Ophuls, Marcel, 1927-2025

Marcel Ophuls (German: [ˈɔfʏls]; 1 November 1927 – 24 May 2025) was a German-French and American documentary filmmaker and actor, renowned for his notable works such as The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) and Hôtel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988). Born to German-Jewish filmmaker Max Ophuls, the family fled Nazi Germany during its rise to power in the final stages of the Weimar Republic in 1933. Subsequently, they relocated to France, but fled in 1940 when the Nazis occupied the country. Finally, in 1941, the family emigrated to the United States, where Marcel became a citizen in 1950. His film career began in 1950. He made films in the United States, France, and the United Kingdom. During his early career, he mostly worked in dramatic fictional films. He began making documentaries in the late 1960s in France. Starting in the late 1970s, he also made documentaries in the United States for the CBS and ABC television networks. He won an Academy Award in 1989 for Hôtel Terminus. He continued making films until he died in France in 2025 leaving his final project unfinished.