French cinema lost one of its emblematic figures on Tuesday January 21. Director Bertrand Blier died peacefully at his home in Paris, at the age of 85, surrounded by his family. Author of a provocative and memorable work, the filmmaker leaves behind stories and lines that have marked generations of spectators. In homage to this giant of the seventh art, several television channels have decided to shake up their programming. W9, for example, will broadcast, Thursday January 22, My friend’s wife with Coluche, Thierry Lhermitte and Isabelle Huppert, at the show venue Jamel and his friends in Marrakech of laughter 2015.
Paris Première, for its part, is offering a special evening dedicated to its most controversial and cult feature film, The ValseusesWednesday January 29, followed by a debate entitled “50 years later, should we send Les Valseuses waltzing?“, a film with gritty humor, criticized for its representation of power and gender relations, which helped launch Gérard Depardieu and Patrick Dewaere into the big leagues.
Evening outfit for a cold Buffet
France Télévisions, for its part, highlights the director’s more consensual films. “For this tribute to Bertrand Blier, we wanted a film that could be broadcast at 9 p.m. This is not the case for Les Valseuses which suffers from a ban on children under 16 (imposed by Arcom, Editor’s note). We aired it just 18 months ago, but around 11 p.m. because of that“, indicated Manuel Alduy, director of Cinema & Young Adult & International Fiction at France Télévisions, at Figaro.
Sunday January 26, France 5 will pay tribute to Bertrand Blier by broadcasting in prime time Evening weara cult film from 1986 carried by a remarkable cast, with Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Jean-Pierre Marielle and especially Michel Blanc, whose performance earned him an acting prize at the Cannes Film Festival. This feature film, which explores romantic relationships and the ambiguities of feelings with audacity and humor, replaces the documentary The Mystery of the Beluga Spy initially planned. Later in the evening, at 11:30 p.m., Arte will offer Buffet froida 1979 masterpiece marked by an absurd atmosphere and black humor, with Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier himself, Jean Carmet and Michel Serrault, accompanied by Carole Bouquet and Geneviève Page.
