Robert Hossein

Acting

Robert Hossein

Born 1927-12-30 · Paris, France

Robert Hossein was a French film actor of Parsi origin, director and writer. He directed the 1982 adaption of Les Misérables, and appeared in Vice and Virtue, Le Casse, Les Uns et les Autres and Venus Beauty Institute. His most recent roles include starring as Michèle Mercier's husband in the Angélique series and as a Catholic priest who falls in love with Claude Jade and becomes a communist in Prêtres interdits (Forbidden Priests) in 1973. Hossein started directing films in 1956 with Les salauds vont en enfer from a story by Frédéric Dard whose novels and plays went on to furnish Hossein with much of his later film material. 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 Dostoyevski. Although Hossein had some modest international successes with films like Toi, le venin and Le vampire de Dusseldorf, 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 Une corde, un Colt and the low-budgeted but daringly subversive period drama J'ai tué Raspoutine. 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. He is the son of André Hossein a Zoroastrian French composer of Azerbaijani-Tajik descent, and a Jewish comedy actress from Kiev. He was married three times: first to Marina Vlady (he has two sons with her, Pierre and Igor), later to Caroline Eliacheff (with whom he has a son, Nicholas). He is currently married to actress Candice Patou, with whom he has one son, Julien. 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 Lombardo Italy. Description above from the Wikipedia article Robert Hossein, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.

Acting credits

The Professional poster
7.2

Josselin Beaumont, a French secret agent, is tasked with assassinating Njala, the president for life of Malawi in Africa. A shift in French policy means that assassinating Njala is no longer an option. But instead of recalling their agent, high-ranking officials deliberately sacrifice Beaumont by handing him over to the Malawian authorities. Arrested, tried, and imprisoned, he nevertheless manages to escape. Back in Paris after a two-year absence, he informs his superiors through Colonel Martin that he will fulfill his contract during Njala’s upcoming official visit to Paris between the 12th and 15th of this month, and that he has a few scores to settle with the D.G.S.E. The question is, should Beaumont be stopped or not?

The Professional

1981

Prêtres interdits poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Prêtres interdits

1973

Angelique and the Sultan poster
6.4

Angélique is in a North African Muslim kingdom where she is now part of the Sultan's harem. She refuses to be bedded as her captors try to beat sense into her. She finally decides to escape with the help of two Christian prisoners.

Angelique and the Sultan

1968

Rififi poster
7.8

Out of prison after a five-year stretch, jewel thief Tony turns down a quick job his friend Jo offers him, until he discovers that his old girlfriend Mado has become the lover of local gangster Pierre Grutter during Tony's absence. Expanding a minor smash-and-grab into a full-scale jewel heist, Tony and his crew appear to get away clean, but their actions after the job is completed threaten the lives of everyone involved.

Rififi

1955

No Sun in Venice poster
5.5

Cute Sophie is an amoral French girl living in a sumptuous Venetian palazzo. She is the kept woman of a very rich but undesirable fellow named Eric von Bergen, an ex-nazi turned forger.

No Sun in Venice

1957

Trivial poster
4.2

An inspector who just suffered a family tragedy is looking for a missing older man. Man's family is of no help, or are they hiding something? He is helped by a ghost of an actress who died 30 years ago, or is he slowly going insane?

Trivial

2007

Angelique poster
6.7

In 17th-century France, beautiful country maiden Angélique marries wealthy neighbor Jeoffray de Peyrac out of convenience, but eventually, she falls in love with him. So when Jeoffray is arrested and then vanishes, she bravely sets out to find him. This is the first of many dramas based on Anne and Serge Golon's novels about strong-willed Angélique and her adventures during the reign of Louis XIV, the Sun King.

Angelique

1964

Angelique and the King poster
6.5

Soon after her latest husband death, the King himself (Louis XIV) meets with our heroine and begs her to help convince the Persian Ambassador to agree to a treaty. However, what they didn't realize was that the handsome Persian was in fact a sexual sadist. So, it is up to the King's half- brother, some Hungarian prince, to save Angélique from the evil troll's clutches.

Angelique and the King

1966

The Burglars poster
6.9

In Athens a collection of emeralds is successfully stolen by a team of robbers, led by safe-cracker Azad. Things go smoothly until they miss the ship by which they planned their escape; a police chief pursues Azad while he waits for the next ship to set off.

