Philippe Noiret Movies
Philippe Noiret qualifies as the ultimate European Renaissance actor. A burly, unconventionally handsome figure with a distinct countenance, Noiret established himself as a force on stage and screen, effortlessly straddled countless genres, and graced the casts of French, Italian, British, and occasional American films up through the end of his life.Born in Lille, France, on October 1, 1930, Noiret trained as a thespian at the Comedie de l'Ouest and subsequently joined Jean Vilar's TNP stage ensemble. He segued into film at the behest of Agnès Varda -- then a photographer assigned to snap pictures of the TNP -- in her 1955 directorial debut, La Pointe Courte. In that picture, Noiret and Sylvia Montfort play a Parisian couple who migrate to a rural village and attempt to sort out their relationship while the town organizes a workers' union.
In 1959, 27-year-old Louis Malle -- the youngest recipient of the Golden Palm in movie history and a cause célèbre for his scandalous 1958 picture Les Amants -- sought an actor to play Gabriel, the transvestite uncle of the foul-mouthed 11-year-old prankster Zazie, in his surrealistic adaptation of Raymond Queneau's absurdist novel Zazie dans le Metro (1960). By its very nature, Zazie required heavy-duty improvisation and grotesque, larger-than-life, cartoonish overacting. Almost everyone -- including Malle -- perceived Noiret as the ideal choice, because of the actor's ability to draw on extensive improvisational experience (and stage projection) from his days with the Comedie de l'Ouest and TNP. In addition, Noiret demonstrated unshakable, almost foolhardy bravery on the set, when he blithely heeded Malle's tongue-in-cheek request to "ad lib" by waltzing out, in a simulated drunken stupor, onto the very edge of a platform on one of the highest rungs of the Eiffel Tower. Unsurprisingly, that shot appears in the completed film. And just as unsurprisingly, it became one of Noiret's most infamous turns until his 1989 Cinema Paradiso.
Noiret debuted as an English-language film actor in 1969, as Henri Jarre, a member of a French spy ring, in Topaz, Alfred Hitchcock's lackluster (and generally suspense-free) adaptation of the Leon Uris novel of the same title. He followed it up with a supporting role in George Cukor's equally disappointing 1969 film Justine, starring Anouk Aimée.
Noiret starred in around 120 additional films over the next several decades, but he made his most enduring mark under the directorial gaze of film-critic-cum-director Bertrand Tavernier, with whom he made eight projects -- which led many to perceive Noiret as the director's onscreen alter ego and unveiled the full-fledged, graceful extent of the actor's dramatic range. Their collaborations include L'Horloger de Saint-Paul (aka The Watchmaker of St. Paul, 1974), with Noiret as a dismayed father grappling with his son's involvement in terrorist activities; Que la fête commence... (aka Let Joy Reign Supreme . . ., 1975), a costume drama with Noiret as Philippe d'Orleans, humanistic regent to Louis XV in early 18th century France; Le Juge et l'Assassin (aka The Judge and the Assassin, 1976), with Noiret as a magistrate who balances the life of an accused child killer in his hands; Une Semaine de vacances (aka A Week's Vacation, 1980) with Noiret as Michel Descombes, one of the many small-town characters encountered by schoolteacher Nathalie Baye during her week-long leave of absence (and recuperation) from teaching; Coup de Torchon (aka Clean Slate, 1981), with Noiret as a French policeman circa 1938, assigned to a segregated African colony; Noiret's fleeting role as Redon in the jazz elegy 'Round Midnight (1986), starring the legendary Dexter Gordon; La Vie et Rien d'Autre (aka Life and Nothing But, 1991), with Noiret as a post-WWI French Army officer assigned to tabulate the number of casualties two years after the armistice; and Fille de d'Artagnan (aka Revenge of the Musketeers, 1994), with Noiret as the legendary musketeer d'Artagnan, whose daughter (Sophie Marceau) vows to continue the legacy of her swashbuckling father.
Noiret made his deepest impression on the public, however, with two key international roles: that of the warm and sympathetic projectionist Alfredo in Giuseppe Tornatore's 1989 arthouse hit Cinema Paradiso (a role for which he won the BAFTA award for Best Actor), and that of the Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, who strikes up an ongoing friendship with his mailman, in Michael Radford's 1994 Il Postino.
