The world-renowned documentary filmmaker Marcel Ophuls, celebrated for his epoch-making work ‘The Sorrow and the Pity’, has passed away at the age of 97. His grandson, Andreas-Benjamin Seyfert, delivered the news, without furnishing any information about the cause of death.
Ophuls, whose father was the distinguished German and Hollywood moviemaker Max Ophuls, had always asserted his desire to create lighter productions, such as romantic comedies and musicals. He often remarked that his fame in the documentary genre had somehow caged him into it.
Nevertheless, his seminal ‘The Sorrow and the Pity’, a comprehensive exploration of French collaboration with Nazi Germany during the Second World War, catapulted documentary cinema into the limelight. His insightful investigations into the Northern Ireland war (‘A Sense of Loss’), the Nuremberg war crime trials (‘The Memory of Justice’), and the notorious Nazi war criminal Klaus Barbie (‘Hotel Terminus’) amplified the cultural significance and educational impact of the documentary genre.
Ophuls’ prolific use of archived footage coupled with intense, exhaustive interviews brought about a more profound understanding of the intricate issues his films addressed. ‘Hotel Terminus’, a deep-dive into the life and cruelties of Klaus Barbie, fetched him an Academy Award for best documentary in 1988.
Born and raised as Oppenheimer in Frankfurt and Berlin, Ophuls’ life took a turn in 1933 with Hitler’s rise to power. This prompted the young Ophuls to flee to France, and eventually to the U.S. via Spain and Portugal in 1940.
While living in Hollywood and attending Hollywood High School, he felt a distinct alienation, an outsider in the midst of a new culture. During this time, he also acted as a Nazi youth in Frank Capra’s wartime documentary ‘Prelude to War’. In 1945, he joined the Army, serving in the entertainment unit stationed in Japan.
Upon returning to the U.S., Ophuls pursued higher education at Occidental College, UC Berkeley, and subsequently at the Sorbonne in Paris. Given his fluency in multiple languages and his father’s connections, he worked as an assistant for directors including Julien Duvivier, John Huston and Anatole Litvak.
After assisting John Huston in ‘Moulin Rouge’ in 1952, he briefly appeared and lent his assistance in ‘Lola Montes’, lauded by critics as the pinnacle of his father’s body of work. Later, he worked for German television and his Matisse documentary garnered the attention of Francois Truffaut.
Owing to Truffaut’s recommendation, he had the privilege of directing Jean-Paul Belmondo and Jeanne Moreau in the 1963 adventure comedy ‘Banana Peel’, which turned out to be quite a hit. However, his following movie, 1965’s ‘Fire at Will’, failed to ignite either the box office or critical appreciation.
Subsequently, Ophuls found employment with the French government-run TV network ORTF, working on the TV newsmagazine ‘Zoom!’. His three-hour 1967 documentary on the Munich Agreement titled ‘Munich or Peace in Our Time’ led him to plan a film about the French Occupation.
In the interim, he focused his lenses on the 1968 student protests in Paris. However, the re-emergence of pro de Gaulle forces in the French government cost him his job due to his radical stance. This setback prompted Ophuls to return to German TV and with Swiss assistance, he was able to complete his magnum opus ‘The Sorrow and the Pity’ by 1969.
This expansive, piercing documentary shattered the illusion of French resistance during the Nazi occupation. Initially rejected by French television and cinema, the film eventually received private screenings and critical praise. It was eventually broadly released across France in 1971 and made its TV debut a decade later.
In 1972, Ophuls made ‘A Sense of Loss’, a complex exploration of the conflict in Northern Ireland. His subsequent documentary, ‘The Memory of Justice’ (1976) offered a juxtaposition of horrors from Nazi Germany, Vietnam, and Algeria, and interrogated selective memory and Germany’s struggle with its Nazi-supporting past.
After a break from the silver screen, Ophuls received an Oscar and the International Critics Prize at Cannes in 1988 for his documentary about Klaus Barbie, ‘Hotel Terminus’. His 1991 piece ‘November Days’, was a critique of East Germany’s faltering political leadership.
Beyond his filmmaking career, Ophuls voiced his opinions on cinema, lectured at universities, and served on the board of the French Filmmakers Society. He received a MacArthur Foundation Fellowship in 1991 and although he pledged to switch back to feature filmmaking, instead, he produced a film about the history of wartime journalists titled ‘Veillees d’armes’.
His last directorial venture was a 2012 self-portrait titled ‘Un Voyageur’, released in the U.S. as ‘Ain’t Misbehavin’’. Here, he looked back on his career and life journey. He leaves behind his wife Regine and their three daughters.