Biography
Louis Marie Malle (30 October 1932 – 23 November 1995) was a French film director, screenwriter, and producer. His film "The Silent World" won the Palme d'Or in 1956 and the Academy Award for Best Documentary in 1957, although he was not credited at the ceremony with the award instead being presented to the film's co-director Jacques Cousteau. Later in his career he was nominated multiple times for Academy Awards. Malle is also one of the few directors to have won the Golden Lion multiple times....
Known For
Complete Filmography

La Vie en Gris: The Anglophone Louis Malle in Seven Pictures
2022
Filmmaker Louis Malle worked adjacent to the French Nouvelle Vague, but was admittedly never fully part of it, cementing his reputation instead with f...

Becoming Cousteau
2021
as Self (archive footage)
Adventurer, filmmaker, inventor, author, unlikely celebrity and conservationist: For over four decades, Jacques-Yves Cousteau and his explorations und...

L'affaire Matzneff
2020
as Self (archive footage)
About the Gabriel Matzneff affair and pedophilia in French culture and society from the 1950s to the present day. "It was not very difficult to know w...

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
2019
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
An immersive look at the eventful life and brilliant artistic career of visionary American jazz trumpeter Miles Davis (1926-1991).

Jeanne Moreau: Free Spirit
2018
as Self - Filmmaker (archive footage)
An account of the life of actress Jeanne Moreau (1928-2017), a true icon of the New Wave and one of the most idolized French movie stars.

Jerry Lewis: The Man Behind the Clown
2016
as Self (archive footage)
Since the early days, Jerry Lewis—in the line of Chaplin, Keaton and Laurel—had the masses laughing with his visual gags, pantomime sketches and signa...

Louis Malle, le rebelle
2015
as Self (archiveFootage)

Elevator to the Gallows
2010
Original Story
A phone conversation occurs between a man and a woman. They both state their love for each other and that they will do this so they can be together. T...
On the Trail of the New Wave
2009
as Self (archive footage)

365 Day Project
2007
This exhibition focuses on Jonas Mekas’ 365 Day Project, a succession of films and videos in calendar form. Every day as of January 1st, 2007 and for ...

Who Is Henry Jaglom?
1997
as Self
Hailed by some as a cinematic genius, a feminist voice and a true maverick of American cinema, dismissed by others as a voyeuristic fraud and the "wor...

The Ogre
1996
In Memory Of
Frenchman Abel Tiffauges is a naive man who lives a simple life working as a mechanic. Falsely accused of being a child abuser, he is recruited as a s...

Vanya on 42nd Street
1994
Director
An uninterrupted rehearsal of Chekhov's 1899 play "Uncle Vanya" played out by a company of actors. The setting is their run down theater with an unusa...

Jean Renoir: Part One - From La Belle Époque to World War II
1993
as Self
Part one of a BBC documentary about Jean Renoir.

Damage
1992
Producer, Director
The life of a respected British politician at the height of his career crumbles when he becomes obsessed with his son's lover.

La Vie de Bohème
1992
as Gentleman
Three penniless artists become friends in modern-day Paris: Rodolfo, an Albanian painter with no visa, Marcel, a playwright and magazine editor with n...

May Fools
1990
Producer, Director, Screenplay
An eccentric family is re-united during the 1968 general strike in France, after the death of the grandmother.

Au Revoir les Enfants
1987
Director, Screenplay, Producer
Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provinci...

… And the Pursuit of Happiness
1986
as Narrator (voice)
In 1986, Louis Malle examines the immigrant experience in America by interviewing newcomers from various professions nationwide, highlighting their st...

… And the Pursuit of Happiness
1986
Director, Producer, Director of Photography
In 1986, Louis Malle examines the immigrant experience in America by interviewing newcomers from various professions nationwide, highlighting their st...

God's Country
1985
as Narrator (voice)
In 1979, Louis Malle films the thriving lives of a Minnesota farming community, but returns six years later to document its drastic economic decline, ...

God's Country
1985
Director, Director of Photography
In 1979, Louis Malle films the thriving lives of a Minnesota farming community, but returns six years later to document its drastic economic decline, ...

Jacques Cousteau: The First 75 Years
1985
as Self
Documentary about the life of explorer Jacques Cousteau.

Alamo Bay
1985
Director, Producer
A despondent Vietnam veteran in danger of losing his livelihood is pushed to the edge when he sees Vietnamese immigrants moving into the fishing indus...

The Road to Bresson
1984
as Self
A Dutch documentary about legendary French filmmaker Robert Bresson.

My Dinner with Louis
1984
as Interviewee
Interview with director Louis Malle conducted by Wallace Shawn, produced for the BBC-TV programme "Arena".

Crackers
1984
Director
In San Francisco, a group of down-and-out friends and a local pimp concoct a convoluted burglary plan on their pawnshop operator friend, all while nav...
Before the Nickelodeon: The Cinema of Edwin S. Porter
1982
as Reader - Melies Catalogue (voice)
A documentary overview of the career of silent cinema pioneer Edwin S. Porter.

Hollywood’s Children
1982
as Self
A documentary about child actors, since the beginning of motion pictures (narrated by Roddy McDowell).

My Dinner with Andre
1981
Director
Wally, a struggling playwright and actor, reluctantly agrees to catch up with his old friend Andre, a theater director who disappeared several years p...

Atlantic City
1980
Director
In a corrupt city, a small-time gangster and the estranged wife of a pot dealer find themselves thrown together in an escapade of love, money, drugs a...

