
Directing
Nelly Kaplan
Born — Died
1931-04-11 — 2020-11-12
Place of birth
Buenos Aires, Argentina
Known for
Directing
Credits
44 titles
Born in Argentina to a Russian Jewish family, Nelly Kaplan relocated to Paris at age seventeen, where she became an assistant to legendary director Abel Gance before directing her first feature, the caustic revenge comedy A Very Curious Girl. Transgressive, satirical, and surreal, Kaplan's films are defined by their proactive female protagonists.
Known for
9.0Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.
Midi Première
1975
6.0A talk show presented by Michel Drucker
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975
6.0No synopsis available yet.
Midi trente
1972
No synopsis available yet.
Samedi soir
1971
6.7Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.
Austerlitz
1960
6.2Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economic gain and an instrument of revenge against those who have wronged her.
A Very Curious Girl
1969
Film credits
1990s · 3 titles
7.0Jonas Mekas assembles 160 portraits, appearances, and fleeting sketches of underground and independent filmmakers captured between 1955 and 1996. Fast-paced and archival in spirit, the film celebrates the avant-garde as its own “nation of cinema,” a vital community existing outside the dominance of commercial film.
Birth of a Nation
1997
8.0Polly West, a very rich American star, has bought the castle of Sainte Apolline, a small village in Provence. As soon as she arrives, the dynamic actress causes trouble among the inhabitants. After having received her in confession, the priest seems to be taken by madness. To add to the turmoil, the country warden and the grocer enter her service. Honorin, the mayor, tries to cope and maintain order. While the people of the village keep asking questions, Polly flies to the rescue of the beautiful Italian girl Clara, who has been raped by the landlord Léonce. Soon, Honotin discovers that Polly is buying up the village's land using a few nominees. He then understands that this woman is not a stranger and that, a few years ago, the villagers chased her away because she was a mother, and these same villagers caused the death of her parents. Polly has returned to seek revenge.
Polly West est de retour
1993
5.2A small village lies peacefully nestled in the hills beneath the Provence sun... until the arrival of an odd group of vacationers. Who are these gorgeous young women from the big city strolling on the village square under the watchful eye of a chaperone as beautiful as she is authoritarian? Scandal arises when it’s learned these dreamy creatures are none other than the employees of a Marseille brothel come to enjoy the good clean air of the country. All hell breaks loose as the villagers take a stand for or against the presence of these "ladies of pleasure". The mayor is called on to relay women of the moral rules of the region to the women. But the fact remains, they can’t be forced to leave: while they have no intention of plying their trade, no law exists to bring their country retreat to a premature end. Different mentalities are revealed, passions unbridled, love kindled... and doesn’t love always solve everything in the end?
The Cocottes
1991
1970s · 3 titles
4.6Richard is a private detective. He makes a good money from marital infidelity: the deceived husband and wife generously paid him for proof of their infidelity "halves"...
One Must Live Dangerously
1975
4.6In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (aka Venus de Palma) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove thier worth to her.
Papa, the Lil' Boats
1971
5.8An old and poor couple, Charles and Lucie, scrape by working as a concierge and an untalented antique dealer, respectively. But one day, their dreary daily routine is disrupted by the surprising news that they have inherited a luxurious house in the South of France.
Charles and Lucie
1979
1960s · 3 titles
6.7Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.
Austerlitz
1960
6.0The life and work of Abel Gance as told by himself. Includes extracts from many of his films and considers his contribution to the cinema.
Abel Gance, Yesterday and Tomorrow
1963
6.0A story of "La Pasta", a renowned prima donna, and her extraordinary rival.
La prima donna
1964
Series credits
9.0Midi Première is a French variety show presented by Danièle Gilbert, directed by Jacques Pierre and broadcast from January 6, 1975 until January 1, 1982 on TF1. The program was generally broadcast between 12:15 p.m. and 12:55 p.m., then giving way to the 1:00 p.m. TV news. However, the broadcast schedule could change, depending on the guests, and the setting where the recording of the program was shot. Certain performances by artists who have become cult like the one where Ringo jostles with a demonstrator in interpretation (1977), that of Dalida with the title There is always a song with the soundtrack that does not start, twice, at the right speed (1978), Claude François and his Clodettes, who, in the provinces, are unable to join "the set" in order to interpret his song, the latter being taken by the crowd of delirious fans (summer 1977) . The group Supertramp performed there with the title "Dreamer" on March 8, 1975.
