---
name: "Raoul Coutard"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/raoul-coutard"
fi1m_id: "raoul-coutard"
imdb_id: "nm0184170"
tmdb_id: 3540
wikidata_id: "Q387323"
roles: ["Cinematographer"]
born: "16 September 1924"
died: "8 November 2016"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 9
average_fi1m_score: 83
average_over: 8
updated: "2026-09-26T16:23:35.640470+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Raoul Coutard

## Identity

Raoul Coutard

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/raoul-coutard
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** raoul-coutard
- **IMDb ID:** nm0184170
- **TMDB ID:** 3540
- **Wikidata ID:** Q387323
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raoul_Coutard, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q387323, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0184170/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3540

Cinematographer. Born 16 September 1924 in Paris, France. Died 8 November 2016.

## Details

- **Work:** Cinematographer
- **Born:** 16 September 1924, Paris, France
- **Died:** 8 November 2016
- **Active:** 1960–1969
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 9: 1 acting, 8 crew
- **Frequently works with:** [Jean-Luc Godard](https://film.one/person/jean-luc-godard.md), [Anna Karina](https://film.one/person/anna-karina.md), [Georges de Beauregard](https://film.one/person/georges-de-beauregard.md), [Anatole Dauman](https://film.one/person/anatole-dauman.md), [François Truffaut](https://film.one/person/francois-truffaut.md), [Jean-Paul Belmondo](https://film.one/person/jean-paul-belmondo.md), [Marie Dubois](https://film.one/person/marie-dubois.md), [Pierre Braunberger](https://film.one/person/pierre-braunberger.md)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 83 to 81 across 8 titles
- **Score spread:** 6 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Genres:** Drama 6, Comedy 2, Crime 2, Romance 2, Documentary 1, Mystery 1
- **Screen time:** 13 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $0m across 3 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raoul_Coutard, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q387323, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0184170/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/3540

## Streaming the US now

- **HBO Max:** [*Jules and Jim*](https://film.one/film/jules-and-jim.md) (88), [*Vivre Sa Vie*](https://film.one/film/vivre-sa-vie.md) (86), [*Breathless*](https://film.one/film/breathless.md) (86), [*Z*](https://film.one/film/z.md) (84), [*Weekend*](https://film.one/film/weekend-1967.md) (81), [*2 or 3 Things I Know About Her*](https://film.one/film/2-or-3-things-i-know-about-her.md) (73)
- **The Roku Channel:** [*Contempt*](https://film.one/film/contempt.md) (86)
- **The Criterion Channel:** [*Chronicle of a Summer*](https://film.one/film/chronicle-of-a-summer.md) (86)
- **MUBI:** [*Alphaville*](https://film.one/film/alphaville.md) (78)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Biography

Raoul Coutard (16 September 1924 – 8 November 2016) was a French cinematographer. He is best known for his work on films of the French New Wave, particularly his long collaboration with director Jean-Luc Godard.

Coutard began as a photojournalist, serving in the French Indochina War from 1945 and later freelancing for magazines including Paris Match. He entered feature filmmaking in the late 1950s after being approached to shoot a film for Pierre Schoendoerffer. Producer Georges de Beauregard assigned him to Godard’s debut feature *Breathless* (1960), on which Coutard employed handheld camerawork and natural light.

He photographed nearly all of Godard’s New Wave films through 1967, as well as works by François Truffaut including *Shoot the Piano Player* (1960) and *Jules and Jim* (1962). Coutard shot more than 75 films over a career spanning nearly fifty years and also directed three features, beginning with *Hoa Binh* (1970).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, nytimes.com, theguardian.com.*

## On Fi1m (9)

### Performed in (1)

- *Contempt* (1963), Fi1m 86, as Cameraman — [page](https://film.one/film/contempt.md)

### Crew (8) — the average rests on these

- *Z* (1969), Fi1m 84, as English Surgeon (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/z.md)
- *2 or 3 Things I Know About Her* (1967), Fi1m 73, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/2-or-3-things-i-know-about-her.md)
- *Weekend* (1967), Fi1m 81, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/weekend-1967.md)
- *Alphaville* (1965), Fi1m 78, Director of Photography, Cinematography — [page](https://film.one/film/alphaville.md)
- *Jules and Jim* (1962), Fi1m 88, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/jules-and-jim.md)
- *Vivre Sa Vie* (1962), Fi1m 86, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/vivre-sa-vie.md)
- *Chronicle of a Summer* (1961), Fi1m 86, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/chronicle-of-a-summer.md)
- *Breathless* (1960), Fi1m 86, Cinematography, Director of Photography — [page](https://film.one/film/breathless.md)

