Sacha Pitoëff
Sacha Pitoëff (born Alexandre Pitoëff; 11 March 1920 – 21 July 1990) was a Swiss-born French actor and stage director. Pitoëff was born in Geneva, Switzerland, on 11 March 1920, the son of Russian-born parents Ludmilla (née Smanova) and Georges Pitoëff. Both of his parents were born in the city of Tbilisi (in modern-day Georgia), then a part of the Russian Empire. The Pitoëffs were prominent actors in France, Georges was a founding member of the Cartel des Quatre (Group of Four), a group including Louis Jouvet, Charles Dullin, and Gaston Baty, dedicated to rejuvenating the French theatre. Sacha graduated from Lycée Pasteur in Neuilly-sur-Seine, outside Paris. He studied acting and stage direction under Jouvet at the Théâtre de l'Athénée. During World War II, the younger Pitoëff followed his mother back to Switzerland, where he played his earliest roles. After the war he returned to Paris, becoming general manager at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord. He made his directorial debut with a 1950 staging of Uncle Vanya, which proved both a critical and commercial success. He became a fixture of Parisian theatre in the 1960s, becoming the director of his own troupe. His repertoire included works by Jean Genet, Eugène Ionesco, Hugo Claus, Robert Musil, Anna Langfus and Anton Chekhov. With Romy Schneider, he staged The Seagull, Uncle Vanya and Three Sisters at Théâtre de l'Œuvre. In 1967, he achieved his greatest success with a well-regarded production of Luigi Pirandello's ...
Anastasia
(1956)
Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her, he comes to believe that she is really Anastasia. In the end, the Empress ... (more)
Russian exiles in Paris plot to collect ten million pounds from the Bank of England by grooming a destitute, suicidal girl to pose as heir to the Russian throne. While Bounin is coaching her, he comes to believe that she is really Anastasia. In the end, the Empress ... (more)
Inferno
(1980)
A young man returns from Rome to his sister's satanic New York apartment house. (more)
A young man returns from Rome to his sister's satanic New York apartment house. (more)
Last Year at Marienbad
(1961)
In a strange and isolated chateau, a man becomes acquainted with a woman and insists that they have met before. (more)
In a strange and isolated chateau, a man becomes acquainted with a woman and insists that they have met before. (more)
The Night of the Generals (1967)
A German intelligence officer investigates a prostitute's killing in Warsaw during World War II. He lands on three major Nazi generals as suspects, two of whom are also involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler. (more)
A German intelligence officer investigates a prostitute's killing in Warsaw during World War II. He lands on three major Nazi generals as suspects, two of whom are also involved in a plot to kill Adolf Hitler. (more)
Donkey Skin
(1970)
A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise herself so she won't have to marry her father. (more)
A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise herself so she won't have to marry her father. (more)
The Doll (1962)
An avant-garde political satire that takes place in a mythical country in South America. The dictator has been replaced by a look-alike revolutionary, and the dictator's wife has been replaced by a robot. (more)
An avant-garde political satire that takes place in a mythical country in South America. The dictator has been replaced by a look-alike revolutionary, and the dictator's wife has been replaced by a robot. (more)
The Denunciation
(1962)
Michel Jussieu, a film producer, returns one morning to the cabaret where he forgot his sweater. He discovers the corpse of an extreme right-wing journalist, but immediately he is knocked out. He wakes up in the police station ... (more)
Michel Jussieu, a film producer, returns one morning to the cabaret where he forgot his sweater. He discovers the corpse of an extreme right-wing journalist, but immediately he is knocked out. He wakes up in the police station ... (more)
Catch Me a Spy
(1971)
While on vacation, a woman's husband is taken by the Russian government. After one attempt fails, she begins looking for a suitable spy to capture and trade in exchange for her husband, but she develops an attraction to the one she thinks is a good candidate. (more)
While on vacation, a woman's husband is taken by the Russian government. After one attempt fails, she begins looking for a suitable spy to capture and trade in exchange for her husband, but she develops an attraction to the one she thinks is a good candidate. (more)
Rasputin (1954)
Gregory Iefommovich Raspoutine is a monk with healing powers and a liking for debauchery who manages to insinuate himself into the court of the Romanoffs thanks to Princess Dikvona. Being the only person able to heal he son of Czar Nicolas II and Czarina Alexandra ... (more)
Gregory Iefommovich Raspoutine is a monk with healing powers and a liking for debauchery who manages to insinuate himself into the court of the Romanoffs thanks to Princess Dikvona. Being the only person able to heal he son of Czar Nicolas II and Czarina Alexandra ... (more)
Captain Fracasse (1961)
