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News / Columns / Five Favorite Films
Five Favorite Films with Jean Reno
The international stars shares his influences.
by Alex Vo | February 02, 2009
Discuss Article
Jean Reno

American audiences who know Jean Reno strictly from Luc Besson productions (The Professional, Nikita, The Big Blue, Wasabi) and smart action blockbusters (Ronin, Mission: Impossible, The Crimson Rivers) will be surprised how little ass-kicking he does in his role as Ponton in The Pink Panther 2, opening this Friday. As family man partner to eternal-bumbler Inspector Clouseau (Steve Martin), Reno's character is indeed one of the few to escape the mystery without slipping, falling, or crashing into solid objects. But it's representative of Reno's career, a varied body of work that frequently crosses over into video games, French slapstick, and romantic comedies that is rarely seen in the States. RT spoke with Reno recently to get his Five Favorite Films.

Apocalypse Now (1979, 98% Tomatometer)
Apocalypse NowIt's like a surge of intimacy of human beings, you know? It is spectacular. It is well done, a lot of actors, and I like very much Coppola as a director. I like the performance of the main role, the guy...he had a heart attack. I don't remember his name. Martin Sheen. I almost said Martin Short. [laughs] I like also the performance of Marlon Brando. I like it very much, that movie.

Taxi Driver (1979, 100% Tomatometer)
Taxi DriverIt was a shock, a real shock. The acting was so sincere, so honest. Brilliant performances from everybody, from Robert DeNiro and Jodie Foster. There are always good moments in the movie business, but that was a very intense moment in the American cinema. It was amazing to see those movies.

Life is Beautiful (1998, 77% Tomatometer)
Life is BeautifulA movie I like very much by Roberto Benigni. It's a way of talking about a very serious matter through a comic form. A touching form. That was a new way of speaking of a moment in the history of humanity. Very painful. [Having worked with him on The Tiger and the Snow], Benigni is somebody who [writes] the script and he is somebody who [interprets] the script, but he will let you very free. He is not a dictator. Basically, he is a poet. Somebody who sees the world through his own eyes in a poetic way. [The Tiger and the Snow] is a movie I like because he wanted to talk about the war through his eyes, and it is a very honest movie. Very.


Il Sorpasso (1954, Tomatometer N/A)
Il SorpassoItalian, a black-and-white movie. If you go to the internet, you can find it. Dino Risi movie, with Vittorio Gassman acting in it. And a French actor named Jean-Louis Trintignant. It is about somebody who is pretentious, who's always speaking [loudly], always speaking about himself. And somebody in front who is shy. The story is about changing personality, and the moral of the story is, "If you want to change your personality, change with your own rhythm. Don't try to imitate people." [This was] reality because so many people try to imitate things that they have seen without any reasons inside themselves. They just want to imitate because they have seen that on screen or in a book. Instead of following their own rhythm, their own needs. I still remember that... long time ago. 30 years ago.


Beauty and the Beast (1946, 95% Tomatometer)
Beauty and the BeastCocteau, black-and-white, with Jean Marais. That was [a] way of telling stories...very, very [strangely]. I was very shocked because everything [becomes] possible [when] you can present your story in a poetic way. And the voice of the actor... When you are young, you understand [here] that even if you are not handsome, you can find love, because the girl loved the beast. [chuckles] It came maybe from my fears when I was young, not to find a girl, not to seduce. You know what I mean?




The Pink Panther 2 opens in wide release February 6, 2009. Click here for a full synopsis, photo gallery and trailers.

Want more Five Favorite Films? Check out previous installments with Ernest Borgnine, Mickey Rourke, Danny Boyle, and James Franco.

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Comments (1-20 of 32 posts) | Reply
jokerboy1991
jokerboy1991 writes:
on Feb 02 2009 05:47 PM

Great list, Reno is a really "professional"... get it guys :)

(Reply to this)
jarbuckl
jarbuckl writes:
on Feb 02 2009 05:55 PM

A great actor who is occasionally in some crap films. Thought he was the best part of Mission: Impossible.

(Reply to this)
Timothy M.
Timothy M. writes:
on Feb 02 2009 06:16 PM

I've never seen any of those films!!!

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Feb 02 2009 06:34 PM

Good list. Great list, he's a "great actor". :p Okay he's in bad movies, okay actor.

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Feb 02 2009 06:38 PM

In reply to this comment (#2298254)
Well you should! Great list. Okay actor, who's in a lot of clunkers.

