But what would a Cannes Film Festival be without its dose of tears, laughter, scandals and rants? Even the presentation of the Palme d’Or, which is one of the most coveted prizes in the world of cinema, can provoke the most crazy reactions from the side of the Palais des Festivals. Memorable, inappropriate gestures, shocking revelations and little dumplings have followed one another over the years around the Croisette… back to the awards that made the most noise.
He took the stage to thunderous applause, embracing everyone and repeating “grace“thousands of times. He even kissed the feet of Martin Scorsese, president of the jury, to thank him. In 1998, Roberto Benigni, overjoyed, shouted: “I won the Palme d’Or!” with in hand… the grand prize of the Cannes festival, for his film Life is Beautiful. It was Theo Angelopoulos who was named the big winner for eternity and a daybut his victory was somewhat overshadowed by the grand gestures of his Italian colleague.
Middle finger raised, black anger and whistles
A raised middle finger in front of the whole audience? Quentin Tarantino did it ! In 1994, the most gory filmmaker in all of Hollywood received the Palme d’Or from the hands of Clint Eastwood for his cult pulp Fiction. But at the time, the bloody adventures of Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield had not won unanimous support and, hearing the title of the film on the microphone, some stood up to boo the team and shout loudly “what a crap!“. Which explains why Tarantino made a point of showing his anger.
He is not the only one to have drawn the wrath of the public. Maurice Pialat, unanimously rewarded for Under Satan’s Sun, with Gérard Depardieu in 1987, was also entitled to his share of insults when he joined Yves Montand on the stage of the Palais des Festivals. No controversial gesture from his side but this sentence, which still resonates in the hearts of all moviegoers: “If you don’t love me, know that I don’t love you either“.
The anger does not always come from the spectators. It is sometimes within the jury that there is mayhem. In 1979, Françoise Sagan, president of this 32nd edition, was under pressure to position Apocalypse Now at the top of the podium. But the woman of letters did not want to use her pen to write the name of Francis Ford Coppola. The Palme d’or was therefore divided in two this year, to also reward The Drum by Volker Schlöndorff… in front of Mrs. Sagan’s displeased grimaces.
When you think of The good life, you think of Italian sweets, lascivious love affairs and impromptu dances in the Trevi Fountain. But that’s your point of view. According to the Vatican, Federico Fellini’s masterpiece was perfectly immoral. Although he was unanimously designated by the members of the jury as LA Palme d’Or of the year 1960, papal opinions worked against him: the filmmaker received his trophy as expected, but above all he received many whistles…