A ruined Baron Philippe de baron, meets one day a troupe of traveling actors led by Herod. Attracted by the one who plays the role of the ingenue: Isabella, and by the dynamism and enthusiasm of his companions, he takes the place of the deceased poet of the troupe. ... (more)
A ruined Baron Philippe de baron, meets one day a troupe of traveling actors led by Herod. Attracted by the one who plays the role of the ingenue: Isabella, and by the dynamism and enthusiasm of his companions, he takes the place of the deceased poet of the troupe. ... (more)
The Gambler (1958)
In 1866, a young Muscovite named Alexei Ivanovitch arrives in Baden Baden, then the gambling capital of Austria, and is soon engaged by General Zagorianski to look after his children. Alexei discovers that his employer is a compulsive gambler who has been almost ... (more)
In 1866, a young Muscovite named Alexei Ivanovitch arrives in Baden Baden, then the gambling capital of Austria, and is soon engaged by General Zagorianski to look after his children. Alexei discovers that his employer is a compulsive gambler who has been almost ... (more)
Vengeance of the Three Musketeers
(1961)
To avenge her defeat and with the help of the Cardinal's army leader Rochefort, the treacherous Milady de Winter kidnaps both D'Artagnan and Constance, in order to spur a war between the French and the English, as per the Cardinal's wish. (more)
To avenge her defeat and with the help of the Cardinal's army leader Rochefort, the treacherous Milady de Winter kidnaps both D'Artagnan and Constance, in order to spur a war between the French and the English, as per the Cardinal's wish. (more)
Diary of a Suicide (1973)
On a Mediterranean cruise, a young man hired as a tour guide is intrigued by the beauty of a female interpreter hiding behind her sunglasses. He makes advances to her by venturing into a series of strange stories. (more)
On a Mediterranean cruise, a young man hired as a tour guide is intrigued by the beauty of a female interpreter hiding behind her sunglasses. He makes advances to her by venturing into a series of strange stories. (more)
Subversion (1979)
A blind, paralyzed president uses his remarkable hearing and his corrupt daughter to keep his country in line. His beautiful, clever daughter works her own agenda while striving to be the equal of men. She appoints herself Chief of Firefighters and then commits ... (more)
A blind, paralyzed president uses his remarkable hearing and his corrupt daughter to keep his country in line. His beautiful, clever daughter works her own agenda while striving to be the equal of men. She appoints herself Chief of Firefighters and then commits ... (more)
Dossier 51 (1978)
French diplomat Dominique Auphal is put under surveillance by an unnamed secret service. They wish to find a weakness in his life in order to control him politically. Auphal becomes "File no. 51": his private life is spied, analysed and commented. (more)
French diplomat Dominique Auphal is put under surveillance by an unnamed secret service. They wish to find a weakness in his life in order to control him politically. Auphal becomes "File no. 51": his private life is spied, analysed and commented. (more)
Lady L (1965)
Lady L is an elegant 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous life story, including past loves and lusty, scandalous adventures she has lived through. (more)
Lady L is an elegant 80-year-old woman who recalls her amorous life story, including past loves and lusty, scandalous adventures she has lived through. (more)
The Seven Deadly Sins (1952)
A French/Italian motion picture drama covering the seven deadly sins in seven separate sections. (more)
A French/Italian motion picture drama covering the seven deadly sins in seven separate sections. (more)
Le Bal du comte d'Orgel (1970)
Nobles try desperately to cling to the crumbling aristocracy in the days following World War I. The Count (Jean-Claude Brialy) and his Countess Mahe (Sylvia Fennec) delight in throwing lavish costume balls. The couple develops a friendship with a young boy who ... (more)
Nobles try desperately to cling to the crumbling aristocracy in the days following World War I. The Count (Jean-Claude Brialy) and his Countess Mahe (Sylvia Fennec) delight in throwing lavish costume balls. The couple develops a friendship with a young boy who ... (more)
The Spies (1957)
A doctor at a run-down psychiatric hospital is offered a large sum of money to shelter a new patient. Soon the place is full of suspicious and secretive characters, all apparently international secret agents trying to find out who and what the patient is. (more)
A doctor at a run-down psychiatric hospital is offered a large sum of money to shelter a new patient. Soon the place is full of suspicious and secretive characters, all apparently international secret agents trying to find out who and what the patient is. (more)
Patrick Still Lives (1980)
A group of strangers are summoned to the secluded home of Patrick, a young man rendered comatose after a freak accident, but soon find themselves falling victim to Patrick's mysterious psychic powers and murderous rage. (more)
A group of strangers are summoned to the secluded home of Patrick, a young man rendered comatose after a freak accident, but soon find themselves falling victim to Patrick's mysterious psychic powers and murderous rage. (more)