Raoul Coutard

Person

Raoul Coutard

Camera September 16, 1924

Paris, France

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…

IMDb

Known for

Popular titles

Breathless

Breathless

7.5 1960 Movie
Jules and Jim

Jules and Jim

7.5 1962 Movie
Contempt

Contempt

7.0 1963 Movie
Pierrot le Fou

Pierrot le Fou

7.3 1965 Movie
Vivre Sa Vie

Vivre Sa Vie

7.7 1962 Movie
Z

Z

7.8 1969 Movie
Alphaville

Alphaville

6.9 1965 Movie
Band of Outsiders

Band of Outsiders

7.5 1964 Movie
Shoot the Piano Player

Shoot the Piano Player

7.2 1960 Movie
A Woman Is a Woman

A Woman Is a Woman

7.3 1961 Movie
Weekend

Weekend

6.9 1967 Movie
Lola

Lola

7.1 1961 Movie

Biography

A closer look

Read full biography

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.

Filmography

Movies and shows, newest first

  1. 2025
    The Wild Palms

    Movie Director of Photography

  2. 2018
    CzechMate: In Search of Jiří Menzel

    Movie Self

  3. 2011
    Pierre Schoendoerffer, the Sentinel of Memory

    Movie Self

  4. 2008
    Il était une fois... « Jules et Jim »

    Movie Self (chef opérateur)

  5. 2007
    Godard, Love and Poetry

    Movie Self

  6. 2004
    The Making of Rocky Road to Dublin

    Movie Self

  7. 2003
    The Outskirts of Alphaville

    Movie

  8. 2001
    Wild Innocence

    Movie Director of Photography

  9. 2000
    Nouvelle Vague : El cine sin dogmas

    Movie Self

  10. 1997
    Jean Seberg: American Actress

    Movie Self

  11. 1996
    The Phantom Heart

    Movie Director of Photography

  12. 1995
    Happiness Is No Joke

    Movie Director of Photography

  13. 1993
    The Birth of Love

    Movie Director of Photography

  14. 1993
    Bethune: The Making of a Hero

    Movie Director of Photography

  15. 1993
    Chambre 12, Hôtel de Suède

    Movie Self

  16. 1992
    Cinéma! Cinéma! The French New Wave

    Movie Self

More credits
  1. 1990
    Il gèle en enfer

    Movie Director of Photography

  2. 1989
    Thick Skinned

    Movie Director of Photography

  3. 1988
    Let Sleeping Cops Lie

    Movie Director of Photography

  4. 1988
    Burning Beds

    Movie Director of Photography

  5. 1988
    Blanc de Chine

    Movie Director of Photography

  6. 1986
    Max My Love

    Movie Director of Photography

  7. 1986
    Parachute

    Movie Director of Photography

  8. 1984
    The Bitch

    Movie Director of Photography

  9. 1984
    Dangerous Moves

    Movie Director of Photography

  10. 1984
    Salt on the Skin

    Movie Director of Photography

  11. 1983
    First Name: Carmen

    Movie Director of Photography

  12. 1983
    S.A.S. San Salvador

    Movie Director

  13. 1982
    Godard's Passion

    Movie Director of Photography

  14. 1980
    Operation Leopard

    Movie Director

  15. 1977
    Drummer-Crab

    Movie Director of Photography

  16. 1977
    Le Défilé du 14 Juillet 1977

    Movie Director

  17. 1975
    Une nuit en Lorraine

    Movie Director

  18. 1975
    Les Rendez-vous du dimanche

    TV show Self

  19. 1974
    Like a Pot of Strawberries

    Movie Director of Photography

  20. 1973
    A Pain in the Ass

    Movie Director of Photography

  21. 1973
    The Hostage Gang

    Movie Director of Photography

  22. 1972
    Five Leaf Clover

    Movie Director of Photography

  23. 1972
    Embassy

    Movie Director of Photography

  24. 1971
    The Hideout

    Movie