Kast, Pierre

(December 22, 1920, Paris, France - October 20, 1984, Clichy-la-Garenne, Hauts-de-Seine, France)

   Educated at the Eglise Réformée de l'Oratoire, the Lycée Henri IV, and the Sorbonne, he was still a student when he joined the French Resistance (1940-1944). After the liberation of France, he spent his nights at Saint-Germain-des-Prés, where he befriended writer Boris Vian. In 1945, he founded the Paris University cine-club and started out as a film critic for the weekly newspaper Action. While working with Henri Langlois at the Cinemathèque Française (1945-1947), he published articles in L'Ecran Français (later he also wrote for La Revue du Cinéma, Positif, Cinéma 60, and Les Cahiers du Cinéma). An assistant director (1947 Le Printemps de la Liberté, short, also artistic adviser, Jean Grémillon; 1949 Pattes blanches / UK and USA: White Paws, Jean Grémillon; 1950 Le Château de Verre / L'amante di una notte, René Clément, France / Italy; 1951 L'Etrange Madame X, Jean Grémillon; 1952 Jeux interdits / USA: Forbidden Games, uncredited, René Clément; 1954 French Can­can / USA: Only the French Can, Jean Renoir, France / Italy; 1955 Les Carnets du Major Thompson / UK: The Diary of Major Thompson / USA: The French, They Are a Funny Race, Preston Sturges) and dialogist (1955 Il mantello rosso / Le Manteau rouge / Les Révoltés / UK and USA: The Red Cloak, Giuseppe M. Scotese; Italy / France) before making his directing debut, he occasionally collaborated on other filmmakers' scripts (1966 Une Balle au Coeur / Mia sfira stin kardia / USA: Devil at My Heels, as co-adapter, Jean-Daniel Pollet, France / Greece; 1970 Le Maître du Temps, as co-screenwriter, Jean-Daniel Pollet; 1971 Le Pe­tit Matin, as co-screenwriter, adapter, Jean-Gabriel Albicocco, 1974 L'Ironie du Sort, as co-screenwriter co-adapter, Edouard Molinaro) and appeared in films (1961 La Mort de Belle / UK: The End of Belle / USA: The Passion of Slow Fire, Edouard Molinaro; Autrefois les Canuts, documentary, short, as narrator, Bernard Chardère; 1967 Vivre pour vivre / Vivere per vivere / USA: Life for Life, Claude Lelouch, France / Italy; 1972 L'Aventure, c'est l'Aventure / L'avventura è l'avventura / UK and USA: Money Money Money, Claude Lelouch; France / Italy; 1973 Septembre chilien, documentary, short, as narrator, Bruno Muel, Théo Robichet; 2004 Le Fantôme d'Henri Langlois, documentary; archives, Jacques Richard). A great lover of science fiction, he notably wrote a fantastic novel (1975 Les Vampires de l'Alfama, Editions Olivier Orban). Other novels: 1980 Le Bonheur et le Pouvoir (Editions Jean-Claude Lattès); 1981 La Mémoire du Tyran (Editions Jean-Claude Lat­tes); 1997 La Dernière Nuit de Casanova (Le Temps des Cerises). He died of a heart attack during a flight back to Rome, where he had just finished shooting a TV movie adapted from one of the most famous novels of his friend Boris Vian.

 Filmography

1949 ◘ Les Charmes de l'Existence / UK: The Charms of Life (short; co-director with Jean Grémillon; also screenwriter, author of commentary)

1951 ◘ Arithmétique (documentary; short; also co-screenwriter)

        ◘ Les Désastres de la Guerre (documentary; short)

        ◘ Les Femmes du Louvre (documentary; short; also co-author of commentary, editor)

1952 ◘ La Guerre en Dentelles (documentary; short; also screenwriter, editor)

        ◘ Le séme à tout Vent (short; also co-screenwriter, author of commentary)

1953 ◘ A nous Deux, Paris! (short)

        ◘ La Chasse à l'Homme (short; also screenwriter)

        ◘ Venise (documentary; short)

1954 ◘ L'Architecte maudit: Claude-Nicolas Ledoux (documentary; short)

        ◘ Monsieur Robida, Prophète et Explorateur du Temps (documentary; short)

1955 ◘ Nos Ancêtres les Explorateurs (documentary, short)

        ◘ Un Amour de Poche / UK: Nude in His Pocket / USA: Girl in His Pocket

        ◘ Le Corbusier, l'Architecte du Bonheur (documentary; short)

        ◘ Des Ruines et des Hommes (documentary; short; co-director with Marcelle Lioret; also co-screenwriter)

        ◘ Images pour Baudelaire (short; also author of commentary)

        ◘ Japon d'aujourd'hui et d'Hier (documentary; short; co-director with Marcelle Lioret)

        ◘ Promenade quotidienne en Inde (documentary; short; co-director with Marcelle Lioret)

        ◘ Une Question d'Assurance (short; also screenwriter)

1960 ◘ Le Bel Âge / UK and USA: Love Is When You Make It (shot in 1958)

        ◘ Merci Natercia! (also co-adapter, co-dialogist)

        ◘ La Morte-Saison des Amours / USA: The Season For Love (also co-screenwriter, dialogist)

        ◘ P.X.O. (documentary; short; co-director with Jacques Doniol-Valcroze)

        ◘ Vacances portugaises / Os Sorrisos do Destino (also screenwriter, co-adapter, codialogist; France / Portugal)

1965 ◘ Le Grain de Sable / Die Unmoralischen / O triângulo Circular / USA: The Circular Triangle (TV movie theatrically released; France / West Germany)

        ◘ La Brûlure de Mille Soleils (short; also co-screenwriter, author of commentary)

        ◘ La Naissance de l'Empire romain (documentary; short)

        ◘ Drôle de Jeu (TV movie theatrically released; also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist)

        ◘ Bandeira Branca de Oxala (documentary; also co-screenwriter; Brazil / France)

        ◘ Macumba (Brazil; unreleased)

        ◘ L'Ombre de Langlois (documentary; short; also author of commentary, actor)

        ◘ Les Soleils de l'Île de Pâques / Os Sois da ilha de Pascoa (also screenwriter, dialogist; France / Brazil / Chile)

1976 ◘ Un Animal doué de Déraison / A Nudez de Al­exandra (also screenwriter, dialogist; France / Brail)

1980 ◘ Le Soleil en Face / USA: Face to the Sun (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist; shot in 1978)

1982 ◘ La Guerillera / La Guerrigliera / La Guerrillera (also co-screenwriter, co-dialogist; France / Italy / Spain)

 Television Filmography

1966 ◘ Les Carnets brésiliens (documentary)

1985 ◘ L'Herbe rouge / A Erva Vermelha (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist; France / Italy / Por­tugal)