Midi Première
1975
6.0A talk show presented by Michel Drucker
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975
6.0No synopsis available yet.
Midi trente
1972
No synopsis available yet.
Samedi soir
1971
7.0Dora Stern, an American photographer living in Paris, wakes up from the same nightmare over and over again. In a small antique store she finds a collage with fearful eyes that haunt her. At home she removes the layers of the collage until she can see the original photo showing a young woman in fear who looks exactly like Dora Stern. But who is this woman?
Le Regard dans le miroir
1985
Behind the camera
6.7Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself emperor and fights the English, Austrians and Russians in 1802.
Austerlitz
1960
6.2Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economic gain and an instrument of revenge against those who have wronged her.
A Very Curious Girl
1969
6.2Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economic gain and an instrument of revenge against those who have wronged her.
A Very Curious Girl
1969
6.2Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economic gain and an instrument of revenge against those who have wronged her.
A Very Curious Girl
1969
4.6Richard is a private detective. He makes a good money from marital infidelity: the deceived husband and wife generously paid him for proof of their infidelity "halves"...
One Must Live Dangerously
1975
4.6Richard is a private detective. He makes a good money from marital infidelity: the deceived husband and wife generously paid him for proof of their infidelity "halves"...
One Must Live Dangerously
1975
4.6In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (aka Venus de Palma) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove thier worth to her.
Papa, the Lil' Boats
1971
4.6In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (aka Venus de Palma) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove thier worth to her.
Papa, the Lil' Boats
1971
4.6In this whimsical French comedy, Cookie (aka Venus de Palma) is a tough, sweet little rich girl, and is rather smart, too. She's smart enough and charming enough to outwit her kidnappers by setting one against the other until they have all killed each other or died trying to prove thier worth to her.
Papa, the Lil' Boats
1971
5.8An old and poor couple, Charles and Lucie, scrape by working as a concierge and an untalented antique dealer, respectively. But one day, their dreary daily routine is disrupted by the surprising news that they have inherited a luxurious house in the South of France.
Charles and Lucie
1979
5.8An old and poor couple, Charles and Lucie, scrape by working as a concierge and an untalented antique dealer, respectively. But one day, their dreary daily routine is disrupted by the surprising news that they have inherited a luxurious house in the South of France.
Charles and Lucie
1979
5.6In 1930, Honorin, the mayor of a small village, receives a visit from a young girl claiming to be his child.
Honorin et l'enfant prodigue
1994
4.6Guillaume de Burlador is a private tutor who hits a low point sufficiently severe for him to contemplate a somewhat theatrical suicide. Instead he is taken off by flying boat to a mad French colonial possession bedecked by mad servants and crazy decor. Three educated and rather gorgeous women live there, and they hire him to tutor a young teenager, but more with plans to seduce him in mind.
The Pleasure of Love
1991
4.6Guillaume de Burlador is a private tutor who hits a low point sufficiently severe for him to contemplate a somewhat theatrical suicide. Instead he is taken off by flying boat to a mad French colonial possession bedecked by mad servants and crazy decor. Three educated and rather gorgeous women live there, and they hire him to tutor a young teenager, but more with plans to seduce him in mind.
The Pleasure of Love
1991
4.9In Genève, bookseller and publisher Axel Thorpe catches willful, rich 16-year-old Sibylle Ashby shoplifting. She brags about her writing, so he challenges her to produce a book. She writes an erotic novel that Thorpe publishes anonymously, and it becomes a best seller. She also tries to capture the love of this 40-year-old publisher but he drops her for her older sister.
Nea
1976
4.9In Genève, bookseller and publisher Axel Thorpe catches willful, rich 16-year-old Sibylle Ashby shoplifting. She brags about her writing, so he challenges her to produce a book. She writes an erotic novel that Thorpe publishes anonymously, and it becomes a best seller. She also tries to capture the love of this 40-year-old publisher but he drops her for her older sister.
Nea
1976
NRA brilliant analysis of 19th century French Symbolist painter Gustave Moreau, known for his fantastical and mythological subjects, and who remains to these days an influential figure in the birth of modern art.
