Costa-Gavras

Konstantinos Gavras (born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek filmmaker, who lives and works in France. He is best known for directing films with overt political themes, most famously the fast-paced thriller “Z” (1969). Most of his movies were made in French, though starting with “Missing” (1982), several were made in English.

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Betrayed (1988)

An FBI agent posing as a combine driver becomes romantically involved with a Midwest farmer who lives a double life as a white supremacist.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Debra Winger  •  Tom Berenger  •  John Heard  •  Betsy Blair

An FBI agent posing as a combine driver becomes romantically involved with a Midwest farmer who lives a double life as a white supremacist.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Debra Winger  •  Tom Berenger  •  John Heard  •  Betsy Blair

Madame Rosa (1977)

Madame Rosa lives in a sixth-floor walkup in the Pigalle; she's a retired prostitute, Jewish and an Auschwitz survivor, a foster mom to children of other prostitutes. Momo is the oldest and her favorite, an Algerian lad whom she raises as a Muslim. He asks about ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Moshé Mizrahi
CAST:  Simone Signoret  •  Michal Bat-Adam  •  Samy Ben-Youb  •  Gabriel Jabbour

Madame Rosa lives in a sixth-floor walkup in the Pigalle; she's a retired prostitute, Jewish and an Auschwitz survivor, a foster mom to children of other prostitutes. Momo is the oldest and her favorite, an Algerian lad whom she raises as a Muslim. He asks about ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Moshé Mizrahi
CAST:  Simone Signoret  •  Michal Bat-Adam  •  Samy Ben-Youb  •  Gabriel Jabbour

Missing (1982)

Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to Chile to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he uncovers a trail of cover-ups that implicate the US ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Jack Lemmon  •  Sissy Spacek  •  John Shea  •  Melanie Mayron

Based on the real-life experiences of Ed Horman. A conservative American businessman travels to Chile to investigate the sudden disappearance of his son after a military takeover. Accompanied by his son's wife he uncovers a trail of cover-ups that implicate the US ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Jack Lemmon  •  Sissy Spacek  •  John Shea  •  Melanie Mayron

Spies Like Us (1985)

Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for nuclear war.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Landis
CAST:  Chevy Chase  •  Dan Aykroyd  •  Steve Forrest  •  Donna Dixon

Two bumbling government employees think they are U.S. spies, only to discover that they are actually decoys for nuclear war.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Landis
CAST:  Chevy Chase  •  Dan Aykroyd  •  Steve Forrest  •  Donna Dixon

Z (1969)

Amidst a heated political climate, the opposition leader is killed in what appears to be a traffic accident. When a magistrate finds evidence of a government cover-up, witnesses start to get targeted. A thinly-fictionalized account of the events surrounding the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Yves Montand  •  Irene Papas  •  Jean-Louis Trintignant  •  Allel El Mouhib

Amidst a heated political climate, the opposition leader is killed in what appears to be a traffic accident. When a magistrate finds evidence of a government cover-up, witnesses start to get targeted. A thinly-fictionalized account of the events surrounding the ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Yves Montand  •  Irene Papas  •  Jean-Louis Trintignant  •  Allel El Mouhib

Music Box (1989)

A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Jessica Lange  •  Armin Mueller-Stahl  •  Donald Moffat  •  Lukas Haas

A lawyer defends her father accused of war crimes, but there is more to the case than she suspects.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Jessica Lange  •  Armin Mueller-Stahl  •  Donald Moffat  •  Lukas Haas

Lumière and Company (1995)

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Lynch  •  Spike Lee  •  James Ivory  •  Andrei Konchalovsky  •  Liv Ullmann  •  Peter Greenaway  •  Lasse Hallström  •  Bigas Luna  •  Gabriel Axel  •  Merzak Allouache  •  Patrice Leconte  •  Cédric Klapisch  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Michael Haneke  •  Theo Angelopoulos  •  Wim Wenders  •  Fernando Trueba  •  John Boorman  •  Claude Miller  •  Raymond Depardon  •  Abbas Kiarostami  •  Alain Corneau  •  Zhang Yimou  •  Claude Lelouch  •  Lucian Pintilie  •  Arthur Penn  •  Vicente Aranda  •  Jacques Rivette  •  Helma Sanders-Brahms  •  Youssef Chahine  •  Régis Wargnier  •  Francis Girod  •  Idrissa Ouedraogo  •  Jerry Schatzberg  •  Hugh Hudson  •  Ismail Merchant  •  Gaston Kaboré  •  Jaco Van Dormael  •  Sarah Moon  •  Nadine Trintignant  •  Yoshishige Yoshida
CAST:  Jeff Alperi  •  Romane Bohringer  •  Bruno Ganz  •  Ticky Holgado