## Complete filmography (78)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Wild Palms* (2025), Director of Photography
- *The Outskirts of Alphaville* (2003), Actor
- *Wild Innocence* (2001), Director of Photography
- *The Phantom Heart* (1996), Director of Photography
- *Happiness Is No Joke* (1995), Director of Photography
- *The Birth of Love* (1993), Director of Photography
- *Bethune: The Making of a Hero* (1993), Director of Photography
- *Il gèle en enfer* (1990), Director of Photography
- *Thick Skinned* (1989), Director of Photography
- *Let Sleeping Cops Lie* (1988), Director of Photography
- *Burning Beds* (1988), Director of Photography
- *Blanc de Chine* (1988), Director of Photography
- *Max My Love* (1986), Director of Photography
- *Parachute* (1986), Director of Photography
- *The Bitch* (1984), Director of Photography
- *Dangerous Moves* (1984), Director of Photography
- *Salt on the Skin* (1984), Director of Photography
- *First Name: Carmen* (1983), Director of Photography
- *S.A.S. San Salvador* (1983), Director
- *Godard's Passion* (1982), Director of Photography
- *Operation Leopard* (1980), Director
- *Drummer-Crab* (1977), Director of Photography
- *Le Défilé du 14 Juillet 1977* (1977), Director, Writer
- *Une nuit en Lorraine* (1975), Director
- *Like a Pot of Strawberries* (1974), Director of Photography
- *A Pain in the Ass* (1973), Director of Photography
- *The Hostage Gang* (1973), Director of Photography
- *Five Leaf Clover* (1972), Director of Photography
- *Embassy* (1972), Director of Photography
- *The Hideout* (1971), Actor
- *The Most Gentle Confessions* (1971), Director of Photography
- *La Liberté en croupe* (1970), Director of Photography
- *The Bamboo Incident* (1970), as Angry French man (uncredited) · Director, Adaptation
- *The Confession* (1970), Director of Photography
- *The Southern Star* (1969), Director of Photography
- *Z* (1969), as English Surgeon (uncredited) · Director of Photography — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/z.md)
- *Rocky Road to Dublin* (1968), Director of Photography
- *The Bride Wore Black* (1968), Director of Photography
- *Weekend* (1967), Director of Photography — Fi1m 81, [page](https://film.one/film/weekend-1967.md)
- *La Chinoise* (1967), Director of Photography
- *Horizon* (1967), Director of Photography
- *2 or 3 Things I Know About Her* (1967), Director of Photography — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/film/2-or-3-things-i-know-about-her.md)
- *Made in U.S.A* (1967), Director of Photography
- *The Sailor from Gibraltar* (1967), Director of Photography
- *The Defector* (1966), Director of Photography
- *Pierrot le Fou* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Alphaville* (1965), Director of Photography — Fi1m 78, [page](https://film.one/film/alphaville.md)
- *The Botanical Avatar of Mademoiselle Flora* (1965), Director of Photography
- *The 317th Platoon* (1965), Director of Photography
- *Scruggs* (1965), Director of Photography
- *The Married Woman* (1964), Director of Photography
- *Male Companion* (1964), Director of Photography
- *The World's Most Beautiful Swindlers* (1964), Director of Photography
- *Le Grand Escroc* (1964), Director of Photography
- *Band of Outsiders* (1964), Director of Photography
- *The Soft Skin* (1964), Director of Photography
- *Contempt* (1963), as Cameraman · Director of Photography — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/contempt.md)
- *Portuguese Vacation* (1963), Director of Photography
- *The Carabineers* (1963), Director of Photography
- *Like Two Drops of Water* (1963), Director of Photography
- *Le Petit Soldat* (1963), Director of Photography
- *The Doll* (1962), Director of Photography
- *And Satan Calls the Turns* (1962), Camera Operator, Director of Photography
- *Vivre Sa Vie* (1962), Director of Photography — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/vivre-sa-vie.md)
- *Antoine and Colette* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Love at Twenty* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Jules and Jim* (1962), Director of Photography — Fi1m 88, [page](https://film.one/film/jules-and-jim.md)
- *Petit Jour* (1962), Director of Photography
- *Chronicle of a Summer* (1961), Director of Photography — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/chronicle-of-a-summer.md)
- *A Woman Is a Woman* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Lola* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Time Out for Love* (1961), Director of Photography
- *Shoot the Piano Player* (1960), Director of Photography
- *The Army Game* (1960), Director of Photography
- *Breathless* (1960), Director of Photography — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/breathless.md)
- *The Devil's Pass* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Island Fisherman* (1959), Director of Photography
- *Ramuntcho* (1958), Director of Photography

## Awards

### Other awards — 2 won

- Marburg Camera Award 2001: Marburg Camera Award (won)
- Prix Jean Vigo 1970: Prix Jean Vigo (won), for *Hoa-Binh*

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/raoul-coutard