Pretty Baby
1978
Story, Director, Producer
Hattie, a New Orleans prostitute, meets a photographer named Bellocq at her brothel one night and, after he photographs her, he befriends her 12-year-...
Close up: Dominique Sanda ou le rêve éveillé
1977
Director
It's an intimate film that brings out the deeper vibrations of my person. It was for me at the same time a beautiful but disturbing experience. To del...

Black Moon
1975
Writer, Director
There is a war in the world between the men and the women. A young girl tries to escape this reality and comes to a hidden place where a strange unico...
The Lion Roars Again
1975
as Self (uncredited)
A chronicle of the 1975 International Press Conclave hosted by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer over two days in May 1975.

Place de la République
1974
as Self
Louis Malle presents his entertaining snapshot of the comings and goings on one street corner in Paris.

Place de la République
1974
Director
Louis Malle presents his entertaining snapshot of the comings and goings on one street corner in Paris.

A Human Condition
1974
Director
In his documentary "Humain, Trop Humain," Louis Malle presents his meditative investigation of the inner workings of a French automotive plant.

Lacombe, Lucien
1974
Writer, Director, Producer
In Louis Malle's lauded drama, Lucien Lacombe is a young man living in rural France during World War II who seeks to join the French Resistance. When ...

Français, si vous saviez
1973
Delegated Producer
This almost 8 hour humongous 1973 documentary by two of the filmmakers who made The Sorrow and the Pity recounts fifty years of the history of France ...

Murmur of the Heart
1971
Director, Writer
This loosely plotted coming-of-age tale follows the life of 15-year-old Laurent Chevalier as he stumbles his way over the burgeoning swell of adolesce...

A Very Curious Girl
1969
as Jésus
Treated as an outcast and exploited by the villagers of a small town, a young woman liberates herself through sex, which she uses as a tool of economi...

Calcutta
1969
as Narrator (voice)
When he was cutting "Phantom India," Louis Malle found that the footage shot in Calcutta was so diverse, intense, and unforgettable that it deserved i...

Calcutta
1969
Writer, Director
When he was cutting "Phantom India," Louis Malle found that the footage shot in Calcutta was so diverse, intense, and unforgettable that it deserved i...

Spirits of the Dead
1968
Director, Screenplay, Adaptation
Anthology film from three European directors based on stories by Edgar Allan Poe: a cruel countess haunted by a ghostly horse, a sadistic young man ha...

The Thief of Paris
1967
as Extra (uncredited)
In Paris around 1900, a young man raised by his wealthy uncle plots revenge after his cousin is betrothed to a rich neighbor. He steals the fiancé's f...

The Thief of Paris
1967
Director, Screenplay
In Paris around 1900, a young man raised by his wealthy uncle plots revenge after his cousin is betrothed to a rich neighbor. He steals the fiancé's f...
The Birth of Children of Paradise
1967
as Self
Documentary about the making of Marcel Carne's 1945 film Children of Paradise (France), interviewing the director, the actors and production designer,...

Young Törless
1966
Producer
At an Austrian boys' boarding school in the early 1900s, shy, intelligent Törless observes the sadistic behavior of his fellow students, doing nothing...

Un metteur en ordre: Robert Bresson
1966
as Self
A documentary, originally produced in 1966 for the French TV series "Pour le plaisir," about Robert Bresson's film "Au Hasard Balthazar," featuring in...

Viva Maria!
1965
Director, Screenplay
An IRA operative escapes to the Americas and teams up with a circus singer to create a popular vaudeville act. When the singer falls for a rebel, they...

Best Regards from Bangkok
1964
Director
A documentary short for "Five Columns à la une".

The Fire Within
1963
Screenplay, Director
Although his alcoholism has been treated, Alain still feels he is deeply unwell and does not feel he can leave the detoxification clinic once and for ...

Vive Le Tour
1962
Director, Writer, Director of Photography
A short documentary about the 1962 Tour-de-France. Topics covered include: crowds of people and motorcycles, drinking raids and feeding, pileups, dopi...

A Very Private Affair
1962
as Le journaliste (uncredited)
After achieving fame as a movie star, a woman finds her private life invaded by relentless fans, leading her mother’s ex-lover to intervene and offer ...

A Very Private Affair
1962
Director, Writer
After achieving fame as a movie star, a woman finds her private life invaded by relentless fans, leading her mother’s ex-lover to intervene and offer ...

Zazie dans le Métro
1960
Director, Producer, Screenplay
A brash and precocious ten-year-old comes to Paris for a whirlwind weekend with her rakish uncle.

The Lovers
1958
Director
A shallow, provincial wife finds her relationship with her preoccupied husband strained by romantic notions of love, leading her further towards Paris...

Elevator to the Gallows
1958
Director, Screenplay
A self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.

The Silent World
1956
Cinematography, Director, Director of Photography
Join renowned explorer Jacques-Yves Cousteau as he investigates aquatic habitats worldwide, showcasing whales, sharks, and diverse marine life. The fi...
La Fontaine-de-Vaucluse
1955
Director
Follows the scientific research carried out in the natural cavity of Fontaine-de-Vaucluse by Cousteau and OFRS (French Underwater Research Office) div...

Station 307
1955
Director, Director of Photography, Writer
A research expedition to the Persian Gulf and a dive near Bahrain in search of oil. The film was sponsored by the French arm of British Petroleum, and...

Crazeologie
1954
Louis Malle's student film, featuring the title song by Charlie Parker.

Crazeologie
1954
Director
Louis Malle's student film, featuring the title song by Charlie Parker.