Balzac, behind the scenes | TF1 | Divers

Directed by the iron hand of filmmaker Josée Dayan, the team attacked a difficult challenge: tell the story of the life of Honoré de Balzac (played by Gérard Depardieu) in two episodes for television. An hour and a half per episode, 35mm, a thousand extras in period costumes, fifty decors to build, to create a television dream. Gérard Depardieu, Jeanne Moreau, Fanny Ardent, Claude Rich, Virna Lisi… We filmed the “reverse shot of Balzac”, a film within a film.