Jean-Jacques Annaud

Directing

Jean-Jacques Annaud

Born

1943-10-01 (83)

Place of birth

Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne, France

Known for

Directing

Credits

54 titles

Annaud was born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, Essonne. He was educated at the technical school in Vaugirard and in 1964 graduated from the prestigious film school Institut des Hautes Études Cinématographiques (IDHEC) in Paris. He began his career by directing television advertisements in the late 1960s to early 1970s. In his first feature film, Black and White in Color from 1976, he used personal experience obtained during his own military service in Cameroon. The film won an Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film. His third film Quest for Fire (La Guerre du feu) received two Césars for best film and best director. In 1986 he directed The Name of the Rose, a film adaptation of Umberto Eco'…

Known for

Film credits

1980s · 4 titles

Series credits

Behind the camera

Enemy at the Gates poster
7.4

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

Enemy at the Gates

2001

Enemy at the Gates poster
7.4

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

Enemy at the Gates

2001

Enemy at the Gates poster
7.4

A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.

Enemy at the Gates

2001

The Name of the Rose poster
7.5

14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence; which is considerable.

The Name of the Rose

1986

Notre-Dame on Fire poster
6.6

A film relating from the inside the Notre-Dame de Paris fire of April 2019.

Notre-Dame on Fire

2022

Notre-Dame on Fire poster
6.6

A film relating from the inside the Notre-Dame de Paris fire of April 2019.

Notre-Dame on Fire

2022

The Bear poster
7.1

An orphan bear cub hooks up with an adult male as they try to dodge human hunters.

The Bear

1988

The Lover poster
7.0

A poor French teenage girl engages in an illicit affair with a wealthy Chinese heir in 1920s Saigon. For the first time in her young life she has control, and she wields it deftly over her besotted lover throughout a series of clandestine meetings and torrid encounters.

The Lover

1992

The Lover poster
7.0

A poor French teenage girl engages in an illicit affair with a wealthy Chinese heir in 1920s Saigon. For the first time in her young life she has control, and she wields it deftly over her besotted lover throughout a series of clandestine meetings and torrid encounters.

The Lover

1992

Seven Years in Tibet poster
7.2

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

Seven Years in Tibet

1997

Seven Years in Tibet poster
7.2

Austrian mountaineer Heinrich Harrer journeys to the Himalayas without his family to head an expedition in 1939. But when World War II breaks out, the arrogant Harrer falls into Allied forces' hands as a prisoner of war. He escapes with a fellow detainee and makes his way to Lhasa, Tibet, where he meets the 14-year-old Dalai Lama, whose friendship ultimately transforms his outlook on life.

Seven Years in Tibet

1997

Quest for Fire poster
7.0

In the prehistoric world, a Cro-Magnon tribe depends on an ever-burning source of fire, which eventually extinguishes. Lacking the knowledge to start a new fire, the tribe sends three warriors on a quest for more. With the tribe's future at stake, the warriors make their way across a treacherous landscape full of hostile tribes and monstrous beasts. On their journey, they encounter Ika, a woman who has the knowledge they seek.

Quest for Fire

1981

Two Brothers poster
7.2

Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer (Pearce) who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.

Two Brothers

2004

Two Brothers poster
7.2

Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer (Pearce) who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.

Two Brothers

2004

Two Brothers poster
7.2

Two tigers are separated as cubs and taken into captivity, only to be reunited years later as enemies by an explorer (Pearce) who inadvertently forces them to fight each other.

Two Brothers

2004

Running Free poster
6.2

The tale of the extraordinary life and times of Lucky, a horse that was born in captivity but achieves his dream of running free with the help of a stableboy.

Running Free

1999

Running Free poster
6.2

The tale of the extraordinary life and times of Lucky, a horse that was born in captivity but achieves his dream of running free with the help of a stableboy.