40 international directors were asked to make a short film using the original Cinematographe invented by the Lumière Brothers, working under conditions similar to those of 1895. There were three rules: (1) The film could be no longer than 52 seconds, (2) no ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  David Lynch  •  Spike Lee  •  James Ivory  •  Andrei Konchalovsky  •  Liv Ullmann  •  Peter Greenaway  •  Lasse Hallström  •  Bigas Luna  •  Gabriel Axel  •  Merzak Allouache  •  Patrice Leconte  •  Cédric Klapisch  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Michael Haneke  •  Theo Angelopoulos  •  Wim Wenders  •  Fernando Trueba  •  John Boorman  •  Claude Miller  •  Raymond Depardon  •  Abbas Kiarostami  •  Alain Corneau  •  Zhang Yimou  •  Claude Lelouch  •  Lucian Pintilie  •  Arthur Penn  •  Vicente Aranda  •  Jacques Rivette  •  Helma Sanders-Brahms  •  Youssef Chahine  •  Régis Wargnier  •  Francis Girod  •  Idrissa Ouedraogo  •  Jerry Schatzberg  •  Hugh Hudson  •  Ismail Merchant  •  Gaston Kaboré  •  Jaco Van Dormael  •  Sarah Moon  •  Nadine Trintignant  •  Yoshishige Yoshida
CAST:  Jeff Alperi  •  Romane Bohringer  •  Bruno Ganz  •  Ticky Holgado

Burke & Hare (2010)

Two 19th-century opportunists become serial killers so that they can maintain their profitable business supplying cadavers to an anatomist.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Landis
CAST:  Simon Pegg  •  Andy Serkis  •  Isla Fisher  •  Tom Wilkinson

Two 19th-century opportunists become serial killers so that they can maintain their profitable business supplying cadavers to an anatomist.  (more)

DIRECTION:  John Landis
CAST:  Simon Pegg  •  Andy Serkis  •  Isla Fisher  •  Tom Wilkinson

Family Council (1986)

French rocker Johnny Halliday stars as a professional thief just released from jail. He returns to stealing to support his family. After several successful thefts, he decides to include his under-aged kid into the "family business".  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Fanny Ardant  •  Rémi Martin  •  Guy Marchand  •  Johnny Hallyday

French rocker Johnny Halliday stars as a professional thief just released from jail. He returns to stealing to support his family. After several successful thefts, he decides to include his under-aged kid into the "family business".  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Fanny Ardant  •  Rémi Martin  •  Guy Marchand  •  Johnny Hallyday

Against Oblivion (1991)

Emotional

Contre l'Oubli (Against Oblivion) is a compilation of 30 French filmmakers, Alain Resnais and Jean Luc Godard among them, who use film to make a plea on behalf of a political prisoner. Jean Luc Godard and Anne Marie Mieville's film concerns the plight of Thomas ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jacques Doillon  •  Jane Birkin  •  Bertrand Tavernier  •  Jean-Luc Godard  •  Michel Piccoli  •  Alain Resnais  •  Philippe Muyl  •  Patrice Leconte  •  Claire Denis  •  Bernard Giraudeau  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Robert Kramer  •  Raymond Depardon  •  Alain Corneau  •  Chantal Akerman  •  Bertrand Blier  •  Jean Becker  •  Jacques Deray  •  Coline Serreau  •  Romain Goupil  •  Patrice Chéreau  •  Francis Girod  •  Michel Deville  •  René Allio  •  Denis Amar  •  Jean-Michel Carré  •  Dominique Dante  •  Gérard Frot-Coutaz  •  Jean-Loup Hubert  •  Anne-Marie Miéville  •  Sarah Moon  •  Nadine Trintignant  •  Martine Franck
CAST:  Paul Amar  •  Robert Badinter  •  Guy Bedos  •  Jane Birkin

