"I would like us to honor the three departed from the film": 41 years ago, the incredible emotion of Philippe Noiret at the César Awards

In 1985, during the 10th César Awards ceremony, Robert Enrico moved the audience as Philippe Noiret paid tribute to the departed from the film "Le Vieux Fusil," in which the actor starred alongside Romy Schneider, who had passed away three years earlier.

It was in Paris, on February 3, 1985. The Empire Theater hosted the tenth César ceremony, a grand celebration of French cinema that had been established nine years earlier, in April 1976 at the Palais des Congrès, under the presidency of Jean Gabin. This time, the evening was orchestrated by Simone Signoret. During this celebration of the seventh art, "Les Ripoux" by Claude Zidi received the César for Best Film, a first for a comedy. Another notable event was the creation of a new award, the César des César, which honors the best film among previous winners in this category.

3 César

That year, the Academy chose to award this statuette to "Le Vieux Fusil" by Robert Enrico. In addition to the César for Best Film, which it had won in 1976, the drama was also awarded for its music (posthumously for François de Roubaix, who passed away shortly before) and the performances of its actors, with Philippe Noiret being the first recipient of the César for Best Actor. Lauded by his peers, the feature film was also a popular success. Released on August 20, 1975, in theaters, "Le Vieux Fusil" attracted 3,365,471 viewers who came to witness the revenge of surgeon Julien Dandieu, devastated by the murder of his wife, Clara (Romy Schneider), and their daughter, Florence, by SS soldiers occupying France during World War II.

"A film that is ten years old and there are already three departed"

Filmmaker Robert Enrico ("Les Aventuriers") took to the stage to accept this first César des César, under the watchful eyes of Philippe Noiret, present in the audience. "Le Vieux Fusil, it's a film that is ten years old and there are already three departed," he began his speech after being applauded. "So I would like to share this triumph with Philippe Noiret, who is here. But I would also like us to honor [...] the three departed from the film, the partner of Philippe, the very sensitive, the moving, the most beautiful of our actresses, Romy Schneider, the screenwriter and novelist Pascal Jardin, and François de Roubaix_, whose music is the last one._"

Romy Schneider passed away at 43 after the death of her son

In front of this moving speech, the actor who plays Lucien Cordier in Bertrand Tavernier's "Coup de torchon" could not hold back his tears, as seen in images shared by an Instagram account dedicated to Romy Schneider. His emotion intensified after watching a scene from the film on the big screen between him and his partner. The Franco-German actress passed away in 1982 at the age of 43, a year after the death of her son David, who was only 14 years old.