Gustave Moreau
1962
6.0The life and work of Abel Gance as told by himself. Includes extracts from many of his films and considers his contribution to the cinema.
Abel Gance, Yesterday and Tomorrow
1963
8.0Bernadette Lafont and Michel Bouquet reteam with Kaplan as, respectively, a clairvoyant and a criminologist drawn into the orbit of widow Caroline Sihol; when the latter’s late husband Pierre Arditi turns out to yet have surprises up his sleeve for all of them, Kaplan hones in on the women’s by-necessity connection. The director foregoes her own cameo in favor of ones for colleagues Jean Chapot and Claude Makovski, both as nurses.
Velvet Paws
1987
8.0Bernadette Lafont and Michel Bouquet reteam with Kaplan as, respectively, a clairvoyant and a criminologist drawn into the orbit of widow Caroline Sihol; when the latter’s late husband Pierre Arditi turns out to yet have surprises up his sleeve for all of them, Kaplan hones in on the women’s by-necessity connection. The director foregoes her own cameo in favor of ones for colleagues Jean Chapot and Claude Makovski, both as nurses.
Velvet Paws
1987
5.5This documentary focuses on the making of the 235-minute, silent epic Napoleon, the masterpiece of French director/writer/actor Abel Gance. Napoleon showcased Gance's talents with the camera, his use of multiple-images (like a split screen), and his handling of crowded action scenes -- all brought forward in this documentary by his later assistant, Nelly Kaplan. While Gance was shooting Napoleon in 1925-26, he and his crew were also being filmed for a documentary titled Autour de Napoleon. The only extant reels from that documentary are included in this film, as well as views of Gance's unique "triptychs" -- three different scenes lined up side-by-side across a super-wide screen to convey the effect of a panorama, or of three separate interludes. Nelly Kaplan put together this documentary using old footage, such as Gance filming the famous snowball fight at the Brienne military school and still photographs and excerpts from Gance's production diaries.
Abel Gance et son Napoléon
1984
5.2A small village lies peacefully nestled in the hills beneath the Provence sun... until the arrival of an odd group of vacationers. Who are these gorgeous young women from the big city strolling on the village square under the watchful eye of a chaperone as beautiful as she is authoritarian? Scandal arises when it’s learned these dreamy creatures are none other than the employees of a Marseille brothel come to enjoy the good clean air of the country. All hell breaks loose as the villagers take a stand for or against the presence of these "ladies of pleasure". The mayor is called on to relay women of the moral rules of the region to the women. But the fact remains, they can’t be forced to leave: while they have no intention of plying their trade, no law exists to bring their country retreat to a premature end. Different mentalities are revealed, passions unbridled, love kindled... and doesn’t love always solve everything in the end?
The Cocottes
1991
Documentary on erotic drawings by the painter André Masson.
À la source, la femme aimée
1965
Short film by Nelly Kaplan about the life and works of Rodolphe Bresdin
Rodolphe Bresdin
1962
9.0No synopsis available yet.
Les Années 25
1966
NRMagirama version, which is one of the four segments of the Magirama program, designed to illustrate the expressive possibilities of director Abel Gance's creation, Polyvision and Sonore Perspective, which used three screens to present a drama of simultaneous images. This program was shown the first time in 1956 in the Cinema theater "Studio 28" in Paris. After serving in the trenches of World War I, Jean Diaz recoils with such horror that he renounces love and personal pleasure to immerse himself in scientific research, seeking a machine to prevent war. He thinks he has succeeded, but the government subverts his discovery, and Europe slides with seeming inevitability toward World War II. In desperation, Diaz summons the ghosts of the war dead from the graves and fields of France to give silent, accusing protest.
I Accuse! [Magirama]
1956
7.0On the 1967 huge Picasso exhibition in Paris, celebrating the 85 anniversary of the painter.
The Picasso Look
1967
7.0A portmanteau work in four segments,designed to illustrate the expressive possibilities of director Abel Gance,s creation, Polyvision, which preceded the American invention of Cinerama, and used three screens to present a drama of simultaneous images.
Magirama
1958
A short film by Nelly Kaplan on Victor Hugo's drawings.
Dessins et merveilles
1966