Running Free

1999

Black Gold poster
6.5

On the Arabian Peninsula in the 1930s, two warring leaders come face to face. The victorious Nesib, Emir of Hobeika, lays down his peace terms to rival Amar, Sultan of Salmaah. The two men agree that neither can lay claim to the area of no man’s land between them called The Yellow Belt. In return, Nesib adopts Amar’s two boys Saleeh and Auda as a guarantee against invasion. Twelve years later, Saleeh and Auda have grown into young men. Saleeh, the warrior, itches to escape his gilded cage and return to his father’s land. Auda cares only for books and the pursuit of knowledge. One day, their adopted father Nesib is visited by an American from Texas. He tells the Emir that his land is blessed with oil and promises him riches beyond his wildest imagination. Nesib imagines a realm of infinite possibility, a kingdom with roads, schools and hospitals all paid for by the black gold beneath the barren sand. There is only one problem. The precious oil is located in the Yellow Belt.

Black Gold

2011

His Majesty Minor poster
3.5

In this offbeat comedy, a man raised by a pig dies and is resurrected with a newfound power of speech, elevating his stature among his fellow humans.

His Majesty Minor

2007

His Majesty Minor poster
3.5

In this offbeat comedy, a man raised by a pig dies and is resurrected with a newfound power of speech, elevating his stature among his fellow humans.

His Majesty Minor

2007

His Majesty Minor poster
3.5

In this offbeat comedy, a man raised by a pig dies and is resurrected with a newfound power of speech, elevating his stature among his fellow humans.

His Majesty Minor

2007

Wolf Totem poster
6.5

In 1969, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.

Wolf Totem

2015

Wolf Totem poster
6.5

In 1969, a young Beijing student, Chen Zhen, is sent to live among the nomadic herdsmen of Inner Mongolia. Caught between the advance of civilization from the south and the nomads' traditional enemies - the marauding wolves - to the north; humans and animals, residents and invaders alike, struggle to find their true place in the world.

Wolf Totem

2015

Black and White in Color poster
6.4

French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. A young, idealistic French geographer seems to be the only rational person in the town, and he takes over control of the "war" after several bungles on the part of the others.

Black and White in Color

1976

Black and White in Color poster
6.4

French colonists in Africa, several months behind in the news, find themselves at war with their German neighbors. Deciding that they must do their proper duty and fight the Germans, they promptly conscript the local native population. Issuing them boots and rifles, the French attempt to make "proper" soldiers out of the Africans. A young, idealistic French geographer seems to be the only rational person in the town, and he takes over control of the "war" after several bungles on the part of the others.

Black and White in Color

1976

Wings of Courage poster
6.7

In 1930 South America, a small group of French pilots struggle to prove they can offer a reliable airmail service over the Andes. When one of the young pilots crashes on such a flight, he has to try and get back to civilization on foot. Back home, his wife and colleagues start to fear the worst.

Wings of Courage

1995

Wings of Courage poster
6.7

In 1930 South America, a small group of French pilots struggle to prove they can offer a reliable airmail service over the Andes. When one of the young pilots crashes on such a flight, he has to try and get back to civilization on foot. Back home, his wife and colleagues start to fear the worst.

Wings of Courage

1995

Wings of Courage poster
6.7

In 1930 South America, a small group of French pilots struggle to prove they can offer a reliable airmail service over the Andes. When one of the young pilots crashes on such a flight, he has to try and get back to civilization on foot. Back home, his wife and colleagues start to fear the worst.

Wings of Courage

1995

The King of Ads poster
4.3

A collection of European T.V. commercials directed by a variety of well-known directors from across Europe and the U.S. Compiled and produced by Jean-Marie Boursicot.

The King of Ads

1991

Too Shy to Try poster
6.4

Pierre is a hotel cashier in Vichy, so shy that he answers an ad from the Psychology Institute and can't say no to the salesman, Aldo; he spends 6,000 francs on tapes, books, and a punching bag. Soon after, he's smitten by Agnes, a hotel guest with a model's looks and photographers wherever she goes. When she leaves for Nice, he follows, meeting Aldo on the way. Aldo becomes his boldness coach. Pierre gets a job washing dishes where Agnes is staying, but after a week or so, she's off to Deauville, with Aldo and Pierre in pursuit. Using funds they get by selling Aldo's car, this time Pierre poses as a polo-playing jet setter. Will this win the heart of Agnes?

Too Shy to Try

1978

Hothead poster
7.1

François, a miserable football player, becomes a town hero after bringing victory in an extremely important game. He uses his fame for revenge on the team star for the previous mockeries.

Hothead

1979