
as Maître BianchiniWhen an oily attorney dies at the hands of the mafia, a dedicated French detective investigates...
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The Taste of Violence
as PerezPerez kidnaps the President's daughter to trade her for imprisoned revolutionaries.
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Riff Raff Girls
as Marcel Point-BleuVicky de Berlin, a female gangster, haunted by wartime memories , runs a floating night-club in...
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Love Is Better Than Life
as Robert PratUpon their release from prison twenty years earlier, Gérard, Ary and Philippe asked...
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Surprise Party
as André AuerbachAdventures of a group of youngsters set in a provincial French city in the 1950's.
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Crime Thief
as ChristianA man witnesses a suicide and starts imagining that it was a murder committed by himself.
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Crime Thief
as TianA man witnesses a suicide and starts imagining that it was a murder committed by himself.
Movie pageThe Wicked Go to Hell
as FredMaking his directorial debut, Robert Hossein also assumes the leading role, playing an escaped...
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Démons de midi
as Metteur en scène de théâtreAt 45, divorced, unemployed and father of two children, Franois Morot realizes that he can no...
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The Scarlet Lady
as JulienComedy about a self-made woman in Paris contemplating the idea of suicide at first, then murder.
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Forgive Our Trespasses
as (uncredited)In a port area of France, clashes between a gang of young delinquents and a tribe of gypsies.
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The Phoney
as KaminskyWhile the President of a West African Republic arrives in France to sell uranium to the State,...
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The Road to Shame
as Pierre RossiPierre Rossi and Béatrice live in the same block of flats in Marseille and love each other. One...
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No Sun in Venice
as SforziCute Sophie is an amoral French girl living in a sumptuous Venetian palazzo. She is the kept...
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A Murder Is a Murder
as Jean CarouseMurder mystery involving a man and his relationship with twin sisters.
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Children of Chaos
as RobertIs there still a chance for Marie, an unwed young mother and a former drugs addicted prostitute,...
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A Police Officer Without Importance
as PierreCamille, Dov and Joëlle live on the edge of society and are involved in petty theft helping them...
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Versatile Lovers
as Serge BelaïeffIsabelle (Marisa Mell) runs a nursing home for wealthy women who are trying to detox from their...
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Take Me As I Am
as Ed DawsonThe director of the Rome office of an American news agency is seduced by his boss' daughter, who...
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Denn sie kennen kein Erbarmen: Der Italowestern
as SelfThe beginnings, development and decline of so-called spaghetti-western genre; with clips,...
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The Lion's Share
as Maurice MénardA writer is reunited with an old childhood friend, who gives him the opportunity to devise a heist.
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Blonde in a White Car
as Pierre MendaPicked up by a beautiful motorist, jobless hitchhiker Pierre (Hossein) is subsequently romanced...
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Hellé
as uncreditedHellé is a young deaf-mute living among the mountains. She’s ignored by everyone except, now and...
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Why Paris?
as uncreditedMonique, a Belgian girl, comes to Paris to learn painting and become an artist. She took courses...
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In the Eyes of Memory
as A student from the Simon courseDirector Jean Delannoy's immediate followup to his brilliant Les Jeux sont Faits was the more...
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Young Girls Beware
as RavenRaven, a mobster just released from prison, settles the score by murdering Mendetta and her...
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Misdeal
as Martin von KlausA musician named Jacques Christens, is given a proposition by an old man. For ten million Francs...
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The Game of Truth
as L'inspecteur de policeA dozen elegant people are gathered in a writer's desirable mansion. In the grand tradition of...
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Life Love Death
as uncreditedFrançois Toledo, married businessman and father, falls head-over-heels in love with Janine, a...
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Sextette
as uncreditedA man remembers all the incredible stories that took place in his hotel.
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Desert Assault
as Capitaine Curd Heinz (Rudi en Français)Allied and German forces are stranded in desert during WW II and attempt to surrender each other.
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Quai des blondes
as Chemise RoseThe blond cigarette trade is raging in the Mediterranean, pitting the crew of a former naval...
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Marked Eyes
as FranzA story about a widow who begins to receive blackmail letters demanding money from her. This is...
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Double Agents
as LuiRobert Hossein, Marina Vlady, Robert Le Beal. A brilliant "little" spy film. Hossein and Vlady...
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Le tour d'écrou
as Peter QuintA new governess arrives at a country house to take care of two seemingly angelic young children....
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Série noire
as JoLéo Fardier is a police inspector who goes to prison undercover as a convict. He shares a cell...
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Gialloparma
as Judge BocchiIn Parma, conversing with a CSM judge from Rome, the judge Bocchi tells what intrigues are...
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Les fleurs maladives de Georges Franju
as SelfA short documentary about Georges Franju.
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Long March
as CarnotIn June 1944, a young doctor, Chevalier, under the threat of guns, is forced to treat a wounded...
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Une femme nommée Marie
as Voce narranteAugust 2011 pageant performance staged by Robert Hossein depicting St. Bernadette's encounter...
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The Little Murders of Agatha Christie
as SimonFrench adaptations of the stories by Agatha Christie.
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Apostrophes
as SelfApostrophes was a live, weekly, literary, prime-time, talk show on French television created and...
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