Noiret juggled a full spate of projects up through his final year; his last film, released posthumously, was Michel Boujenah's 2007 Trois Amis, co-starring Mathilde Seigner and Pascal Elbe. He died of cancer in a Parisian hospital on November 23, 2006, and was survived by his wife, the actress Monique Noiret (whom he married in 1962) and their daughter. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 1992
Isabella is the much-loved child of a movie producer, growing up in the 1950s. Key moments in her life are seen as she returns each summer to her family's vacation home on the seaside in Tuscany. The argumentative family has its ups and downs, some of them as a result of successes or reverses in the father's moviemaking career. Practically the only member of the family who doesn't fuss and quarrel all the time is Isabella's mother, her father's second wife. All her siblings are the children of the first wife. Isabella has a "toy" that any movie buff would love to play with: a movieola, a machine usually reserved for film editors who can view the film or films they are working on at their own pace, stopping or reversing the action and running it at any speed. The films she plays on hers indicate what stage she is at in her life, as she grows from an insecure girl to a confident woman. This family drama and coming-of-age story is based on the recollections of filmmaker Fiorella Infascelli, who grew up in the household of her producer father Carlo Infascelli. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Macha Meril, (more)
- 1992
Even among bombers and murderers, there is a social ladder, a hierarchy to climb. Jeremie is a mere bomber who blows up people and places for mobsters in Paris. He may not look it, scruffy lad that he is, but he is a sensitive fellow, and he feels his lowly status keenly. If only he could graduate to the ranks of hitmen, who are honored in his world, perhaps then he would feel more like somebody. He finally gets his chance when he receives instructions to kill the eminent hitman Max, who knows too much to be left alive. Instead of planning a cool and distant hit, Jeremie gets to know his quarry personally and thereby gets entangled in a mass of conflicting allegiances. Max has one more assignment and has asked Jeremie to help him with it. The hero-worshipping boy can't bring himself to knock of this classy guy. However, just having such an inept apprentice as Jeremie around is enormously dangerous for the soon-to-be-retired killer. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Christopher Lambert, (more)
- 1992
Planning on a long stay, Toussaint and his wife Madeleine (Philippe Noiret and Monique Chaumette) leave their Paris home for a house in the Corsican resort village they grew up in. He has just retired from his lifetime job with the Paris Metro. They hope, by moving back to the countryside, to catch up on old projects, relive the memories of their youth, and grow vegetables. One man's elegiac nostalgia is simply a boring film for others, and critical response to this slow-paced and somewhat downbeat star vehicle was mixed. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Monique Chaumette, (more)
- 1991
- R
Three very odd relationships provide the basis for this thought-provoking Italian anthology that is overseen by director Bernardo Bertolucci. The first tale, "The Blue Dog" centers on a barber who becomes the fixation of a mysteriously devoted dog with an unusual blue spot upon his head. In "Especially on Sunday," a traveler encounters a woman and a man beside a river and offers them a ride. The woman is quite the coquette and she chattily explains that she is visiting her companion, who suffers from a debilitating breakdown. They all stop for lunch and her friend begins telling them a disturbing, surreal tale. The third tale "Snow on the Fire," features a repentant woman who confesses a dark secret to the town priest. It seems the old woman has grown addicted to watching her son make passionate love to his new bride, who knows that she is watching and seems to enjoy it all the more. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Chiara Caselli, (more)
- 1991
Amnesty International produced this film, which features more than two dozen greats of French cinema making pleas for the lives of political prisoners around the world. Each filmmaker speaks passionately on behalf of an individual whose life has been warped by political intolerance, imprisonment, torture or murder, as the lives of those prisoners or sufferers are documented onscreen. A variety of directors contributed shorts with this theme, and the ways in which the appeals are dramatized differ markedly from one to the next. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Catherine Deneuve, Philippe Noiret, (more)
- 1991
