"The Watchmaker of Saint-Paul" (1974)
Lyonnais by birth and attached to his city, the director located what was to be his first public success, as well as his first in a long collaboration with Philippe Noiret.
This powerful drama, adapted from Georges Simenon, tells how a man who brings up his son alone discovers how little he does not know him when he learns that he has committed a murder, before trying to get closer to him.
Heartwarming.
"Let the Party Begin ..." (1975)
Radical change of register the following year: Tavernier surprises all of France with this historical fresco which describes the senseless debauchery in which the Duke of Orleans wallowed in the 18th century (Noiret again) with fine parts, which will cause conspiracies against him.
A breathtaking, hot, fascinating film, awarded two Césars.
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"Dishcloth" (1981)
Philippe Noiret and Isabelle Huppert in “Coup de torchon”.
/ Les Films de la Tour / Films A2 / Little Bear
Keen on American detective novels, the filmmaker adapts one of his favorite authors, Jim Thompson.
Transposing the action in colonial Africa of the 1930s, he follows here a cop (Noiret always, facing Isabelle Huppert and Guy Marchand) despised by all, who will suddenly assassinate all the embarrassers with appalling cynicism.
Its biggest success in theaters, with 2.2 million admissions.
"A Sunday in the Country" (1984)
In 1912, an old painter known but without genius will question his life and his work on the occasion of the Sunday visit of his children and grandchildren.
Very touching, this popular success of Tavernier offers golden roles to Sabine Azéma, Louis Ducreux and Michel Aumont, and a new César to the director.
"Life and nothing else" (1989)
After the First World War, an officer was tasked with identifying the soldiers who disappeared at the front.
He will meet two women who are looking for their companion, then discover that it is the same man.
Very moving and remarkably interpreted by Philippe Noiret, Sabine Azéma and Pascale Vignal, the film attracted 1.5 million spectators.
"L.627" (1992)
Nils Tavernier, Jean-Roger Milo, Jean-Paul Comart, Charlotte Kady in “L.627”.
/ Little Bear / Les Films Alain Sarde
Back to the thriller, but in the punchy genre: the daily life of a group of police officers from the narcotics squad, where the personality of each member will be revealed over the course of the interventions.
A very strong film, so much Tavernier, who had wanted a realistic staging, has succeeded admirably.
"The Daughter of d'Artagnan" (1994)
Between two detective films, the director returns to the story of adventures, with this story of Eloise d'Artagnan who wants to foil a plot against the king, and will bring the famous musketeers back into service.
Sparkling and unleashed, Sophie Marceau bursts the screen in the title role.
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"The Bait" (1995)
Shock thriller, this adaptation of a news item that had hit the headlines in the 1980s follows a young girl who serves as bait for mature men, before her companions break into their homes in order to rob them, or worst.
The coldness of the young woman is remarkably embodied by Marie Gillain, superbly directed by the filmmaker.
"It Starts Today" (1999)
Philippe Torreton in “It starts today” ./ StudioCanal / Jurgen Vollmer
New realistic (and brilliant) film: the daily life of a teacher from the North very involved with the inhabitants of his small town and confronted with the misery of his region, which will become radicalized after a succession of tragic events.
It is Philippe Torreton who portrays this ordinary hero in a breathtaking way.
"In the Electric Mist" (2009)
New adaptation of a thriller, James Lee Burke, for a very dark story of serial murders in the Louisiana bayou that a surly and tenacious inspector (Tommy Lee Jones, masterful) tries to solve.
It is the only fiction produced and shot in the United States signed by this great specialist in American cinema, Tavernier.
A huge film.