Alain Corneau

Alain Corneau was a Cesar Award-winning French writer-director best known for his multiple collaborations with French cinema superstars Yves Montand, Simone Signoret and Gérard Depardieu. Born on August 7, 1943 in Meung-sur-Loire, Loiret, Corneay trained as a musician but switched his interest to film, becoming an assistant director.

He was an assistant director on Costa-Gavras's 1970 film The Confession (1970) ("The Confession"), which co-starred Montand and Signoret. In 1974 he made the transition to the director's chair, helming France, Incorporated (1974), a movie about drug dealers. His next policier starred Montand as a a Dirty Harry-like dick in Police Python 357 (1976) (1976), which co-starred Montand's wife Signoret. He followed it up with another crime drama starring Montand, La Menace (1977) (1977). Corneau finished up his crime cycle with Choice of Arms (1981) (1981), which starred Montand, Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve. The movie was released in the United States as "Choice of Arms."

Shifting gears away from policiers, he directed the French Foreign Legion drama 'Fort Saganne (1984)' (1984). Set in 1911, the movie starred Depardieu and Deneuve. Depardieu also headlined his lush costume drama _Tous les matins du monde (1991)- (1991), an international hit, for which Corneau won the Cesar Award, the French equivalent of the Oscar, for direction.

At the age of 67, Alain Corneau died on August 30, 2010 in Paris from cancer. His remains were interred at Père Lachaise Cemetery.