Young, naive and innocent, Pierre (Manuel Blanc) has dreams of becoming an actor. He is a good-looking and personable boy, and he has just moved to the city to see if he can't accomplish his dreams. He gets a job as an orderly at a hospital and is further supported by an older woman (Helene Vincent), a nurse he has met there, in return for his sexual favors. However, in his acting class, he quickly discovers that he is not overflowing with talent, and his dream of becoming an actor grows dim. Instead, despite the advice of a knowledgeable and worldly older gay man (Philippe Noiret), he becomes a sex worker. It has long been a staple of the movies that certain hustlers and prostitutes maintain a distinction between their work and their lives by not kissing their clients, hence the title of this film, J'embrasse Pas. He grows to love the seedy, degraded lifestyle, and seems to be adapting well to his new profession until he has the poor judgement to fall in love with a high-class prostitute (Emmanuelle Béart) and earns the antagonism of her pimp. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Manuel Blanc, Hélène Vincent, (more)
- 1990
A "ripoux" is, in French slang, a policeman who accepts bribes, shakes down "honest" criminals for a cut of their action, at a level which can range from the familiar (U.S.) paradigm of accepting free donuts, to serious criminal activity. This comic police thriller is a sequel to the hugely successful 1984 film Philippe Noiret and Thierry Lhermitte about a pair of Parisian policemen, one an old, experienced "ripoux" and the other one an idealistic new-kid-on-the-block type, who has to be shown the ropes (and mildly corrupted) by the older man. In this story, Noiret's young partner is having misgivings about his misdeeds, and in any case wants to try for a promotion to police commissioner. What with one thing and another, this leads to both men being ignominiously transferred to another beat, to the (temporary) jubilation of the people they've been sponging off of for years. It turns out that the new cops on their old beat are far less helpful and easygoing than they were, and soon the denizens of their Montmartre district beat are beating on the doors of city hall begging for their return. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Thierry Lhermitte, (more)
- 1990
Anatole Hirsch (Phillippe Noiret) has already made his mark as a writer, and has garnered critical acclaim and financial rewards. However, he isn't a very nice man, and his life has left him angry and dissatisfied. To address that discomfort, he decides to perpetrate a hoax on the unsuspecting art community. Under a pen name, which he arranges for his young cousin Martin (Robin Renucci) to act as the front for, he writes a really brutal novel. Later, when the novel wins a major French literature prize, Martin begins to preen himself on his newfound, false, fame. Anatole will have none of that, and quickly pens a lousy second novel for the young author which, like so many second novels, condemns the heretofore promising young "novelist"back to the obscurity he emerged from. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Robin Renucci, (more)
- 1990
- R
Uranus is set in a post-war French village that has been all but obliterated by the bombing. Jean-Pierre Marielle plays a middle-class family man who agrees to shelter many of those who've lost their homes. The polyglot of political beliefs held by these new tenants sows the seeds of discontent. The most vocal of the town's dissidents are the Communists, who terrify everyone with threats of turning in collaborators to the French Forces of the Interior. The only person in town afraid of no one is hulking innkeeper Gerard Depardieu, whose ultimate death uncovers much of the hypocrisy disguising itself as patriotism in the village. While never exactly sympathizing with the collaborators, Uranus is careful to point out that the "unofficial" executions of these unfortunates was no more morally acceptable than the Nazi invasion that encouraged collaboration in the first place. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Gérard Depardieu, (more)
- 1989
- PG
Richard Lester returned to his double-barreled successes of the 1970s, The Three Musketeers and The Four Musketeers, with Return of the Musketeers, a film that was inexplicably shelved for several years, making its belated premiere on cable television. Based on Alexandre Dumas's novel Twenty Years Later, the film takes place (appropriately enough) two decades after the death of Milady de Winter. Though Milady may have died, her nefarious schemes have been taken up by her daughter Justine (Kim Cattrall), who maneuvers with the conspiring Cardinal Mazarin (Philippe Noiret) to gain control of the crown through Queen Anne (Geraldine Chaplin). D'Artagnan (Michael York) calls for his old compatriots Porthos (Frank Finlay), Athos (Oliver Reed), and Aramis (Richard Chamberlain) to once again go "one for all and all for one." But complications set in when Athos and Aramis take sides with the crown and Athos' adopted son Raoul (C. Thomas Howell) falls in love in Justine. The film is dedicated to character actor Roy Kinnear who plays Planchet, who died in an equestrian accident during the production. ~ Paul Brenner, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Michael York, Oliver Reed, (more)
- 1989
- PG13
This political drama chronicles the corruption of a mayoral candidate for New York City. His ordeal begins when he launches a campaign for the legalization of heretofore illegal narcotics. Alarmed by the support it gets, Mafiosos frame the candidate for a crime he did not commit and force him to choose between joining their ranks or going to jail. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- James Belushi, Mimi Rogers, (more)