The Burglars

1971

Bolero poster
6.9

The film follows four families, with different nationalities (French, German, Russian and American) but with the same passion for music, from the 1930s to the 1960s. The various story lines cross each other time and again in different places and times, with their own theme scores that evolve as time passes. The main event in the film is the Second World War, which throws the stories of the four musical families together and mixes their fates. Although all characters are fictional, many of them are loosely based on historical musical icons (Édith Piaf, Josephine Baker, Herbert von Karajan, Glenn Miller, Rudolf Nureyev, etc.) The Boléro dance sequence at the end brings all the threads together.

Bolero

1981

L'Affaire poster
3.6

A man who had everything taken away from him, including his family, by his brother teams up with a young card player in order to take revenge on the brother.

L'Affaire

1994

Aznavour by Charles poster
6.9

In 1948, French singer Charles Aznavour (1924-2018) receives a Paillard Bolex, his first camera. Until 1982, he will shoot hours of footage, his filmed diary. Wherever he goes, he carries his camera with him. He films his life and lives as he films: places, moments, friends, loves, misfortunes.

Aznavour by Charles

2019

The Man Who Betrayed the Mafia poster
4.8

When an oily attorney dies at the hands of the mafia, a dedicated French detective investigates the man's murder. He soon uncovers a drug-smuggling operation and lets his sawed-off shotgun do the talking to the toughs in this Gallic gangster feature.

The Man Who Betrayed the Mafia

1967

Belmondo, itinéraire... poster
7.7

Documentary on the career of Jean-Paul Belmondo.

Belmondo, itinéraire...

2011

Untamable Angelique poster
6.5

Angelique goes in search of her husband Joffrey de Peyrac who did not die on the stake.

Untamable Angelique

1967

Les Miserables poster
6.6

In WWII France, poor and illiterate Henri Fortin is introduced to Victor Hugo's classic novel Les Misérables and begins to see parallels between the book and his own life.

Les Miserables

1995

Life Love Death poster
5.5

François Toledo, married businessman and father, falls head-over-heels in love with Janine, a work colleague. However, he is soon found out: after three dates, he strangles some prostitutes, when, the victim of blackmail, he becomes dishonored. He is taken to court, and sentenced to be killed by a guillotine.

Life Love Death

1969

Belmondo: The Incorrigible poster
8.2

Charismatic and resourceful, seducer and daredevil, Jean-Paul Belmondo has always played his roles as he lived, at a thousand miles an hour. He had only one passion: to entertain the public with his smile, his naturalness, his energy, his stunts. But contrary to appearances, his destiny was full of pitfalls. This film lifts the veil on a founding childhood that allowed him to overcome many obstacles throughout his life thanks to the tutelary figures of his father and mother. Told from the inside with the help of his autobiography, interviews and unpublished archives, this epic story traces the career of this turbulent young actor who launched the New Wave in Breathless before becoming the popular Bebel, an indestructible and provocative vigilante. From film to film, this documentary paints an intimate portrait of a man who built himself up to reach the top: his triumphs but also his trials, his doubts, his secrets, his angers, his clowning, his disappointments or his personal dramas.

Belmondo: The Incorrigible

2022

Cemetery without Crosses poster
6.3

A melancholic gunfighter is drawn into a vengeful and tragic kidnapping plot by his widowed ex-lover.

Cemetery without Crosses

1969

San Antonio poster
3.7

While a terrorist epidemy strikes the world leaders, the commissaire San-Antonio and his partner, the lieutenant Bérurier, have to escort the French ambassador in a British hotel. But after a negligence of Bérurier (one more little sex affair...), San-Antonio witnessed, helpless, to the ambassador's abduction, organized by a gorgeous Italian girl. Back to Paris, San-Antonio is dismissed by the police chief, Achille Hachille. A real godsend for Bérurier, who get promoted... But soon, the situation degenerates, when the president of the Republic mysteriously disappears. Immediate reaction from Police Minister : San-Antonio is the only one who can save the day. He has 48 hours and a secret squad to find the president. At the Elysée, San-Antonio finds Bérurier, the official investigator. But now, it's every man for himself : who will be the first to find the President ?

