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Marcel Ophüls

Marcel Ophüls

Actor, Director, Writer

Born November 1, 1927 in Frankfurt am Main, Germany

Died May 24, 2025

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Biography

Marcel Ophuls (German: [ˈɔfʏls]; born 1 November 1927) was a German-French documentary film maker and former actor, best known for his films The Sorrow and the Pity and Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie.

Ophuls was born in Frankfurt, Germany, the son of Hildegard Wall and the director Max Ophüls. His family left Germany in 1933 following the coming to power of the Nazi Party and settled in Paris, France. Following the invasion of France by Germany in May 1940 they were forced to flee to the Vichy zone, remaining in hiding for over a year before crossing the Pyrenees into Spain in order to travel to the United States, arriving there in December 1941. Marcel attended Hollywood High School, then Occidental College, Los Angeles. He spent a brief period serving in a U.S. Army theatrical unit in Japan in 1946, then studied at the University of California, Berkeley. Ophuls became a naturalized citizen of France in 1938, and of the United States in 1950.

When the family returned to Paris in 1950 Marcel became an assistant to Julien Duvivier and Anatole Litvak, and worked on John Huston's Moulin Rouge (1952) and his father's Lola Montès (1955). Through François Truffaut, Ophuls got to direct an episode of the portmanteau film Love at Twenty (1962). There followed the commercial hit Banana Peel (1964), a detective film starring Jeanne Moreau and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

With a slump in box-office fortunes, Ophuls turned to television news reporting and a documentary on the Munich crisis of 1938: Munich (1967). He then embarked on his examination of France under Nazi occupation, The Sorrow and the Pity. Although he enjoyed making entertaining films, Ophuls became identified as a documentarian, using a characteristically sober interview style to resolve disparate experiences into a persuasive argument. A Sense of Loss (1972) looked at Northern Ireland, and The Memory of Justice (1973) was an ambitious comparison of US policy in Vietnam and the atrocities of the Nazis. Disagreements with his French backers over interpretation led Ophuls to smuggle a print to New York where it was shown privately. Legal wrangles left him disappointed and financially broke, and Ophuls turned to university lecturing.

In the mid-1970s, he began producing documentaries for CBS and ABC. His feature documentary Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988) won an Academy Award; since then he has made an interview film with two senior East German Communists, November Days (1992) and a ruminative look at how journalists cover war, The Trouble We've Seen (1994).

Every year the IDFA (International Documentary Festival) in Amsterdam screens an acclaimed filmmaker's ten favorite films. In 2007, Iranian filmmaker Maziar Bahari selected The Sorrow and the Pity for his top ten classics from the history of documentary. At the 65th Berlin International Film Festival in February 2015 Ophuls received the Berlinale Camera award for his life work.

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11 wins and 3 nominations

Marcel Ophüls Photos

Marcel Ophüls Videos

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of The Shoah Trailer

IDFA 2015 | Trailer | Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah

Filmography

Actor

24

Type

Year

L'Art de Max Ophuls TV Movie2024Self

A Deal Made in a Turkish Bath Video2017Self

Masterclass: Marcel Ophuls and Kenneth Turan on Disagreeable Truths Poster

Masterclass: Marcel Ophuls and Kenneth Turan on Disagreeable Truths Documentary2017Self

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah Poster

Claude Lanzmann: Spectres of the Shoah Short Film2015Self

Ain't Misbehavin Poster

Ain't Misbehavin Documentary2013Self

Marcel Ophuls et Jean-Luc Godard, La rencontre de St-Gervais Poster

Marcel Ophuls et Jean-Luc Godard, La rencontre de St-Gervais Documentary2011Ophüls, Marcel