The grim post-World War I era in Europe is grist for director Bertrand Tavernier's mill in Life and Nothing But. Philipe Noiret portrays a French major who is supervising the gruesome task of counting and identifying the corpses still strewn over the battlefield. Noiret is obsessed with the notion that, by doing his job above and beyond the call of duty, he can somehow make up for the carnage in which he participated a few years earlier. The major's mission is intercut with short vignettes involving the families and loved ones of the dead, and with the efforts by another officer to find a suitable candidate for an Unknown Soldier testimonial. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azéma, (more)
- 1988
Celine (Sophie Marceau) must choose between Tarquin (Lambert Wilson) and Aurele (Stephane Fries) in this historical drama set during the French Civil War of 1793. The Republican Army decimated Western France when an insurgence of peasants, clergy, and aristocrats loyal to the Royalists staged a counterrevolution. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Sophie Marceau, (more)
- 1988
Ornella Muti plays a Kept Woman whose keeper has the bad taste to die. Silvana (Muti) attaches herself to another wealthy "patron," aging lothario Gabriele (Philippe Noiret). His idea of sexual stimulation is to recall the highlights of his previous affairs, going into orgasmic ecstasies whenever uttering a seemingly non sequitur phrase like "The Sparrow's Fluttering" (which served as the English-language title for this film). Eventually, the relationship becomes shaky when Silvana finds a newer, younger lover (Nicola Farron). Appearing in a key supporting role in Il Frullo Del Passero is Claudine Auger, who 24 years earlier played Sean Connery's leading lady in the James Bond opus Thunderball. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Ornella Muti, (more)
- 1988
This biographical costume drama from director Franco Zeffirelli covers the early life of Arturo Toscanini and stars C. Thomas Howell as the famous composer. When Arturo lands a job with the orchestra of Claudio Rossi (John Rhys-Davies), he soon finds himself bound for a tour of South America and lands in idyllic Rio. Arturo is given the task of convincing the famed prima donna diva Nadina Bulichoff (Elizabeth Taylor) to rehearse for an upcoming show with the orchestra, but in the process, Toscanini attempts to change the minds of both Nadina and her lover, Brazilian Emperor Don Pedro II (Philippe Noiret) on the issue of slavery. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- C. Thomas Howell, Elizabeth Taylor, (more)
- 1988
- PG
Cinema Paradiso offers a nostalgic look at films and the effect they have on a young boy who grows up in and around the title village movie theater in this Italian comedy drama that is based on the life and times of screenwriter/director Giuseppe Tornatore. The story begins in the present as a Sicilian mother pines for her estranged son, Salvatore, who left many years ago and has since become a prominent Roman film director who has taken the advice of his mentor too literally. He finally returns to his home village to attend the funeral of the town's former film projectionist, Alfredo, and, in so doing, embarks upon a journey into his boyhood just after WWII when he became the man's official son. In the dark confines of the Cinema Paradiso, the boy and the other townsfolk try to escape from the grim realities of post-war Italy. The town censor is also there to insure nothing untoward appears onscreen, invariably demanding that all kissing scenes be edited out. One day, Salvatore saves Alfredo's life after a fire, and then becomes the new projectionist. A few years later, Salvatore falls in love with a beautiful girl who breaks his heart after he is inducted into the military. Thirty years later, Salvatore has come to say goodbye to his life-long friend, who has left him a little gift in a film can. In 2002, over a decade after the film's original release, Tornatore brought the original 170-minute director's cut to American screens for the first time. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Salvatore Cascio, (more)
Roland Wolf (Robin Renucci) poses as a reporter to interview a popular television personality (Philippe Noiret) he believes is responsible for the disappearance of his sister. The struggling actress had taken a job as a companion to the star's sickly ward Catherine (Anne Brochet). Roland discovers Catherine is being drugged by her benefactor who has stolen her inheritance and possibly committed murder. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Robin Renucci, (more)
- 1987
In this tragic romance set in Ferrara, Italy in 1938, and at a nearby seaside resort, a wealthy Jewish boy is thwarted in marrying the girl he loves when Mussolini's race laws (enacted to cement the regime's growing alliance with Germany) take effect. Rather than suffer as a Jewess, his intended converts to Catholicism and marries a young fascist. Meanwhile, the town doctor, who is a homosexual, becomes increasingly outcast when he openly falls in love with a boxer. The boxer at first is the man's lover, but when he decides to beat and rob the doctor, no one comes to his aid, and later he commits suicide. This movie is part of a trilogy about prewar Ferrara by director Giuliano Montaldo. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Rupert Everett, (more)
