Controversial French director Bertrand Blier dies aged 85

Bertrand Blier, the French director and outspoken provocateur behind multi-César award-winning comedies, has died aged 85.

Famous for his iconoclastic 1970s and 1980s comedies Les Valseuses, Tenue de soirée and Buffet froid, Blier died “peacefully at home in Paris, surrounded by his wife and children,” his son Léonard Blier told AFP.

The son of actor Bernard Blier, he gave Gérard Depardieu his big break in 1974 with the cult film Les Valseuses (French for “the waltzers” but also a slang term for testicles), a hugely popular comedy that established him as one of France’s most controversial comedic voices. Indeed, his dark and vulgar humour, as well as crude depictions of sexual acts and nudity, became one of his trademarks, as well as his regular collaborations with the likes of Michel Blanc, Josiane Balasko and Depardieu.

His 1978 film Préparez vos mouchoirs, also starring Depardieu, won the Acedmy Award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards in 1979.

Blier won the César for Best Screenplay three times - for Buffet froid in 1980, Notre histoire in 1985 and Trop belle pour toi in 1990. The latter also won him the Jury Prize at Cannes and the César for Best Film and Best Director.

“It is with great sadness that I learn of the death of Bertrand Blier. He was a genius of dialogue, in the tradition of Prévert and Audiard,” said French Culture Minister Rachida Dati on X. “In films that reflected their time, he gave iconic roles to some of the greatest names: Jean-Pierre Marielle, Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Michel Blanc, Isabelle Huppert, Patrick Dewaere, Josiane Balasko, not forgetting his own father Bernard Blier. Bertrand Blier was an immense, non-conformist filmmaker, a passionate lover of creative freedom.”

Throughout his career, his films - such as Calmos, starring Jean-Pierre Marielle and Jean Rochefort - were accused of misogyny, and controversy seemed to follow him around. However, Blier did not care or change his tune.

“We had fun making a provocative film just to be provocative,” he said in an interview with French culture magazine Transfuge. “We attacked women and feminists head-on. It was more of a playful provocation than a deep feeling on our part.”

Blier’s final film was Convoi exceptionnel in 2019, starring Depardieu and Christian Clavier.