Contre l'Oubli (Against Oblivion) is a compilation of 30 French filmmakers, Alain Resnais and Jean Luc Godard among them, who use film to make a plea on behalf of a political prisoner. Jean Luc Godard and Anne Marie Mieville's film concerns the plight of Thomas ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Jacques Doillon  •  Jane Birkin  •  Bertrand Tavernier  •  Jean-Luc Godard  •  Michel Piccoli  •  Alain Resnais  •  Philippe Muyl  •  Patrice Leconte  •  Claire Denis  •  Bernard Giraudeau  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Robert Kramer  •  Raymond Depardon  •  Alain Corneau  •  Chantal Akerman  •  Bertrand Blier  •  Jean Becker  •  Jacques Deray  •  Coline Serreau  •  Romain Goupil  •  Patrice Chéreau  •  Francis Girod  •  Michel Deville  •  René Allio  •  Denis Amar  •  Jean-Michel Carré  •  Dominique Dante  •  Gérard Frot-Coutaz  •  Jean-Loup Hubert  •  Anne-Marie Miéville  •  Sarah Moon  •  Nadine Trintignant  •  Martine Franck
CAST:  Paul Amar  •  Robert Badinter  •  Guy Bedos  •  Jane Birkin

Amen. (2002)

Kurt Gerstein—a member of the Institute for Hygiene of the Waffen-SS—is horrified by what he sees in the death camps. he is then shocked to learn that the process he used to purify water for his troops by using Zyklon-B, is now used to kill people in gas chambers.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Ulrich Tukur  •  Mathieu Kassovitz  •  Ulrich Mühe  •  Michel Duchaussoy

Kurt Gerstein—a member of the Institute for Hygiene of the Waffen-SS—is horrified by what he sees in the death camps. he is then shocked to learn that the process he used to purify water for his troops by using Zyklon-B, is now used to kill people in gas chambers.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Ulrich Tukur  •  Mathieu Kassovitz  •  Ulrich Mühe  •  Michel Duchaussoy

Ain't Misbehavin (2013)

18 years after his last film, (The Troubles We've Seen), Marcel Ophuls emerges from retirement as one of our last masters, the most corrosive, the funniest as well. And the most forceful. The director of The Sorrow and the Pity shares with us stories of his ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Marcel Ophüls
CAST:  Jeanne Moreau  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Hamilton Fish  •  Woody Allen

18 years after his last film, (The Troubles We've Seen), Marcel Ophuls emerges from retirement as one of our last masters, the most corrosive, the funniest as well. And the most forceful. The director of The Sorrow and the Pity shares with us stories of his ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Marcel Ophüls
CAST:  Jeanne Moreau  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Hamilton Fish  •  Woody Allen

What Is Cinema? (2013)

Using the words and ideas of great filmmakers, from archival interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Bresson to new interviews with Mike Leigh, David Lynch, and Jonas Mekas, Oscar-winning filmmaker Chuck Workman shows what these filmmakers and others do that ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Chuck Workman
CAST:  Chantal Akerman  •  Robert Altman  •  David Lynch  •  Costa-Gavras

Using the words and ideas of great filmmakers, from archival interviews with Alfred Hitchcock and Robert Bresson to new interviews with Mike Leigh, David Lynch, and Jonas Mekas, Oscar-winning filmmaker Chuck Workman shows what these filmmakers and others do that ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Chuck Workman
CAST:  Chantal Akerman  •  Robert Altman  •  David Lynch  •  Costa-Gavras

The Extraordinary Voyage (2011)

An account of the extraordinary life of film pioneer Georges Méliès (1861-1938) and the amazing story of the copy in color of his masterpiece “A Trip to the Moon” (1902), unexpectedly found in Spain and restored thanks to the heroic efforts of a group of true ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Serge Bromberg  •  Eric Lange
CAST:  Michel Gondry  •  Jean-Pierre Jeunet  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Michel Hazanavicius