- 1987
- PG
A family history is recalled by the venerable patriarch Carlo (Vittorio Gassman) as he prepares to celebrate his 80th birthday. Young Carlo (Andrea Massimo) marries Beatrice (Stefania Sandrelli) in 1926 but later has an illicit affair with her bohemian artist sister Adriana (Fanny Ardant). Fascism, World War II, and the raising of children and grandchildren mark the passing of a lifetime. Old Carlo lives with his grandson where his recollections are interrupted by the gentle nagging of his beloved Beatrice. This feature received an Oscar nomination in 1987 for "Best Foreign Film." ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Vittorio Gassman, Fanny Ardant, (more)
- 1987
Molinat (Phillippe Noiret) and Leroyer (Guy Marchand) are two cops who hate each others guts but are called on to solve the gunshot deaths of victims found on an Atlantic beach resort. The two focus on some females who have a psychological problem with men who are breathing. Molinat sends Leroyer to investigate some sultry suspects, knowing his hated colleague may never come back alive. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Guy Marchand, (more)
- 1986
A look at Communism behind the Iron Curtain, this comedy is set in a posh Moscow hotel run by the hypocritical Igor (Philippe Noiret). Igor is busy making money off his black market dealings when Party officials and the KGB land at his hotel. They are looking for Jewish dissidents and just the kind of activity that is keeping Igor in good caviar. Unless he wants to shovel snow in Siberia, Igor has to find a way to safely get the Jewish dissidents out of his hotel and cover up his black market tracks. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Christian Clavier, (more)
- 1986
In this crime story, Antoine (Jacques Bonnafe) is suddenly called home from the North Sea where he works on an oil rig; his wife's body has been found in the Seine. Not accepting the hypothesis that this was an accident or a suicide, Antoine starts to look into his wife's friends and acquaintances and discovers that he never really knew her at all. One of her female friends turns out to have been her lesbian lover, and the two were involved in bilking money from a bank. An accountant at the bank is trying to reclaim a stolen bank code somewhere among the deceased's belongings, and poor Antoine has just begun to scratch the surface of his wife's hidden life. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jacques Bonnaffé, Clémentine Célarié, (more)
A French music lover befriends a once-great American jazz artist and attempts to save him from self-destruction in this moody drama. Saxophonist Dexter Gordon portrays Dale Turner, a fictional musician inspired by a number of famed jazz figures, including Bud Powell and Lester Young. Largely forgotten in his home country, Turner has moved to Paris in search of a more appreciative audience. He finds it in the form of Francis Borler (Francois Cluzet), a bebop aficionado who befriends the expatriate player. Borler soon becomes familiar with Turner's darker side, including his struggles with alcoholism, drug addiction, and depression. Fearing for the musician's life, the fan becomes his caretaker, an arrangement that leads to a brief improvement in Turner's health and fortunes but places great emotional strain upon them both. Director Bertrand Tavernier pays great attention to the visual and aural details of the jazz world, with outstanding musical supervision provided by Herbie Hancock. 'Round Midnight's greatest asset, however, is Gordon's Academy Award-nominated performance, informed by his own life experiences. His naturally fascinating presence combines with the film's obvious love of the music and its milieu to provide what many have hailed as one of the more authentic and affectionate presentations of the jazz world on the silver screen. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Dexter Gordon, François Cluzet, (more)
- 1985
In this political drama, freedom of the press, government intrigue, and the murder of an Arab diplomat form the knots of tension that challenge two crime-fighters: Yves Dorget (Philippe Noiret), a newspaper reporter, and Catherine Carre (Nicole Garcia), a TV anchorwoman. Both Yves and Catherine independently start to investigate the assassination of the Arab leader, who opposed the sale of two French nuclear reactors to his country. The reporter and news broadcaster are soon working together and along the way, heating up their past romance. The pair become convinced that the French Secret Service is involved in the assassination, and just as they are getting a little too close to the truth, Catherine's boss is ordered to basically shut her probe down. In the meantime, Yves has published a story about a man who saw the assassination, and now Yves is in some serious trouble. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Philippe Noiret, Nicole Garcia, (more)
