Claude Lelouch (born October 30, 1937) is a French film director, writer, cinematographer, actor and producer.
Born in Paris, Lelouch won the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival in 1966 for Un homme et une femme (A Man and a Woman), as well as two oscars including best foreign language film. The 1981 musical epic Les Uns et les Autres is widely considered as his masterpiece.
Lelouch is known for making movies based heavily on improvised dialogue.
He was arrested after his 1976 film, C'était un rendez-vous, reportedly at the time featuring a Ferrari 275 GTB being illegally driven at speeds approaching 140 km/h through the streets of Paris by a Formula 1 driver, was first shown publicly.
Recent claims made by the director himself, however, suggest he drove his own Mercedes-Benz 450SEL 6.9 in the film and dubbed the sound effects of a Ferrari 275GTB. Several independent groups have verified that the car in the film never reaches past 140 km/h (85mph)
Biography in: John Wakeman, editor. "World Film Directors, Volume Two, 1945-1985." Pages 572-577. New York: The H.W. Wilson Company, 1988.
Member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1967.
Children: Sarah Lelouch (with Swedish model Gunilla Friden), Salomé Lelouch (with actress Evelyne Bouix), Seb Lelouch, Simon Lelouch (with Christine Lelouch), Shaya Lelouch and Stella Lelouch (with actress Alessandra Martines).
His production company is "Les Films 13".
