Barbet Schroeder (born 26 August 1941) is an Iranian-born Swiss film director and producer who started his career in French cinema in the 1960s, working with directors of the French New Wave such as Jean-Luc Godard, Jacques Rivette and Eric Rohmer.
Schroeder started his career producing such films as The Bakery Girl of Monceau (1962), Six in Paris (1965), and Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974). He then transitioned into directing films such as More (1969), La Vallée (1972), and Barfly (1987), the last of which was nominated for the Palme d'Or. He also gained recognition for directing the documentary Koko: A Talking Gorilla (1978). He directed what he labeled "The Trilogy of Evil": General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (1974), Terror's Advocate (2007), and The Venerable W. (2016).
He directed the drama Reversal of Fortune (1990) and earned a nomination for Academy Award for Best Director. He then directed many big budget Hollywood films, often mixing melodrama with the thriller genre in films like Single White Female (1992), Kiss of Death (1995), Desperate Measures (1998), and Murder by Numbers (2002). He also acted in Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), Mars Attacks! (1996), and The Darjeeling Limited (2007).
Early life and education Schroeder was born in Tehran, Iran, the son of Ursula, a German physician, and Jean-William Schroeder, a Swiss geologist.Barbet Schroeder Biography (1941-)Barbet Schroeder Biography - Yahoo! Movies From ages 6 to 11, he lived in Colombia where his father worked. Both he and his family then left for France, where he studied at the Sorbonne in Paris.
Career Schroeder's production company Les Films du Losange, founded by him at age 23, produced some of the best-known films of the French New Wave. His directorial debut, More (1969), about heroin addiction, became a hit in Europe. Pink Floyd wrote music for this movie and released the album, More. They also wrote the soundtrack for his 1972 film La Vallée, released as the album Obscured by Clouds.
He later went on to direct more mainstream Hollywood fare, such as Barfly (1987) starring Mickey Rourke, Single White Female (1992) and Reversal of Fortune (1990), for which Jeremy Irons as Claus von Bülow received an Academy Award. Despite his many commercially successful films, Schroeder continues to be interested in making smaller films with a more limited audience, such as the adaptation of Colombian writer Fernando Vallejo's controversial novel La virgen de los sicarios (2000) or the documentary General Idi Amin Dada: A Self Portrait (1974), featuring extensive interviews with the Ugandan dictator and Terror's Advocate (2007) about terrorism in the last fifty years, seen through the eyes of a lawyer, Jacques Vergès, and his clients.
Schroeder has also made some appearances as an actor: playing one of the 'ghosts' in Jacques Rivette's Céline et Julie vont en bateau (Céline and Julie Go Boating), a cameo as a Porsche driver in Beverly Hills Cop III (1994), as the President of France in Mars Attacks! (1996), as a hair products salesman in Paris, je t'aime (2006) and as the mechanic in The Darjeeling Limited (2007). Today, he resides in France and is married to actress Bulle Ogier.
In 2009, Schroeder signed a petition in support of film director Roman Polanski, calling for his release after Polanski was arrested in Switzerland in relation to his 1977 charge for drugging and raping a 13-year-old girl.
Schroeder directed the 12th episode of the third season of the American dramatic television series Mad Men that first aired on 1 November 2009. The episode was entitled "The Grown Ups", and was notable for its depiction of the events of the Kennedy assassination.
Filmography Film Year Title DirectorWriterProducer Notes 1964Nadja in ParisDirected by Eric Rohmer1969More1972La Vallée1974General Idi Amin Dada: A Self PortraitDocumentary film 1975Maîtresse1978Koko: A Talking GorillaDocumentary film 1984Cheaters (Tricheurs)Un joueur (uncredited)1985The Charles Bukowski Tapes Documentary film; also editor 1987Barfly 1990Reversal of Fortune 1992Single White Female 1995Kiss of Death 1996Before and After 1998Desperate Measures 2000La virgen de los sicarios2002Murder by Numbers 2007Terror's Advocate Documentary film, also narrator 2008Inju: The Beast in the Shadow2015Amnesia2017The Venerable W. Documentary film2023Ricardo and Painting Documentary film
As an actor Year Title Role Director Notes 1963The Bakery Girl of Monceau car salesman Eric Rohmer also producer 1965Six in Paris Jean-Pierre Jean Rouch Segment: "Gare du Nord" also producer 1971Out 1Gian-RetoJacques Rivette1972 Out 1: Spectre1974Celine and Julie Go Boating Olivier Also producer 1979 RobertaVittorio Pierre ZuccaLa Mémoire courteUn invité au dînerEduardo de Gregorio1984Love on the GroundAudience Jacque Rivette uncredited1990The Golden BoatMean Passer-by Raúl Ruiz1994La Reine Margotan advisorPatrice ChéreauBeverly Hills Cop IIIMan in PorscheJohn Landis1996Mars Attacks!Maurice, the French PresidentTim Burton 2004Ne fais pas ça!Un client du restaurant #1Luc Bondy 2005Une aventureDr. IdelmanXavier Giannoli2006Paris, je t'aimeMonsieur Henny Christopher Doyle Segment: "Porte de Choisy"2007The Duchess of LangeaisDuc de GrandlieuJacques Rivette The Darjeeling LimitedThe MechanicWes Anderson 2011 L'avocatJacques MecoCédric Anger2012Jacques Meco Benoît Delépine Gustave Kervern2014Portrait of the ArtistLe médecin Antoine Barraud final film role
Television Year Title Director Notes 2009 Mad Men Episode: "The Grown-Ups"
References
External links
Les Films du Losange
Barbet Schroeder Website A day on location with Schroeder's "Barfly" by Roger Ebert, Barbet Schroeder, ombres et clarté from Jérôme d'Estais, Editions LettMotif, 2017, http://www.edition-lettmotif.com/produit/barbet-schroeder/