Raoul Coutard
Raoul Coutard (16 September 1924 – 8 November 2016) was a French cinematographer. He is best known for his connection with the Nouvelle Vague period and particularly for his work with director Jean-Luc Godard. Coutard also shot films for New Wave director François Truffaut as well as Jacques Demy, a contemporary frequently associated with the movement.
He shot over 75 films during a career that lasted nearly half a century.
Coutard originally planned to study chemistry, but switched to photography because of the cost of tuition. In 1945, Coutard was sent to participate in the French Indochina War; he lived in Vietnam for the next 11 years, working as a war photographer, eventually becoming a freelancer for Paris Match and Look. In 1956, he was approached to shoot a film by Pierre Schoendoerffer, La Passe du Diable. Coutard had never used a movie camera before, and reportedly agreed to the job because of a misunderstanding (he believed he was being hired to shoot production stills of the film).
Coutard's first work collaboration with Jean-Luc Godard was Godard's first feature, À bout de souffle, shot in 1959. He was reportedly "imposed" on Godard by producer Georges de Beauregard; the director had already settled on a different cinematographer.
Coutard photographed nearly all of Godard's work in the Nouvelle Vague era (1959 - 1967), with the exception of Masculin, féminin; their last work during this period was Week-end (1967), which marked the end of Godard's work as a 'mainstream' filmmaker. The two did not work together again until Passion; their final collaboration was Godard's next feature, Prénom Carmen. ...
Source: Article "Raoul Coutard" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.
Photos
Movies (87)
The Wild Palms
2025 · Director of Photography
CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel
2018 · Self
Pierre Schoendoerffer, the Sentinel of Memory
2011 · Self
Il était une fois... « Jules et Jim »
2008 · Self (chef opérateur)
Godard, Love and Poetry
2007 · Self
The Making of Rocky Road to Dublin
2004 · Self
The Outskirts of Alphaville
2003
Wild Innocence
2001 · Director of Photography
Nouvelle Vague : El cine sin dogmas
2000 · Self
Jean Seberg: American Actress
1997 · Self
The Phantom Heart
1996 · Director of Photography
Happiness Is No Joke
1995 · Director of Photography
The Birth of Love
1993 · Director of Photography
Bethune: The Making of a Hero
1993 · Director of Photography
Chambre 12, Hôtel de Suède
1993 · Self
Cinéma! Cinéma! The French New Wave
1992 · Self
Il gèle en enfer
1990 · Director of Photography
Thick Skinned
1989 · Director of Photography
Let Sleeping Cops Lie
1988 · Director of Photography
Burning Beds
1988 · Director of Photography
Blanc de Chine
1988 · Director of Photography
Max My Love
1986 · Director of Photography
Parachute
1986 · Director of Photography
The Bitch
1984 · Director of Photography
Dangerous Moves
1984 · Director of Photography
Salt on the Skin
1984 · Director of Photography
First Name: Carmen
1983 · Director of Photography
S.A.S. San Salvador
1983 · Director
Godard's Passion
1982 · Director of Photography
Operation Leopard
1980 · Director
Drummer-Crab
1977 · Director of Photography
Le Défilé du 14 Juillet 1977
1977 · Director, Writer
Une nuit en Lorraine
1975 · Director
Like a Pot of Strawberries
1974 · Director of Photography
A Pain in the Ass
1973 · Director of Photography
The Hostage Gang
1973 · Director of Photography
Five Leaf Clover
1972 · Director of Photography
Embassy
1972 · Director of Photography
The Hideout
1971
The Most Gentle Confessions
1971 · Director of Photography
La Liberté en croupe
1970 · Director of Photography
The Bamboo Incident
1970 · Angry French man (uncredited), Director, Adaptation
The Confession
1970 · Director of Photography
The Southern Star
1969 · Director of Photography
Z
1969 · English Surgeon (uncredited), Director of Photography
Rocky Road to Dublin
1968 · Director of Photography
The Bride Wore Black
1968 · Director of Photography
Weekend
1967 · Director of Photography
La Chinoise
1967 · Self - Cinematographer (uncredited), Director of Photography
Horizon
1967 · Director of Photography
2 or 3 Things I Know About Her
1967 · Director of Photography
Made in U.S.A
1967 · Director of Photography
The Sailor from Gibraltar
1967 · Director of Photography
The Defector
1966 · Director of Photography
Pierrot le Fou
1965 · Director of Photography
Alphaville
1965 · Director of Photography
The Botanical Avatar of Mademoiselle Flora
1965 · Director of Photography
The 317th Platoon
1965 · Director of Photography
Scruggs
1965 · Director of Photography
The Married Woman
1964 · Director of Photography
Male Companion
1964 · Director of Photography
Le Grand Escroc
1964 · Director of Photography
The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers
1964 · Director of Photography
Band of Outsiders
1964 · Director of Photography
The Soft Skin
1964 · Director of Photography
Contempt
1963 · Cameraman, Director of Photography
Portuguese Vacation
1963 · Director of Photography
The Carabineers
1963 · Director of Photography
Like Two Drops of Water
1963 · Director of Photography
Le Petit Soldat
1963 · Director of Photography
The Doll
1962 · Director of Photography
And Satan Calls the Turns
1962 · Camera Operator, Director of Photography
Vivre Sa Vie
1962 · Director of Photography
Antoine and Colette
1962 · Director of Photography
Love at Twenty
1962 · Director of Photography
Jules and Jim
1962 · Director of Photography
Petit Jour
1962 · Director of Photography
Chronicle of a Summer
1961 · Director of Photography
A Woman Is a Woman
1961 · Director of Photography
Lola
1961 · Director of Photography
Time Out for Love
1961 · Director of Photography
Shoot the Piano Player
1960 · Director of Photography
The Army Game
1960 · Director of Photography
Breathless
1960 · Director of Photography
The Devil's Pass
1959 · Director of Photography
Island Fisherman
1959 · Director of Photography
Ramuntcho
1958 · Director of Photography