San Antonio

2004

Marco the Magnificent poster
4.8

Young Marco Polo travels to China to help Kublai Khan fight against rebels, headed by his own son, with a new invention: gunpowder.

Marco the Magnificent

1965

Children of Chaos poster
5.4

Marie is a young woman recently released from prison on drug charges. As a condition of her release, she joins a theatrical troupe composed of young delinquents, and at the same time faces a difficult journey of reintegration into society and strives to rebuild her life.

Children of Chaos

1989

Venus Beauty Institute poster
5.9

Aging beautician Angèle, already wounded by a long-ago romance, gets awkwardly dumped at a train station. Witnessing how she turns around a humiliating situation, younger sculptor Antoine becomes so smitten that he breaks up with his fiancée and sets out to win Angèle's heart. Meanwhile, Angèle attempts to quash the budding romance of her young co-worker, Marie, and a much older widowed client, despite their obvious rapport.

Venus Beauty Institute

1999

Enough Rope poster
5.8

Two total strangers suspect each other of murdering their own wives. Based on Patricia Highsmith's 1954 novel The Blunderer.

Enough Rope

1963

Behind the camera

Les Misérables poster
7.0

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

Les Misérables

1982

Les Misérables poster
7.0

In 19th century France, Jean Valjean, a man imprisoned for stealing bread, must flee a relentless policeman named Javert. The pursuit consumes both men's lives, and soon Valjean finds himself in the midst of the student revolutions in France.

Les Misérables

1982

Cemetery without Crosses poster
6.3

A melancholic gunfighter is drawn into a vengeful and tragic kidnapping plot by his widowed ex-lover.

Cemetery without Crosses

1969

Cemetery without Crosses poster
6.3

A melancholic gunfighter is drawn into a vengeful and tragic kidnapping plot by his widowed ex-lover.

Cemetery without Crosses

1969

I Killed Rasputin poster
4.4

Grigori Rasputin becomes a fixture of Russia's Imperial Court after saving the life of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, the haemophiliac heir to the throne. However as war breaks out, Rasputin's enemies see him as a cause and plot fatal revenge against the Russian mystic.

I Killed Rasputin

1967

I Killed Rasputin poster
4.4

Grigori Rasputin becomes a fixture of Russia's Imperial Court after saving the life of Alexei Nikolaevich, Tsarevich of Russia, the haemophiliac heir to the throne. However as war breaks out, Rasputin's enemies see him as a cause and plot fatal revenge against the Russian mystic.

I Killed Rasputin

1967

Falling Point poster
5.9

Three men kidnap a young girl and keep her in a small house on an isolated beach, waiting for her father to pay up the ransom. But the youngest one, in charge of watching her, let accidentally the girl see his face and it becomes no longer possible to return her alive...

Falling Point

1970

Falling Point poster
5.9

Three men kidnap a young girl and keep her in a small house on an isolated beach, waiting for her father to pay up the ransom. But the youngest one, in charge of watching her, let accidentally the girl see his face and it becomes no longer possible to return her alive...

Falling Point

1970

The Wicked Go to Hell poster
6.4

Two convicts attempt to escape from prison in a violent tale of deception, survival, and moral ambiguity.

The Wicked Go to Hell

1955

The Wicked Go to Hell poster
6.4

Two convicts attempt to escape from prison in a violent tale of deception, survival, and moral ambiguity.

The Wicked Go to Hell

1955

The Taste of Violence poster
6.6

Perez kidnaps the President's daughter to trade her for imprisoned revolutionaries.

The Taste of Violence

1961

The Taste of Violence poster
6.6

Perez kidnaps the President's daughter to trade her for imprisoned revolutionaries.

The Taste of Violence

1961

Blonde in a White Car poster
6.8

Picked up by a beautiful motorist, jobless hitchhiker Pierre (Hossein) is subsequently romanced by the girl. Immediately thereafter, however, she dumps him, attempting to run him over as a final insult. Memorizing her license number, Pierre pursues the enigmatic motorist. Arriving at her home, Pierre is met by two young ladies (Marina Vlady and Odelle Versois), either one of whom might be the woman he's looking for.

