Yves Félix Claude Boisset (14 March 1939 – 31 March 2025) was a French film director and screenwriter. He directed fiction films like The Assassination, Le prix du danger, as well as investigative documentaries. Boisset was known for his left wing political views and the controversial releases of his films. He was labeled "the most censored man in France", and declared himself the most censored filmmaker of the Fifth Republic.
Early life Yves Boisset was born 14 March 1939, in Paris, France. His parents were teachers, with his mother teaching the German language and his father teaching literature. Boisset was raised on a farm. When Boisset was 8, his younger brother died after overdosing on medication left out by his grandmother, leading to strife within his family. Boisset was educated at Lycée Louis-le-Grand and studied at the Institut des hautes études cinématographiques (IDHEC). He disliked the strict atmosphere of the school and left, not graduating. Boisset's first job was as a crime reporter for Paris-Jour in the late 1950s. He began writing for film magazines.
Career Boisset directed his first film in 1968, Coplan Saves His Skin. Many of his films focused on police, politics, and the criminal justice system. His films were known for their controversial releases, and he for his left-wing political views and legal and political issues. He was labeled "the most censored man in France", and declared himself the most censored filmmaker of the Fifth Republic. He was arrested multiple times in several different countries during the production of his films. His 1972 film about the Algerian war, R.A.S., led to violent threats against him was withdrawn from circulation. His 1972 film The Assassination entered into the 8th Moscow International Film Festival where it won the Silver Prize. He sued Arnold Schwarzenegger and 20th Century Fox over The Running Man, which he believed had plagiarized his film Le prix du danger. He won the lawsuit.
Boisset went on to direct several television films. He directed several investigative documentaries. In 2006, Boisset directed , a documentary on the Order of the Solar Temple, a French organization, widely described as a cult, notorious for their mass suicides and murders in the 1990s. Boisset found the official investigation unsatisfactory, and believed a wider conspiracy was at work.
In 2011, he published an autobiography, (). He was afterwards sued for defamation due to the contents of the book.
Death Boisset died on 31 March 2025, at the age of 86. He had been in hospital care in Levallois-Perret for a few days.
Filmography
As director
1966: Rouletabille (episode "Le parfum de la dame en noir") (TV series) 1968: Coplan Saves His Skin 1970: Cran d'arrêt 1970: The Cop 1971: 1972: The Assassination 1973: 1975: 1975: The Common Man 1977: The Purple Taxi 1977: Judge Fayard Called the Sheriff 1978: 1979: Histoires insolites (épisode "La stratégie du serpent") (TV) 1980: The Woman Cop 1981: 1982: Espion, lève-toi 1983: Le Prix du Danger 1984: Dog Day 1986: 1987: La Fée carabine (TV) 1988: Médecins des hommes (TV series) 1988: 1989: Le Suspect (TV) 1989: 1990: Frontière du crime (Double Identity) (TV) 1991: Les Carnassiers (TV) 1991: 1993: (TV) 1993: Chute libre (TV) 1994: : Der Tunnel (TV) 1995: (TV) 1996: Les Amants de rivière rouge (TV series) 1997: La Fine équipe (TV) 1997: Une leçon particulière (TV) 1997: (TV) 1999: Sam (TV) 2001: Les Redoutables (episode Poisson d'avril) (TV series) 2001: Dormir avec le diable (TV) 2001: (TV) 2002: (TV) 2005: Ils veulent cloner le Christ (TV) 2006: Les Mystères sanglants de l'OTS (TV) 2007: La Bataille d'Alger (TV) 2009: (TV)
Bibliography
References
Further reading
External links