Black notebook for the seventh art: René Chateau is dead. The one we nicknamed The Memory of French Cinemain reference to his independent catalog of films, has died at the age of 84 due to natural causes, in the Gulf of Saint-Tropez over the past week, according to Var-Matin. “He opened the doors of dreams and memories for us with his collection of exceptional films: The Memory of French Cinema. We will sorely miss him“, Éditions René Chateau communicated to AFP, which relayed the sad news. His funeral will take place this Thursday, February 15 at the Vidauban crematorium, in the strictest privacy. The big screen specialist will have had a busy life, spending from journalist to collector, inventing himself as photographer, editor and producer, without forgetting cinema owner.
René Chateau was born in July 1939 in Le Mans. Following his parents’ divorce, he went to live with his mother in Pré-Saint-Gervais. At just 14 years old, he began working as an apprentice at Honoré et Villanova, a Parisian masonry company. As soon as he finishes his working days, he goes to the cinema : that of Montreuil-sous-Bois, Vincennes, Porte des Lila… The young man gorges himself on films. He is fascinated by all these stories projected on the big screen. So much so that he decided to create the cinema magazine with two friends The method. This allows him to frequent some names of the seventh art such that Anny Duperey and Jean-Luc Godard.
In 1964, he was hired to edit the “Readers’ Mail” section of the magazine. Him. René Chateau works well, so well that he climbs the ladder to become responsible for the cinema section. A position that allows him to interview Jean-Paul Belmondo in 1965, on the set of Pierrot le fou, directed by Jean-Luc Godard. He also carries out interviews with stars such as Alain Delon. The journalist was so passionate about cinema that he ended up buying one that same year, The Napoleon, between the 16th and 17th arrondissement of the capital. He also created a professional weekly called The Show Business Journal.
The Belmondo-Chateau duo, a winning formula
After two years spent in the press, René Chateau wanted new horizons. Staying in contact with Jean-Paul Belmondo, he became his multitasking henchman, carrying out work press officer, publicist (he created the poster for his film Fear on the city) and even a shareholder in his production company Cerito Films. René Chateau worked with the cinema star for fifteen years, allowing him to accumulate cinema successes with films such as Cop or Thug, Ace of Aces or The professional. In 1980, the man who was then in a relationship with Brigitte Lahaie suggested that the actor become a distributor of his films by creating Cérito & René Chateau.
Their collaboration ended in 1985. This was due to one or two interviews to which René Chateau answered in place of Jean-Paul Belmondo. “It came from wear and tear… Like many couples, after eighteen years, the complicity vanished. The break occurred during the filming of Happy Easter. We particularly focused on the promotional panel designed for the Cannes Film Festival… But I retain no bitterness about it. I admire the actor’s innate sense of comedy.” he concluded, in comments reported by Var-Matin.
A crazy cinema collector
In parallel with his activities with Belmondo, the specialist is recruited by Le Hollywood Boulevard to program screenings for the three cinemas. He’s the one who came up with the idea first to broadcast The Dragon’s fury with Bruce Lee in 1974. His work as a programmer gave him the crazy idea of launching the restoration of French films alone, without any financial assistance. in a video collection called The Memory of French Cinema. He goes out Chainsaw Massacre in 1980 in video form to circumvent the ban on screening it in theaters following censorship introduced by five Ministers of Culture. It’s a real hit, which allows the publisher to raise enough money to continue its project.
The collector acquires the Villa des Parcs in May 1985 and makes it a sanctuary of all its video reissues. He lines the walls of his home with movie posters, like in a museum. René Chateau leaves on VHS then on DVD thousands of classics as If Versailles was told to me, The End of the Day, La Belle Équipe, Les Diaboliques, Classe all risks, Boule de Suif… A great fan of film photos, he publishes with the editions The Memory of Cinematwo works dedicated to the most beautiful posters of the seventh art. A passion that animated him until his last breath.
Photo credits: AGENCE / BESTIMAGE