Roland Topor was a French illustrator, cartoonist, comics artist, painter, novelist, playwright, film and TV writer, filmmaker and actor, known for the surreal nature of his work. He gained notoriety as one of the home cartoonists of the subversive French magazine Hara-Kiri, renamed later Charlie-Hebdo. Roland Topor wrote the novel The Tenant (Le Locataire chimérique, 1964), which was adapted to film by Roman Polanski in 1976. The Tenant is the story of a Parisian of Polish descent, a chilling exploration of alienation and identity, asking disturbing questions about how we define ourselves.
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Biography from TMDB.
- January 7, 1938
- April 16, 1997 (aged 59)
- Paris, France
- Writer and actor
- 10 on MovieCove · 34 credits in all
What are Roland Topor's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Self and Survival.
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
A split, not a type: Ironic 3 · Wry 1 · Earnest 4
A split, not a type: Light 3 · Serious 1 · Dark 4
Grounded 1 · Stylized 2 · Heightened 5
Gentle 1 · Charged 4 · Intense 3
Steady 1 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 3
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 4 · Some laughs 0 · Funny 4
Slow burn 2 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1
Casual 2 · Engaged 4 · Full focus 2
Easy watch 3 · Affecting 3 · Heavy 2
Resolved 1 · Open-ended 4 · Ambiguous 3
Roles they play
- Heraldas Renfield in Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Moods and endings
- Happy1
- Bittersweet2
- Ambiguous4
- Cyclical1
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 Roland Topor's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 5 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on The Criterion Channel (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Roland Topor'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
34 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 10 appearances as themselves are hidden until asked for.
Joko (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2024)
Portrait of Suzanne (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2019)
The Orphan Plus Minus an Arm (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2012)
Batailles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2008)
L'Hiver sous la table (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2005)
Le Cinéma au travail comme la mort (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1997)
Three Lives and Only One Death (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1996)
Comment devenir cinéaste sans se prendre la tête (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1995)
Topor, Père et Fils (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1993)
The Most Beautiful Breasts in the World (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1990)
De l'autre côté (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1989)
Marquis(1989)
Midcredits score: 71st percentile of all films
Palace (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1988)
The Satin Spider(1985)
Midcredits score: 4th percentile of all films (provisional, few ratings)
La Galette du roi (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1986)
Swann in Love(1984)
Midcredits score: 53rd percentile of all films
Telecat (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1983)
The Ones That Got Away (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1981)
The Hamburg Syndrome (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Nosferatu the Vampyre(1979)
Midcredits score: 90th percentile of all films
Destins parallèles (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
Ratataplan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1979)
The Tenant(1976)
Midcredits score: 94th percentile of all films
The Daughter of the Railroad Crossing Guard (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Butcher, the Star and the Orphan (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
The Game (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1975)
Sweet Movie(1974)
Midcredits score: 45th percentile of all films
Threshold of the Void (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1974)
Fantastic Planet(1973)
Midcredits score: 96th percentile of all films
The Troubles of Alfred(1972)
Midcredits score: 44th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 76th percentile of all films
Les escargots(1966)
Midcredits score: 75th percentile of all films
He! Viva Dada (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1965)
Dead Times (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(1964)
Career shape
A full career of 34 titles from 1964 to 2024.
Biggest box office
The Tenant (1976)
Highest rated
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Most popular right now
Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979)
Film career
- 1966Screen debut· Who Are You, Polly Maggoo?
Billing
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. Billing is TMDB cast order for roles with 25+ votes, billed in the top 30.
How do Roland Topor's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 73rd percentile, the median of all 10; across their 8 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 78th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up5
- 50th to 74th2
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th1
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 10 titles are Crowd Pleasers.
- Universally Loved2
- Crowd Pleaser5
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed2
Reviewers score the dialogue 51/100 and the plot and story 54/100 in their films, across 7 reviewed titles. The element that speaks to their work as a writer.
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.
Is Roland Topor's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Roland Topor work with?
People who share at least 2 of Roland Topor's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; René Laloux shares the most, 2.
Directors
- René LalouxShared titles: Fantastic Planet (1973), Les escargots (1966)See all 2 shared titles with René Laloux
Actors
- Michel RobinShared titles: Marquis (1989), Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966)See all 2 shared titles with Michel Robin
- Isabelle AdjaniShared titles: Nosferatu the Vampyre (1979), The Tenant (1976)See all 2 shared titles with Isabelle Adjani
Composers and cinematographers
- Alain GoraguerShared titles: Fantastic Planet (1973), Les escargots (1966)See all 2 shared titles with Alain Goraguer
- Jean BoffetyShared titles: The Troubles of Alfred (1972), Who Are You, Polly Maggoo? (1966)See all 2 shared titles with Jean Boffety
Producers
- André Valio-CavaglioneShared titles: Fantastic Planet (1973), Les escargots (1966)See all 2 shared titles with André Valio-Cavaglione
- Simon DamianiShared titles: Fantastic Planet (1973), Les escargots (1966)See all 2 shared titles with Simon Damiani