Coluche, 40 years later: the 10 roles that defined his cinema career

He left us on June 19, 1986. A look back at the shortened career of a great actor.

Before being an icon of humor, an essential media figure or the unexpected candidate in the 1981 presidential election, Coluche also left his mark on French cinema. Behind the overalls and the provocations hid a real actor, capable of carrying popular comedies, standing up to the biggest and even upsetting in dramatic roles. Ten films tell the story of this unique trajectory better than the others.

Wing or Thigh by Claude Zidi (1976)

In 1976, Louis de Funès, 62 years old, was a huge star and Coluche, 32 years old, the rising comedian. A totally cult comedy about junk food, in which he plays Gérard Duchemin, son of the famous gastronomic critic. Faced with the great star of French cinema, he does not just make up the numbers: he imposes his energy and his lunar character. A meeting between two generations which will bring together almost 6 million spectators in theaters. “Michel was capable of imagining a new universe, characters and gags. He had the makings of a great actor” Claude Zidi said a few years after his death.

You will not have Alsace and Lorraine by Coluche and Marc Monnet (1977)

“They call me The White Knight…“For his first film behind the camera, Coluche signs a completely crazy medieval farce, very inspired by Monty Python who released Holy Grail two years earlier. In the pants of King Gros Pif 1er, the comedian transposes his stage world to the cinema. Absurd, irreverent and anarchic, the film is unlike any other. He perfectly symbolizes the early Coluche: free, provocative and ready to dynamite all conventions.

Inspector Burr by Claude Zidi (1980)

Facing Gérard Depardieu, the comic is already starting to change dimension and finds one of its most popular characters. His clumsy police officer, overwhelmed by events, triggers a festival of disasters. The success is still there with 3.5 million spectators and confirms its status as a box office star, allowing Coluche to pursue a series of projects.

The Schoolmaster by Claude Berri (1981)

Coluche is now a movie star but he is in a complicated period in his private life, following his divorce and the shock of his candidacy for the presidential election which has just ended and which has overwhelmed him. Tender and touching, he becomes an improvised teacher and brings real humanity to this ordinary French character who is looking for his place in society.

A quarter to two hours before Christ by Jean Yanne (1982)

In this crazy satire of the Roman Empire, Coluche plays several characters, including the famous Ben-Hur Marcel. A comedy that has become cult where he does his epic in his own way, subverting the codes of the genre with totally absurd humor, despite his disagreements with Jean Yanne on the set. With 4.6 million admissions, the film will be the third biggest success of 1982, behind The Ace of Aces And AND

Banzai by Claude Zidi (1983)

Coluche makes his Bébél in this adventure film with a comfortable budget which allows him to tour the world. Total and exotic entertainment, filmed as far away as Hong Kong and New York. He plays Michel Bernardin, representative of an insurance company in charge of the most unlucky clients in the world. The film continues disasters at an infernal pace and Coluche turns into an action hero in spite of himself.

Tchao Pantin by Claude Berri (1983)

The role of his life. So striking that it entered the language of courage. “Make your Tchao Pantin“, that means, for a comic actor, daring the drama that hurts and succeeding in the transition brilliantly. Coluche abandons all exuberance to play Lambert, a solitary gas station attendant consumed by regrets. His performance impresses the public as much as the critics and earns him the César for best actor. A revelation which definitively changes the way we look at him.

My friend’s wife by Bertrand Blier (1983)

He almost did The Valseuses ten years earlier. This time, the meeting between Blier and Coluche takes place. The actor reveals a more intimate side of his game. His character Micky navigates between friendship, jealousy and romantic disillusionment in a bittersweet comedy. Romantic, almost fragile codpiece, far from the usual troublemaker, in a film marked by the actor’s suffering, since it was filmed in the wake of the suicide of his great friend Patrick Dewaere.

Revenge of the Feathered Serpent by Gérard Oury (1984)

In this unbridled adventure comedy, Coluche returns as a loser caught in a matter that is beyond his control. Loulou Dupin combines naivety, cheekiness and a sense of burlesque. As for Banzaithe actor can afford to go on an adventure to Mexico, thanks to a huge budget. Now he’s a big-screen superstar who can get away with anything.

The Madman of War by Dino Risi (1985)

The last film released during his lifetime, this offbeat comedy-drama is inspired by the diaries of Mario Tobino, an Italian psychiatrist and writer. In the middle of the Second World War, the film takes a look that is both ironic and melancholic on the madness of men. Coluche finds a final role in chiaroscuro, between restrained humor and muted seriousness, as an almost involuntary way of closing his career on a more introspective note.