Jean-Charles Tacchella

Jean-Charles Tacchella

Writing
1925-09-23
Cherbourg, Manche, Haute-Normandie, France

Biography

Jean-Charles Tacchella (born 23 September 1925) is a French screenwriter and film director. He was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for his film Cousin Cousine (1975), which was also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and which was later (1989) remade in a US version starring Ted Danson and titled Cousins. Jean-Charles Tacchella studied in Marseilles and, just after the Liberation, left for Paris with the aim of becoming a film director. He joined L'écran Français when he was nineteen where he worked with Renoir, Becker and Grémillon. While with the magazine, he wrote about filmmakers, actors, films and met André Bazin, Nino Frank, Roger Leenhardt, Roger Thérond and Alexandre Astruc. He became friends with Erich Von Stroheim, Anna Magnani, Vittorio de Sica and created the monthly “Ciné Digest” with Henri Colpi. In 1948, Tacchella, along with Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Astruc, Claude Mauriac, René Clément and Pierre Kast, established Objectif 49, an avant-garde film club whose president was Jean Cocteau. Objectif 49 became the birthplace of the New Wave. Jean-Charles Tacchella has since directed eleven features, many of which have had successful international careers and been awarded prestigious prizes. They include Voyage to Grand Tartarie (1974), Cousin cousine (1975, nominated for the Oscars Césars, Silver Shell for Best Director at the 1976 San Sebastian International Film Festival), Le Pays bleu (1977), It's a Long Time I've Loved You (1979, Jury Prize at the Montreal Film Festival), Croque la vie (1981), Staircase C (1985, Prix de l'Académie française, Grand Prix at the Uppsala Film Festival), Travelling avant (1987, Best Male Newcomer for Thierry Frémont – Golden Tulip for Best Director at the Istanbul Film Festival), Gallant Ladies (Best Director, Digne Film Festival 1990), The Man of My Life (1992), Seven Sundays (1995). Tacchella is described as being "a smooth technician, Tacchella's camera work is fluid and precise". And his movie Traveling avant (1987), roughly equivalent to the American film term "Tracking Shot", is described as "a semi-autobiographical paean to his youth as a cinema fanatic and cine-club enthusiast in post-war Paris". Tacchella was President of the Cinémathèque Française from 2000–2003. Source: Article "Jean-Charles Tacchella" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.

Known For & Full Filmography5 Titles

#1Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

Drama Series - 1975, 16 episodes as Self

6.0 / 10
Talk

A talk show presented by Michel Drucker

Loading cast carousel...
View Reviews & Details
#2Happy He Who Like Ulysses

Movie - 1970, 2h 15m as Motorist / Man at the arenas of Arles (uncredited)

6.9 / 10
Comedy

For 25 years now, under the Provence sun, Antonin, a farmhand, has shared his work and everyday life with a horse named Ulysse. What a shock when Pascal, the farmer, tells him he has decided to sell Ulysse to a picador for being too old. Not only will he be separated from his faithful companion, but he is well aware too that the arenas of Arles mean death for Ulysse. Being unable to stand such injustice, Antonin runs away from the farm in the company of Ulysse. Together, they go through the Lubéron, the Baux de Provence, the Alpilles, the Crau and the Vaccarès. Yet, their journey is no pleasure cruise, specially when it comes to crossing National Road 7. After a visit to Marcellin, an old friend of his, Antonin sets off again with Ulysse, this time towards the Rhône River.

Loading cast carousel...
View Reviews & Details
#3The Itchy Palm

Movie - 1960, 2h 15m as Second priest (uncredited)

7.5 / 10
ComedyDrama

A widow in her fifties,Madame Lacoste ,meets Jean when they both come to put their pussy in a cattery.The man borrows a hefty sum from her ,to send his sick young son to breathe the fresh air of the country ,or so he said;in fact there's no son at all.He gives the money to his mistress who claims she's pregnant by him and who wants to have an abortion.She lies too ,for she does not expect any child and she intends to help the young man she's in love with to buy a scooter.But the latter does not care about her either and intends to marry a "rich " girl ....who's actually the concierge's daughter.

Loading cast carousel...
View Reviews & Details
#4Les Enfants Terribles du Cinéma

Movie - 2011, 2h 15m as Self

10.0 / 10
Documentary

The documentary "Les Enfants terribles du cinéma" (The Terrible Children of Cinema) tells the little-known story of one of the crossroads of cinephilia, *OBJECTIF 49*, which culminated in the organization of the Biarritz Festival of Cursed Films during the summer of 1949. This festival was initiated by Jean Cocteau, then at the height of his cinematic career. In Biarritz, films deemed "cursed" were screened because they had not yet found an audience or had been banned by censors. This selection offered a radically different vision of cinema from that of other festivals, such as Cannes. An entire generation of active filmmakers was celebrated: René Clément, Robert Bresson, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, Eric Rohmer...

Loading cast carousel...
View Reviews & Details
#5René Clément au cœur de la nouvelle vague

Movie - 2013, 2h 15m as Self

8.8 / 10
Documentary

An outstanding performance featuring brilliant storytelling, high stakes drama, and unforgettable character arcs.

Loading cast carousel...
View Reviews & Details