An account of the extraordinary life of film pioneer Georges Méliès (1861-1938) and the amazing story of the copy in color of his masterpiece “A Trip to the Moon” (1902), unexpectedly found in Spain and restored thanks to the heroic efforts of a group of true ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Serge Bromberg  •  Eric Lange
CAST:  Michel Gondry  •  Jean-Pierre Jeunet  •  Costa-Gavras  •  Michel Hazanavicius

Shock Troops (1967)

A French resistance group frees twelve captured soldiers from a German prison camp, but apparently there is an additional prisoner among them who is suspected of being an enemy spy.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Charles Vanel  •  Bruno Cremer  •  Jean-Claude Brialy  •  Michel Piccoli

A French resistance group frees twelve captured soldiers from a German prison camp, but apparently there is an additional prisoner among them who is suspected of being an enemy spy.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Charles Vanel  •  Bruno Cremer  •  Jean-Claude Brialy  •  Michel Piccoli

Capital (2012)

The head of a giant European investment bank desperately clings to power when an American hedge fund company tries to buy them out.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Gad Elmaleh  •  Natacha Régnier  •  Gabriel Byrne  •  Bernard Le Coq

The head of a giant European investment bank desperately clings to power when an American hedge fund company tries to buy them out.  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Gad Elmaleh  •  Natacha Régnier  •  Gabriel Byrne  •  Bernard Le Coq

The Little Apocalypse (1993)

In this cynical comedy, an renowned, out-of-work, unpublished “underground” writer from formerly Communist Poland is driven to unusually desperate measures in order to get his work published. Stan has been living in the attic apartment of his ex-wife’s home, which ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  André Dussollier  •  Pierre Arditi  •  Jiří Menzel  •  Anna Romantowska

In this cynical comedy, an renowned, out-of-work, unpublished “underground” writer from formerly Communist Poland is driven to unusually desperate measures in order to get his work published. Stan has been living in the attic apartment of his ex-wife’s home, which ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  André Dussollier  •  Pierre Arditi  •  Jiří Menzel  •  Anna Romantowska

Eden Is West (2009)

Desperate to break free from the poverty of his homeland, Elias boards a ramshackle people-smuggling trawler to France. But when the boat is raided by police, Elias leaps into the ocean, eventually finding himself washed up on a Mediterranean beach resort called ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Riccardo Scamarcio  •  Éric Caravaca  •  Ulrich Tukur  •  Juliane Köhler

Desperate to break free from the poverty of his homeland, Elias boards a ramshackle people-smuggling trawler to France. But when the boat is raided by police, Elias leaps into the ocean, eventually finding himself washed up on a Mediterranean beach resort called ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Costa-Gavras
CAST:  Riccardo Scamarcio  •  Éric Caravaca  •  Ulrich Tukur  •  Juliane Köhler

Henri-Georges Clouzot's Inferno (2009)

In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot's production of L'Enfer came to a halt. Despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed. This documentary presents Inferno's incredible expressionistic original ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Serge Bromberg  •  Ruxandra Medrea
CAST:  Romy Schneider  •  Bérénice Bejo  •  Serge Reggiani  •  Jacques Gamblin

In 1964, Henri-Georges Clouzot's production of L'Enfer came to a halt. Despite huge expectations, major studio backing and an unlimited budget, after three weeks the production collapsed. This documentary presents Inferno's incredible expressionistic original ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Serge Bromberg  •  Ruxandra Medrea
CAST:  Romy Schneider  •  Bérénice Bejo  •  Serge Reggiani  •  Jacques Gamblin

Crítico (2008)

Seventy critics and filmmakers discuss cinema around the conflict between the artist and the observer, the creator and the critic. Between 1998 and 2007, Kléber Mendonça Filho recorded testimonies about this relationship in Brazil, the United States and Europe, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kleber Mendonça Filho
CAST:  Gus Van Sant  •  Carlos Saura  •  Walter Salles  •  Michel Ciment

Seventy critics and filmmakers discuss cinema around the conflict between the artist and the observer, the creator and the critic. Between 1998 and 2007, Kléber Mendonça Filho recorded testimonies about this relationship in Brazil, the United States and Europe, ...  (more)

DIRECTION:  Kleber Mendonça Filho
CAST:  Gus Van Sant  •  Carlos Saura  •  Walter Salles  •  Michel Ciment
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