René Clément (March 18, 1913, Bordeaux – March 17, 1996, Monte Carlo, Monaco) was a French film director and screenwriter. Clément studied architecture at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts where he developed an interest in filmmaking. In 1936, he directed his first film, a 20 minute short written and featuring Jacques Tati. Clément spent the latter part of the 1930s making documentaries in parts of the Middle East and Africa. In 1937, he and archaeologist Jules Barthou were in Yemen making preparations to film a documentary, the first ever of that country and one that includes the only known film image of Imam Yahya. Almost ten years passed before Clément directed a feature but his French Resistance film, La Bataille du rail (1945), gained much critical and commercial success. From there René Clément became one of his country's most successful and respected directors, garnering numerous awards including two films that won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, the first in 1950 for The Walls of Malapaga (Au-delà des grilles) and the second time two years later for Forbidden Games (Jeux interdits). Clément had international success with several films but his star-studded 1966 epic Is Paris Burning?, written by Gore Vidal and Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Paul Graetz was a costly box office failure. Clément continued to make a few films until his retirement in 1975, including an international success with Rider On The Rain that starred Charles Bronson and Marlène Jobert. In 1984 the French motion picture industry honored his lifetime contribution to film with a special César Award. René Clément died in 1996 and was buried in the local cemetery in Menton on the French Riviera where he had spent his years in retirement. Description above from the Wikipedia article René Clément, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
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Biography from TMDB.
- March 18, 1913
- March 17, 1996 (aged 82)
- Bordeaux, Gironde, France
- Director and writer
- 13 on MovieCove · 26 credits in all
What are René Clément's films like?
Across their 13 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Survival and Morality.
Genres
Their MovieCove films by primary genre. The badge is the typical Midcredits score of the genre's films, the median percentile; an up arrow marks a genre at or above their average across these genres.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 1 · Earnest 12
Light 0 · Serious 6 · Dark 7
Grounded 5 · Stylized 5 · Heightened 3
Gentle 0 · Charged 6 · Intense 7
Steady 6 · Shifting 7 · Whiplash 0
Straight-faced 13 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 0
Slow burn 8 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 0
Casual 1 · Engaged 10 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 0 · Affecting 4 · Heavy 9
A split, not a type: Resolved 6 · Open-ended 5 · Ambiguous 2
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet4
- Tragic3
- Ambiguous4
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch René Clément's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 7 of their 13 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service.
Subscription and free streaming for René Clément's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
26 credits, 13 with a MovieCove page; 8 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Europe Express (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1984)
The Babysitter (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
...And Hope to Die(1972)
Midcredits score: 69th percentile of all films
The Deadly Trap(1971)
Midcredits score: 30th percentile of all films
Rider on the Rain(1970)
Midcredits score: 67th percentile of all films
Is Paris Burning?(1966)
Midcredits score: 78th percentile of all films
Joy House(1964)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all films
The Day and the Hour(1963)
Midcredits score: 62nd percentile of all films
The Joy of Living (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1961)
Purple Noon(1960)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
This Angry Age (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1957)
Gervaise(1956)
Midcredits score: 87th percentile of all films
Monsieur Ripois (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1954)
Forbidden Games(1952)
Midcredits score: 97th percentile of all films
The Glass Castle(1950)
Midcredits score: 29th percentile of all films
The Walls of Malapaga (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1949)
The Damned(1947)
Midcredits score: 77th percentile of all films
Beauty and the Beast(1946)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
Mr. Orchid (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1946)
The Battle of the Rails(1946)
Midcredits score: 80th percentile of all filmsCeux du rail (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1943)
Aude, belle inconnue (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
L'Arabie interdite (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1937)
Watch Your Left (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1936)
Évasion (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1935)
Caesar among the Gauls (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1931)
Career shape
A full career of 26 titles from 1931 to 1984.
Biggest box office
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Highest rated
Purple Noon (1960)
Most popular right now
Is Paris Burning? (1966)
Film career
- 1960Screen debut· Purple Noon
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do René Clément's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 78th percentile, the median of all 13; across their 13 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 75th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up8
- 50th to 74th3
- 25th to 49th2
Shape of the crowd
None of their 13 titles divides audiences: 8 are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved3
- Crowd Pleaser8
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed1
Reviewers score the atmosphere 81/100 and the pacing 47/100 in their films, across 12 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a director.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Who does René Clément work with?
People who share at least 2 of René Clément's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Roger Dwyre shares the most, 4.
Writers
- Pierre BostShared titles: Gervaise (1956), Forbidden Games (1952), The Glass Castle (1950)See all 3 shared titles with Pierre Bost
- Sébastien JaprisotShared titles: ...And Hope to Die (1972), Rider on the Rain (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Sébastien Japrisot
- Jean AurencheShared titles: Gervaise (1956), Forbidden Games (1952)See all 2 shared titles with Jean Aurenche
Actors
- Alain DelonShared titles: Is Paris Burning? (1966), Joy House (1964), Purple Noon (1960)See all 3 shared titles with Alain Delon
- Ellen BahlShared titles: ...And Hope to Die (1972), Rider on the Rain (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Ellen Bahl
- Jean GavenShared titles: ...And Hope to Die (1972), Rider on the Rain (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Jean Gaven
- Maurice RonetShared titles: The Deadly Trap (1971), Purple Noon (1960)See all 2 shared titles with Maurice Ronet
Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Roger DwyreShared titles: ...And Hope to Die (1972), Forbidden Games (1952), The Glass Castle (1950), The Damned (1947)See all 4 shared titles with Roger Dwyre
- Françoise JavetShared titles: The Deadly Trap (1971), Rider on the Rain (1970), Purple Noon (1960)See all 3 shared titles with Françoise Javet
- Henri DecaëShared titles: Joy House (1964), The Day and the Hour (1963), Purple Noon (1960)See all 3 shared titles with Henri Decaë
- Yves BaudrierShared titles: The Glass Castle (1950), The Damned (1947), The Battle of the Rails (1946)See all 3 shared titles with Yves Baudrier
Producers
- Felice ColaiacomoShared titles: ...And Hope to Die (1972), Rider on the Rain (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Felice Colaiacomo
- Franco PoccioniShared titles: ...And Hope to Die (1972), Rider on the Rain (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Franco Poccioni
- Serge SilbermanShared titles: ...And Hope to Die (1972), Rider on the Rain (1970)See all 2 shared titles with Serge Silberman
- Robert DorfmannShared titles: The Deadly Trap (1971), Forbidden Games (1952)See all 2 shared titles with Robert Dorfmann
