Marcel Ophuls facts for kids

Marcel Ophuls (born 1 November 1927 – died 24 May 2025) was a famous German-French and American documentary filmmaker. He was well-known for his important movies like The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) and Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988).

Marcel was born into a German-Jewish family. His family had to leave Nazi Germany in 1933 when the Nazis came to power. They moved to France, but had to flee again in 1940 when the Nazis took over France. In 1941, his family moved to the United States. Marcel became an American citizen in 1950.

His career in filmmaking started in 1950. He made movies in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. At first, he mainly worked on fictional drama films. In the late 1960s, he started making documentaries in France. Later, he also made documentaries for American TV networks like CBS and ABC. He won an Academy Award in 1989 for his film Hôtel Terminus. He continued making films until he passed away in France in 2025.

Early Life and Family

Marcel Ophuls was born in Frankfurt, Germany, on 1 November 1927. His father was the famous director Max Ophüls. His family was German-Jewish.

In 1933, when the Nazi Party gained power, his family left Germany. They settled in Paris, France. When Germany invaded France in May 1940, they had to escape again. They hid for over a year before traveling through Spain to the United States. They arrived in December 1941.

Marcel went to Hollywood High School and then Occidental College in Los Angeles. In 1946, he briefly served in the U.S. Army in Japan. After that, he studied at the University of California, Berkeley. He became a French citizen in 1938 and an American citizen in 1950.

In 1956, he married Regine Ackermann. He believed that people should not be blamed as a whole for the actions of others. Marcel and Regine had three daughters and three grandchildren.

Like his father, Marcel Ophuls preferred not to use the German umlaut in his name. His father removed the umlaut when he became a French citizen, and Marcel followed this spelling.

Filmmaking Career

When his family returned to Paris in 1950, Marcel started working as an assistant. He helped directors like Julien Duvivier and Anatole Litvak. He also worked on John Huston's Moulin Rouge (1952) and his father's Lola Montès (1955).

Through director François Truffaut, Ophuls got to direct a part of the film Love at Twenty (1962). After that, he directed a popular detective film called Banana Peel (1964). This movie starred famous actors Jeanne Moreau and Jean-Paul Belmondo.

When his movies stopped being as popular, Ophuls started working in television news. He made a documentary about the Munich crisis of 1938 called Munich (1967). Then, he began working on his important film about France during the Nazi occupation, The Sorrow and the Pity.

Even though he enjoyed making fun movies, Ophuls became known for his documentaries. He used a serious interview style to combine different experiences into a strong message. For example, his film about World War II showed how some French citizens were willing to work with the Nazi occupiers. His film A Sense of Loss (1972) explored the conflict in Northern Ireland.

The Memory of Justice (1976) was a big film that compared different historical events. It looked at US actions in the Vietnam War and French actions in the Algerian War. It also connected these to the terrible acts of the Nazis and the lessons learned from the Nuremberg Trials. There were disagreements about the film, which delayed its release until 1976. The movie was shown at the 1976 Cannes Film Festival.

In the mid-1970s, he started making documentaries for American TV networks CBS and ABC. His feature documentary Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988) won an Academy Award. Later, he made an interview film with two senior East German Communists called November Days (1992). He also made a thoughtful film about how journalists cover war, The Trouble We've Seen (1994).

Later Life and Legacy

Every year, the IDFA (International Documentary Festival) in Amsterdam shows a famous filmmaker's ten favorite films. In 2007, Iranian filmmaker Maziar Bahari chose The Sorrow and the Pity as one of his top ten classic documentaries. In February 2015, Marcel Ophuls received the Berlinale Camera award at the 65th Berlin International Film Festival. This award honored his entire life's work in film.

In 2014, Ophuls started raising money for a new film called Unpleasant Truths. This film was about the ongoing Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories. He planned to co-direct it with Israeli filmmaker Eyal Sivan. However, by 2017, the film was not finished due to financial and legal problems. It might never be completed.

Marcel Ophuls passed away on 24 May 2025, at the age of 97. He died in Lucq-de-Béarn, France.

Filmography

As Director

• Matisse, ou Le talent du Bonheur (1960) (short film)
• Love at Twenty (1962)
• Peau de banane (1963)
• Fire at Will (1965)
• Munich or Peace in our Time (1967)
• The Sorrow and the Pity (Le Chagrin et la pitié) (1969) – This film changed how people in France talked about the Vichy Regime.
• The Harvest of My Lai (1970)
• A Sense of Loss (1972) – About the Troubles in Northern Ireland.
• The Memory of Justice (1973–76) – About the Nuremberg Trials, the Vietnam War, and the nature of war crimes.
• Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988) – This film won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.
• November Days (1992)
• Veillées d'armes (The Troubles We've Seen: A History of Journalism in Wartime) (1994)
• Un Voyageur (2012) – A film where Marcel Ophuls shares his memories and experiences.

As Actor

• Lola Montès (1955) – (uncredited role)
• Egon Schiele – Exzess und Bestrafung (1980) – Played Dr. Stowel
• Festspiele (1982, TV Movie) – Played a Clown
• Liberty Belle (1983) – Played Le professeur allemand
• Das schöne irre Judenmädchen (1984, TV Movie) – Played Medardus

See also

In Spanish: Marcel Ophüls para niños

• Hôtel Terminus