Bertrand Blier: the director of Les Valseuses and Tenue de soirée dies at 85

Sad news for the world of French cinema. Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at the age of 85, Bertrand Blier died. The famous director was known in particular for his films Les Valseuses and Buffet froid.

© Bestimage Bertrand Blier was a famous film director.

IN BRIEF

• Bertrand Blier, a famous French film director, died on January 21, 2025 at the age of 85.
• He made his mark on cinema with films such as “Les Valseuses” and won an Oscar for “Préparez vos mouchoirs”.
• Tributes are pouring in, highlighting his lasting impact on French cinema and culture.

A sacred monster of French cinema has passed away. Tuesday, January 21, 2025, at At the age of 85, Bertrand Blier has died. His entourage announced the sad news to our colleagues at Agence France-Presse. He was known worldwide thanks to the direction of his successful films such as Les Valseuses, Buffet froid or Tenue de soirée. His fictions particularly marked the 1970s and 1980s.

It was notably with his film Les Valseuses that he allowed Gérard Depardieu to become known to the general public. It was this work that revealed him. The two men then collaborated together on seven other occasions. In 1979, for example, he had landed the Oscar for Best International Film for his film Prepare Your Handkerchiefs, in which Gérard Depardieu played as well as Patrick Dewaere and Gérard Depardieu.

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Bertrand Blier has won numerous awards

A few months later, he won the César for Best Screenplay for Buffet Froid. A distinction that he would win two more times for Notre histoire in 1985 and for Trop belle pour toi, five years later. He had also been highlighted at Cannes with a Grand Prix. Bertrand Blier was also known for having directed some members of the Splendid troupe such as Gérard Jugnot, Thierry Lhermitte, Michel Blanc and Josiane Balasko.

In addition to cinema, he also had many other passions such as reading or music and more particularly jazz and classical music. “When I thought of Stéphane Grappelli for Les Valseuses, I found that it was interesting to place music considered corny in a film perceived as modern and provocative“, he had thus confided in the columns of Le Figaro, in February 2022.

Tributes have been pouring in since the announcement of Bertrand Blier's death

Since the announcement of his death, tributes have been pouring in. This is particularly the case of Rachida Dati. The Minister of Culture indicated on X, formerly Twitter: “I learn with great sadness of the passing of Bertrand Blier. He was a genius dialogist, in the lineage of Prévert and Audiard. In films that were of their time, he offered iconic roles to the greatest“.