Claude Berri, French Filmmaker, Dies at 74

French filmmaker Claude Berri died Monday at age 74. He is best known for Jean de Florette (1986) and its sequel Manon of the Spring (1986), which established Gerard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, and Emmanuelle Béart as international stars.

Berri won an Oscar for the short film Le Poulet in 1996, his directorial debut. In addition to directing, Berrie was also an actor and a prolific film producer. Berri directed twenty popular and critically acclaimed films in his native France, including the delightful May to December romance The Housekeeper (2002).

More: Claude Berri obituary in the L.A. Times and at David Hudson's Daily.