(Reply to this)
Mr. Bo Ziffer
Mr. Bo Ziffer writes:
on Feb 02 2009 06:39 PM

I like this list. I agree that he was the best part of Mission:Impossible, but he was also the best part in that dreadful Godzilla remake. Also, when did Martin Sheen have a heart attack? I never heard about that! Did it have something to do with that bomb injected in his heart in Spawn?

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Feb 02 2009 06:45 PM

Sorry about saying the same thing twice. Don't know why I did that. Looks like this guy's adding the Pink Panther 2 too his lousy roster. Might be the worst he's done... maybe... no.

(Reply to this)
ColinTheCimmerian
ColinTheCimmerian writes:
on Feb 02 2009 08:34 PM

In reply to this comment (#2298281)
Bad movies? Everyone's been in a few bad movies, but come on. La Femme Nikita, Mission:Impossible, Ronin? And he was Leon in 'Leon'! (or The Professional, if you prefer). Not saying he's the best actor out there, but he's pretty good, and there's nothing wrong with his resume.

(Reply to this)
ledawg1138
ledawg1138 writes:
on Feb 02 2009 09:40 PM

In reply to this comment (#2298455)
Okay you're right. I forgot about some of those.

(Reply to this)
rt_hire_me
rt_hire_me writes:
on Feb 02 2009 10:15 PM

Check out Les Visiteurs. Freakin hilarious. Medieval guys transported to our time. The English remake was panned, so don't bother.

(Reply to this)
Bulletproof_Animal
Bulletproof_Animal writes:
on Feb 03 2009 12:26 AM

Cool. I thought all his picks would be obscure 'art' films.

(Reply to this)
brandon s.
brandon s. writes:
on Feb 03 2009 03:59 AM

In reply to this comment (#2298288)
Martin Sheen had a heart attack while filming Apocalypse Now in the Philippines.....from what I understand it was due to a combination of on set stress and alcohol abuse, but I am not 100 percent on that. The intensity of that work ethic certainly made its way into the film, what a fantastic trip that movie is. Martin Sheen is a great actor who simply hasn't had a good leading role in years (I wouldn't call him a lead in Departed.)

(Reply to this)
tfortier
tfortier writes:
on Feb 03 2009 06:05 AM

For those doubting about Jean acting skills, just watch The Big Blue again..! He is incredible. My personnal favorite with him is Subway, the 80' flick with Christophe Lambert and Isabelle Adjani.

Also he is one of the most popular foreigner actor in Japan..!!! weird cause he never did any japanese movies. They just like the guy, I dont know why. He often do ads here...


(Reply to this)
Robert K.
Robert K. writes:
on Feb 03 2009 07:03 AM

In reply to this comment (#2298254)
I wouldn't brag about it.

(Reply to this)
Don't Tase Me Bro
Don't Tase Me Bro writes:
on Feb 03 2009 07:50 AM

My favorite Jean Reno films:

1. BIG BLUE
2. LEON
3. RONIN
4. MISSION IMPOSSIBLE
5. LA FEMME NIKITA

Cool actor...
(Not too shabby in 'Da Vinci' either...)


(Reply to this)
Matt R.
Matt R. writes:
on Feb 03 2009 09:47 AM

Always a fan of Jean Reno. And yes, Martin Sheen had a heartattack from the stress of the shoot (watch A Journey into the Heart of Darkness, a documentary about the tumultuous filming of Apocalypse Now) and the intense heat at the time. Harvey Keitel was supposed to play the role but quit because he couldn't take it, after a couple weeks of filming.

(Reply to this)
jitaditya n.
jitaditya n. writes:
on Feb 03 2009 10:44 AM

In reply to this comment (#2298254)
tht's really sad!...not even the first two???

(Reply to this)
Kokushi
Kokushi writes:
on Feb 03 2009 11:35 AM

Great list and great actor, but wtf with him facking Pink Panther 2? Does he think those are quality films? Jean Reno need to start picking great movies again.

(Reply to this)
KaoruX
KaoruX writes:
on Feb 03 2009 03:16 PM

In reply to this comment (#2298254)
Have you at least read "Heart of Darkness"?

(Reply to this)
gm1200
gm1200 writes:
on Feb 03 2009 04:20 PM

Reno is a great actor...and Pink Panther is most likely gonna be a great comedy...the first one was.

Why all the hate? Steve's Cluso is better than the original...I grew up with Sellers just like the rest of you guys but I'm not so hung on nostalgia that I can't acknowledge a superior performance when I see one. Martin kicks Sellers butt.


(Reply to this)
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