Max par Marcel Poster

Max par Marcel Documentary2009Self

François Truffaut: Portraits volés Poster

François Truffaut: Portraits volés Documentary1993Self

Marcel Ophuls: A Course in Resistance Video1992Self

November Days Poster

November Days Documentary1991Self - Interviewer

Zeil um Zehn TV Series1990Self

The 61st Annual Academy Awards Poster

The 61st Annual Academy Awards TV Special1989Self - Winner

Hôtel Terminus Poster

Hôtel Terminus Documentary1988Self

The Media Show Poster

The Media Show TV Series1987Self

Das schöne irre Judenmädchen TV Movie1984Medardus

Liberty belle Poster

Liberty belle Feature Film1983Professeur allemand

Festspiele TV Movie1982Clown

Wortwechsel Poster

Wortwechsel TV Series1982Self

Egon Schiele: Excess and Punishment Poster

Egon Schiele: Excess and Punishment Feature Film1980Dr. Stowel

Costa-Gavras Talks with Marcel Ophuls Documentary1976Self

Die Ullrich Documentary1972Self

The Sorrow and the Pity Poster

The Sorrow and the Pity Documentary1969Self, interviewer

Cinéastes de notre temps Poster

Cinéastes de notre temps TV Series1964Self

Lola Montès Poster

Lola Montès Feature Film1955

Director

23

Type

Year

Ain't Misbehavin Poster

Ain't Misbehavin Documentary2013

Max par Marcel Poster

Max par Marcel Documentary2009

Veillées d'armes Poster

Veillées d'armes Documentary1994

November Days Poster

November Days Documentary1991

Hôtel Terminus Poster

Hôtel Terminus Documentary1988

Festspiele TV Movie1982

Yorktown: Le sens d'une victoire Poster

Yorktown: Le sens d'une victoire Documentary1982

Kortnergeschichten Documentary1980

The Memory of Justice Poster

The Memory of Justice Documentary1976

Inside Story Poster

Inside Story TV Series1974

A Sense of Loss Poster

A Sense of Loss Documentary1972

America Revisited Mini-Series1971

Clavigo TV Movie1970

The Harvest of My Lai Poster

The Harvest of My Lai Documentary1970

Zwei ganze Tage TV Movie1970

The Sorrow and the Pity Poster

The Sorrow and the Pity Documentary1969

Munich or Peace in Our Time Poster

Munich or Peace in Our Time Documentary1967

Fire at Will Poster

Fire at Will Feature Film1965

Banana Peel Poster

Banana Peel Feature Film1963

Love at Twenty Poster

Love at Twenty Feature Film1962

Matisse ou Le talent de bonheur Poster

Matisse ou Le talent de bonheur Documentary1960

Darf ich mitspielen? TV Movie1958

Das Pflichtmandat TV Movie1958

Writer

17

Type

Year

Ain't Misbehavin Poster

Ain't Misbehavin Documentary2013

Veillées d'armes Poster

Veillées d'armes Documentary1994

Hôtel Terminus Poster

Hôtel Terminus Documentary1988

Festspiele TV Movie1982

Kortnergeschichten Documentary1980

The Memory of Justice Poster

The Memory of Justice Documentary1976

America Revisited Mini-Series1971

The Harvest of My Lai Poster

The Harvest of My Lai Documentary1970

Zwei ganze Tage TV Movie1970

The Sorrow and the Pity Poster

The Sorrow and the Pity Documentary1969

Munich or Peace in Our Time Poster

Munich or Peace in Our Time Documentary1967

Till Eulenspiegel Mini-Series1967

Fire at Will Poster

Fire at Will Feature Film1965

Banana Peel Poster

Banana Peel Feature Film1963

Love at Twenty Poster

Love at Twenty Feature Film1962

Matisse ou Le talent de bonheur Poster

Matisse ou Le talent de bonheur Documentary1960

Darf ich mitspielen? TV Movie1958

2nd Unit / Asst Director

3

Lola Montès Poster

Lola Montès Feature Film1955

Marianne of My Youth Poster

Marianne of My Youth Feature Film1955

Girl with the Whip Poster

Girl with the Whip Feature Film1952

Producer

3

November Days Poster

November Days Documentary1991

Hôtel Terminus Poster

Hôtel Terminus Documentary1988

A Sense of Loss Poster

A Sense of Loss Documentary1972

Thanks

2

Type

Year

The Oscars Poster

The Oscars TV Special2026

Annie Hall Poster

Annie Hall Feature Film1977

Other Crew

1

Moulin Rouge Poster

Moulin Rouge Feature Film1952

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