René Clément (French pronunciation: ​[klemɑ̃]; March 18, 1913 – March 17, 1996) was a French film director and screenwriter.

Life and Career

Clément studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed his first film, a 20 minute short written by and featuring Jacques Tati. Clément spent the latter part of the 1930s making documentaries in parts of the Middle East and Africa. In 1937, he and archaeologist Jules Barthou were in Yemen making preparations to film a documentary, the first ever of that country and one that includes the only known film image of Imam Yahya.

Almost ten years passed before Clément directed a feature but his French Resistance film, La Bataille du rail (1945), gained much critical and commercial success. From there Clément became one of his country's most successful and respected directors, garnering numerous awards including two films that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the first in 1950 for The Walls of Malapaga (Au-delà des grilles) and the second time two years later for Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits). Clément had international success with several films but his star-studded 1966 epic Is Paris Burning?, written by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Paul Graetz was a costly box office failure.

He began directing Play Dirty (a.k.a. Written in the Sand) but quit early in production due to disputes with the film's producer Harry Saltzman.

In 1973 he was a member of the jury at the 8th Moscow International Film Festival.

Clément continued to make a few films until his retirement in 1975, including an international success with Rider On The Rain that starred Charles Bronson and Marlène Jobert. In 1984 the French motion picture industry honored his lifetime contribution to film with a special César Award.

Clément's second wife was Irish-born screenwriter Johanna Harwood whom he had met on the set of his 1954 film Monsieur Ripois.

Clément died in 1996 and was buried in the local cemetery in Menton on the French Riviera where he had spent his years in retirement.

Partial list of awards

• 1946 : International Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival - La Bataille du rail (Battle of the Rails)
• 1949 : Cannes Film Festival Best Director award - Au-delà des grilles (The Walls of Malapaga)
• 1950 : Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film - Au-delà des grilles (The Walls of Malapaga)
• 1952 : Lion d'or at the Venice Film Festival - Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits)
• 1952 : Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film - Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits)
• 1952 : New York Film Critics Circle Awards for Best Foreign Language Film - Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits)
• 1953 : BAFTA Award for Best Film - Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits)
• 1954 : Prix du jury at Cannes Film Festival - Monsieur Ripois (Lover Boy)
• 1956 : Lion d'or at the Venice Film Festival - Gervaise
• 1956 : BAFTA Award for Best Film - Gervaise

Films

• Soigne Ton Gauche, 1936
• Paris la nuit, 1939
• La Bataille du rail (Battle of the Rails), 1945
• Le Père Tranquille (Mr. Orchid), 1946
• Les Maudits (The Damned), 1947
• Au-delà des grilles (The Walls of Malapaga), 1949
• Le Château de verre (Glass Castle), 1950
• Jeux interdits (Forbidden Games), 1952
• Monsieur Ripois (Knave of Hearts), 1954
• Gervaise, 1956
• This Angry Age, 1958
• Plein Soleil (Purple Noon), 1960
• Che gioia vivere (The Joy of Living), 1961
• Le Jour et l'heure (The Day and the Hour), 1963
• Les Félins (Love Cage/Joy House), 1964
• Paris brûle-t-il? (Is Paris Burning?), 1966
• Le Passager de la Pluie (Rider on the Rain), 1969
• La Maison sous les Arbres (The Deadly Trap), 1971
• ...and Hope to Die (La course du lièvre à travers les champs), 1972
• The Babysitter, 1975