Bitsch, Charles L.

(Louis Charles Bitsch / April 23, 1931, Mulhouse, Alsace, France - )

   From 1951 to 1953, he studied at the L'Ecole Na­tionale de la Photographie (the National Photography School) before collaborating as film critic to Arts and Cahiers du Cinéma (1953-1959) and befriending the future French New Wave directors. He worked suc­cessively as assistant director (1958 Le Beau Serge / UK: Bitter Reunion / USA: Handsome Serge, Claude Chabrol; 1959 Deux Hommes dans Manhattan, also cameraman, Jean-Pierre Melville; A Double Tour / A dop-pia mandata / UK: Web of Passion / USA: Leda, Claude Chabrol, France / Italy; 1960 Les Bonnes Femmes / Donne facili / UK: The Girls / The Good Girls / USA: The Good Time Girls, Claude Chabrol, France / Italy; 1962 Les Sept Péchés capitaux / I sette peccati capitali / UK: The Seven Capital Sins / USA: The Seven Deadly Sins, episode "La Luxure / Lussuria / Luxury", Jacques Demy, France / Italy; Le Doulos / Lo spione / UK: The Finger Man / USA: Doulos: The Finger Man, Jean-Pierre Melville, France / Italy; 1963 Landru / USA: Bluebeard, Claude Chabrol, France / Italy; Ro.Go.Pa.G / Rogopag / UK and USA: Let's Have a Brainwash, episode "Le Nouveau Monde", Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy; Les Carabiniers / UK and USA: The Soldiers, Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy; Le Mépris / Il disprezzo / USA: Contempt, Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy; 1964 Les plus belles Escroqueries du Monde / Le più belle truffe del mondo / Wereld wil bedrogen worden / UK: The Beautiful Swindlers / USA: The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers / World's Greatest Swindlers, episode "Le Grand Escroc", Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy / Netherlands / Ja­pan; 1965 Alphaville, une étrange Aventure de Lemmy Caution / Agente Lemmy Caution, missione Alphaville / UK: Alphaville, a Strange Adventure of Lemmy Caution / Alphaville, a Strange Case of Lemmy Caution / USA: Dick Tracy on Mars, Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy; 1967 Made in U.S.A., Jean-Luc Godard; Deux ou Trois Choses que je sais d'elle / UK and USA: Two or Three Things I Know About Her, Jean-Luc Godard; Le plus vieux Métier du Monde / L'amore attraverso I secoli / Das àlteste Gewerbe derWelt / UK: The Oldest Profession in the World / USA: The Oldest Profession, episode "Anticipa­tion", Jean-Luc Godard, France / Italy / West Germany; La Chinoise, Jean-Luc Godard; Loin du Vietnam / USA: Far from Vietnam, episode "Camera Eye", Jean-Luc Godard; 1969 Amore e rabbia / Evangile 70 / La Con­testation / Vangelo '70 / UK and USA: Love and Anger, episode "L'amore / L'Amour", Jean-Luc Godard, Italy / France, shot in 1967; 1974 Juliette et Juliette / Juliette e Juliette, Remo Forlani, France / Italy), co-screenwriter (1957 Le Coup du Berger, short, Jacques Rivette), cinematographer (1952 Le Divertissement, short, Jacques Rivette; 1958 Véronique et son Cancre / USA: Veronique and Her Dunce, short, Eric Rohmer; 1960 Paris nous appartient / UK: Paris Is Ours / USA: Paris Belongs to Us, Jacques Rivette), assistant cameraman (1962 L'Amour à Vingt Ans / L'amore a vent'anni / Liebe mit Zwanzig / Milosc dwudziestolatkow / Hatachi no ko / USA: Love at Twenty, segment "Antoine et Colette / Antoine and Colette", François Truffaut, France / Italy / West Germany / Poland / Japan), cameraman (1962 Vivre sa Vie / Vivre sa Vie: Film en Douze Tableaux / UK: It's My Life / USA: My Life to Live, Jean-Luc Godard), and technical adviser (1972 La Vieille Fille / La tardona, Jean-Pierre Blanc, France / Italy). He also appeared as himself in various documentaries (1966 Cinéastes de notre temps, episode "Et pourtant ils tournent", Claude-Jean Philippe; 2000 Cinématon, Gérard Courant; 2007 Hitchcock et la Nouvelle Vague, Jean-Jacques Bernard).

 Filmography

1953 ◘ Les Trois Rendez-vous (short; co-director with Philippe de Broca, Edith Krausse)

1964 ◘ La Chance et l'Amour / L'amore e la chance (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist, camera opeator; segment "Lucky la Chance"; France / Italy)

1965 ◘ Les Baisers / I baci / Una voglia di donna (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist; segment "Cher Baiser"; France / Italy; shot in 1963)

1972 ◘ Le Dernier Homme / USA: Last Man (also screenwriter, adapter, dialogist; shot in 1967)

 Television Filmography

        ◘ Grand Ecran (documentary; episode "Le Film noir américain")

        ◘ Grand Ecran (documentary; episodes "Jerry Lewis", "Si Guitry m'était compté . . . ", "La Science-Fiction au Cinéma", "Jean Renoir parmi nous", "A propos d'Othello")

        ◘ Les Visiteurs du Mercredi (documentary; epi­sode "La Magie")

        ◘ Restez donc avec nous (documentary; episode "Les Charpentiers")

        ◘ Les Visiteurs du Mercredi (documentary; epi­sodes "Stalingrad", "Moretti")

        ◘ Le Marteau-Piqueur (also co-screenwriter)

        ◘ Remue-Méninges: Le Scoop du Mois

        ◘ Les Mélodies Bidon

        ◘ L'Homme des Couloirs (also co-screenwriter)

        ◘ La Chignole (also co-screenwriter)

1989 ◘ Le Triplé gagnant (episode "Le Manoir des Veuves")

        ◘ Pause-Café, Pause Tendresse (episodes "La Tra­verse", "Les Verres cassées")

        ◘ V comme Vengeance (episode "Le Bonheur des Autres" / USA: The Happiness of Others)

        ◘ Puissance 4 (episode "Jeux de Vilains")

1994 ◘ Meurtre avec Préméditation (episode "Le Bel Horizon")