Robert Hossein (30 December 1927 – 31 December 2020) was a French film actor, director, and writer. He directed the 1982 adaptation of Les Misérables and appeared in Vice and Virtue, Le Casse, Les Uns et les Autres and Venus Beauty Institute. His other roles include Michèle Mercier's husband in the Angélique series, a gunfighter in the Spaghetti Western Cemetery Without Crosses (which he also directed and co-wrote), and a Catholic priest who falls in love with Claude Jade and becomes a communist in Forbidden Priests.

Cinematic career

Hossein started directing films in 1955 with Les Salauds vont en enfer, from a play by Frédéric Dard whose work he later adapted several times on screen. 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 Dostoyevsky.

In 1967, he was a member of the jury of the 5th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1982 film Les Misérables was entered into the 13th Moscow International Film Festival where it won a Special Prize.

Although Hossein had some modest international successes with films like Toi, le venin and The Vampire of Düsseldorf, 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 Cemetery Without Crosses and the low-budgeted but daringly subversive period drama I Killed Rasputin. 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.

Personal life Robert Hossein's grandfather was born in Iran.Ilham Aliyev and President of the French Republic Francois Hollande had dinner together His father was André Hossein, a composer of Iranian Azerbaijani origin,Робер О­ссейн: «Нашу с Мариной Влади семью погубил русский быт» Shigareva, Yulia (28 August 2013). Argumenty i Fakty.Robert Hossein Eurasian Academy official website and his mother was Anna Mincovschi (1904–1998), a Jewish comedy actress, born in KievMother's birth record in the office of Kiev municipal rabbi on January 2, 1904 (Julian calendar), who moved to Paris with her family in 1920s from Soroca (Bessarabia). "Robert Hossein et son fils le rabbin Aaron Eliacheff" (10 February 2011) HarissaAccording to the program Le Plus Grand Cabaret du Monde, presented by Patrick Sébastien on 22 September 2007Genealogy of the Hossein-Mincovschi FamilyThe International Who's Who 2004 He was married three times: first to Marina Vlady (then Marina Poliakoff; on 23 December 1955, they had two sons, Pierre and Igor), later on 7 June 1962, to Caroline Eliacheff, daughter of Françoise Giroud (they had a son, Nicholas, who became rabbi Aaron Eliacheff). She was fifteen at the time and he was 34. In 1973, he dated for a short while Michèle Watrin, before she died the following year in a car accident. In 1976, he married actress Candice Patou, with whom he had a son.

Religion In 1971, Hossein was baptized in the Roman Catholic Church. 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 Lombard, Italy.Peze, Emmanuel. (1985) Published in the Marian Collection (1985) by Brother Albert Pfleger, Marist. As reported by the Mary of Nazareth project, at

In 2007, he presented a play entitled Do Not Be Afraid (N'ayez pas peur), about the life of Pope John Paul II.James Mackenzie "French Showman Brings Pope John Paul II to Stage" (20 September 2007) Reuters. He had a special devotion to Saint Therese of Lisieux.Pyotr Rozvarin (19 March 2002) "A Pessimist Full of Optimism: An interview with Robert Hossein", Vremya novostei, No. 47 Retrieved 22 December 2007

Death Hossein died of COVID-19 on 31 December 2020, one day after his 93rd birthday, during the COVID-19 pandemic in France.Robert Hossein, le géant du théâtre populaire, est mort

Selected filmography Year Title Role Director1948The Lame Devil a guestSacha Guitry To the Eyes of Memory uncreditedJean Delannoy 1954 Quay of Blondes Chemise rosePaul Cadéac1955 The InfiltratorJo Pierre Foucaud Rififi Rémy GrutterJules DassinThe Wicked Go to HellFred Robert Hossein1956 Crime and PunishmentRené BrunelGeorges Lampin1957 No Sun in Venice (Sait-on jamais...)SforziRoger Vadim RavenYves Allégret1959Toi, le veninPierre MendaRobert Hossein The Road to ShamePierre RossiÉdouard MolinaroDu rififi chez les femmesMarcel Point-BleuAlex JofféThe VerdictGeorges LagrangeJean ValèreDouble AgentsLuiRobert Hossein1960Riff-RaffEd DawsonMaurice LabroLes ScélératsJess RoolandRobert Hossein1961SavaryGérard OuryMadame Sans-GêneFrançois-Joseph LefebvreChristian-Jaque1962Girl on the RoadEdouardJacqueline AudryLe Repos du guerrierRenaud SartiRoger Vadim1963Le MeurtrierInspecteur CorbyClaude Autant-LaraVice and VirtueSchorndorf Roger VadimChair de pouleDaniel BoissetJulien Duvivier1964Banco à Bangkok pour OSS 117Dr Sinn André HunebelleLes Yeux cernésFranzRobert Hossein himselfAngélique, Marquise des AngesJeoffrey de PeyracBernard Borderie1965The Vampire of Düsseldorf Peter KürtenRobert Hossein himselfThe Dirty Game DupontChristian-Jaque and othersMarco the MagnificentPrince NayamDenys de La Patellière and Noël HowardGod's ThunderMarcelDenys de La Patellière1966Madamigella di MaupinCapitain AlcibiadeMauro BologniniAngelique and the King Jeoffrey de PeyracBernard BorderieThe Second TwinPierre Montaud, the AdvocateChristian-JaqueBrigade antigangsInspector Le GoffBernard BorderieLa Longue MarcheCarnotAlexandre Astruc1967I Killed RasputinSerge HukhotinRobert Hossein himselfLamielValberJean Aurel Untamable Angelique Jeoffrey de PeyracBernard Borderie1968Angelique and the Sultan Jeoffrey de PeyracBernard Borderie The Private Lesson Enrico FontanaMichel BoisrondA Little VirtuousLouis Brady Serge Korber1969The Battle of El AlameinErwin RommelGiorgio FerroniCemetery Without CrossesManuelRobert Hossein himselfLife Love Deathas himselfClaude LelouchThe Scarlet LadyJulien AuchardJean ValèreNell'anno del SignoreLeonida MontanariLuigi Magni 1970Le Temps des loups"Dillinger"Sergio GobbiPoint de chute the bossRobert Hossein himself1971La Part des lionsMaurice MénardJean LarriagaThe BurglarsRalphHenri Verneuil1972Jean CarouseÉtienne Périer1973Don Juan, or If Don Juan Were a WomanLouis PrévostRoger VadimForbidden PriestsJean RastaudDenys de La Patellière1981Les Uns et les AutresSimon Meyer / Robert PratClaude LelouchLe ProfessionnelInspector RosenGeorges Lautner1982Manuel CarrerasAlexandre ArcadyLes Misérables not credited as actorRobert Hossein himself1986A Man and a Woman: 20 Years Lateras himselfClaude Lelouch1995Les Misérablesthe master of ceremoniesClaude Lelouch1997Wax MaskBoris VolkoffSergio Stivaletti1999Venus Beauty Institutethe pilotTonie Marshall2004San-Antonio Minister of the InteriorFrédéric Auburtin2006TrivialAntoine BérangèreSophie Marceau2009A Man and His Dogcameo appearanceFrancis Huster

Honours

Commander of the Légion d'honneur, 2005 Grand officer of the Ordre National du Mérite Commander of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres

Foreign honours

Commander of the Order of Cultural Merit (2006)Sovereign Ordonnance n°800 of 18 Nov. 2006 by Prince Albert II Member of Eurasian Academy (2016).

References

External links