Blonde in a White Car

1959

Blonde in a White Car poster
6.8

Picked up by a beautiful motorist, jobless hitchhiker Pierre (Hossein) is subsequently romanced by the girl. Immediately thereafter, however, she dumps him, attempting to run him over as a final insult. Memorizing her license number, Pierre pursues the enigmatic motorist. Arriving at her home, Pierre is met by two young ladies (Marina Vlady and Odelle Versois), either one of whom might be the woman he's looking for.

Blonde in a White Car

1959

The Vampire of Dusseldorf poster
5.6

A true story of Peter Kurten, a serial killer who committed nine murders and many other offenses in Dusseldorf during the Great Depression era.

The Vampire of Dusseldorf

1965

The Vampire of Dusseldorf poster
5.6

A true story of Peter Kurten, a serial killer who committed nine murders and many other offenses in Dusseldorf during the Great Depression era.

The Vampire of Dusseldorf

1965

Double Agents poster
5.6

Robert Hossein, Marina Vlady, Robert Le Beal. A brilliant "little" spy film. Hossein and Vlady play mysterious characters who meet up one night in a lonely cabin in the wilds of Normandy. They are both spies, but whom do they work for-the Allies or the Nazis.

Double Agents

1959

Double Agents poster
5.6

Robert Hossein, Marina Vlady, Robert Le Beal. A brilliant "little" spy film. Hossein and Vlady play mysterious characters who meet up one night in a lonely cabin in the wilds of Normandy. They are both spies, but whom do they work for-the Allies or the Nazis.

Double Agents

1959

Marked Eyes poster
6.3

A story about a widow who begins to receive blackmail letters demanding money from her. This is when everyone in the small town she lives in dismissing her husband.

Marked Eyes

1964

The Wretches poster
6.4

Meant to be a psychological study of a dysfunctional couple and an equally unbalanced maid, this slow-paced, murky melodrama stars Michele Morgan and Robert Hossein as Thelma and Jess, two Americans who move into a down-at-the-heels Paris neighborhood. The couple is still suffering from the loss of their only son in an automobile accident that happened some time in the distant past. Thelma tends to drown her sorrows in alcohol, while Jess is introspected and morose. After they hire a maid to help out with the housework, she falls for the taciturn Jess. Her interest seems to be only a simple attraction, yet appearances, as it turns out, are deceiving.

The Wretches

1960

The Wretches poster
6.4

Meant to be a psychological study of a dysfunctional couple and an equally unbalanced maid, this slow-paced, murky melodrama stars Michele Morgan and Robert Hossein as Thelma and Jess, two Americans who move into a down-at-the-heels Paris neighborhood. The couple is still suffering from the loss of their only son in an automobile accident that happened some time in the distant past. Thelma tends to drown her sorrows in alcohol, while Jess is introspected and morose. After they hire a maid to help out with the housework, she falls for the taciturn Jess. Her interest seems to be only a simple attraction, yet appearances, as it turns out, are deceiving.

The Wretches

1960

Death of a Killer poster
6.2

When Massa is released from prison, he's sure that Luciano, an old freind, is responsible for his incarceration. Massa proceeds to keep watch on Luciano, who has been living with Massa's beloved sister Maria. Feeling doubly betrayed because of his unhealthy adoration for Maria, Massa is determined to get back at Luciano and ends up in a deadly game of roulette.

Death of a Killer

1964

Death of a Killer poster
6.2

When Massa is released from prison, he's sure that Luciano, an old freind, is responsible for his incarceration. Massa proceeds to keep watch on Luciano, who has been living with Massa's beloved sister Maria. Feeling doubly betrayed because of his unhealthy adoration for Maria, Massa is determined to get back at Luciano and ends up in a deadly game of roulette.

Death of a Killer

1964

The Game of Truth poster
6.0

A dozen elegant people are gathered in a writer's desirable mansion. In the grand tradition of Agatha Christie, they all have something to hide.They begin a cruel game of truth, a game where you're not supposed to tell lies. As the questions become more and more intimate and precise, the tempers rise, while outside the storm is raging. Enter a hateful person (played by Paul Meurisse, the nasty headmaster in "Les Diaboliques") who seems to know a lot about them. Someone is murdered. Whodunit?

The Game of Truth

1961