Toulouse, Ariège and the Pyrenees, in cinema, through its personalities, in books

Toulouse and the Pyrenees as a film set

The natural settings and varied landscapes of the Haute-Montagne, the emblematic heritage of the region, the dynamism of the city of Toulouse lend themselves wonderfully well to the seventh art. The directors have understood this well: a certain number of cinematographic works and television films have been shot in Toulouse Pyrénées

• It is the Haute-Bigorre, with the towns of Argelès-Gazost, Arreau, Cauterets, the Pont d'Espagne, the Col du Soulor and then to the north of the Barronie, the abbey of L'Escaladieu, which served as the setting for the British film by Jack Lee Thompson, " Passeurs d'hommes " in 1979, with Anthony Quinn in the main role, evoking the Second World War and the French resistance.
• Bagnères de Bigorre, Barèges, the Col du Tourmalet, the Cirque de Gavarnie were the natural choice for the film " La grande boucle " with Clovis Cornillac, Ary Abittan, Bruno Lochet, retracing the story of a man who leaves one day before the professionals to do the Tour de France.
• Like an ode to the Pyrenees, the Col du Couradabat, Esparros, the high mountains of the Baronnies, La Barthe de Neste, the Arros valley have managed to translate through the natural and emblematic beauty of the landscapes, the mystical atmosphere of the film " Brotherhood of the Wolf" by Christophe Gans in 2001 where several stars: Samuel le Bihan, Monica Belucci, Vincent Cassel shared the bill.

• “ Le provincial ” by Christian Gion with Michel Galabru and Roland Giraud was also filmed in Argelès-Gazost.
• The Peyragudes resort was featured in the opening scenes of the James Bond film "Tomorrow Never Dies" directed in 1997 by Roger Spottswoode.
• Tarbes-Lourdes-Pyrénées Airport was chosen for the filming of Danièle Thompson's " Jet Difference " in 2002.
• Lourdes has been on the big screen many times in: " Le Miraculé " by Jean-Pierre Mocky in 1987, with the acting duo Serrault-Poiré ; but also in the biopic " Le scaphandre et le papillon " by Julian Schnabel in 2007 with Mathieu Amalric, Emmanuelle Seigner, Marie-Josée Croze ; " d'une seule voix " by Xavier de Lauzanne in 2009; " Mon arbre " by Bérénice André in 2011, and " Hommes, femmes: mode d'emploi " by Lelouch in 1996 with very beautiful images of Lourdes under the snow.
• The Larrieu brothers, Arnaud and Jean-Marie, French director and screenwriter, born in Lourdes, filmed in their region. In 2000, they made the short film " La Brèche de Roland " with Mathieu Amalric filmed in Gavarnie; in 2002 " Un homme vrai " with scenes filmed in the high mountains of the Pyrenees, but also Cauterets, Hautacam, Arrens-Marsous...
• In 2007, Gérard Krawczyk filmed " L'auberge rouge " on the Beille plateau in Ariège, as well as in Ax-les-Thermes, Gavarnie and Cauterets, with Josiane Balasko, Christian Clavier and Gérard Jugnot. The final scene takes place at Pont D'Espagne.
• In 2001, the high-editing of " Before Dawn " by Raphael Jacoulot, starring Jean-Pierre Bacri and Ludmila Mickael, was filmed in Gavarnie.
• As for TV films, we will remember " La Fine Equipe " by Yves Boisset in 1997 filmed in the Baronnies; " La Faux " in 2001 with Jean-Pierre Casse , set in the Aure Valley; " Glacé " broadcast at the beginning of 2017, with the magnificent landscapes of the Hautes-Pyrénées and the Val d'Azun, but also the departmental archives of Haute-Garonne, which act as a police station on screen.

Many actors have filmed in the Pink City, from Catherine Deneuve to Kad Merad and Lambert Wilson. Here are a few dates for a non-exhaustive overview of films shot in Toulouse's legendary locations.

• " D'Artagnan ", by director Peter Hyans, in 2001, on the Place du Capitole, in the Jacobins cloister...; the comedy " 3 amis ", by Michel Boujenah, in 2007 with Pascal Elbé, Mathilde Seignier and Kad Merad, on the Place Salengro; " Amour et turbulences " by Alexandre Castagnetti in 2013, a romantic comedy with Ludivine Sagnier, Nicolas Bedos with the Airbus A 380 manufactured in the Airbus workshops in Toulouse as a backdrop; The stadium with the reconstruction of a match serving as a backdrop for a scene from the film " Imogène " by Alexandre Charlot and Franck Magnier, released in 2010; in " Ma saison favorise ", the film by André Téchiné made in 1993, with Catherine Deneuve and Daniel Auteuil, the action takes place in the pink city.
• The Larrieu brothers filmed " The Last Days of the World " in 2009; " The Antillean Gang " released in 2016 by Jean-Claude Flamand Barny, bringing together Mathieu Kassovitz, Romane Bohringer and Jocelyne Beroard, makes Toulouse a Parisian suburb; the banks of the Garonne were filmed in " Born in 1968 " with the actress Laetitia Casta.
• As for TV films, Quai Saint Pierre and Place Salengro hosted the filming of " Code Name: Rose " in 2013, starring Claire Keim ; Place Wilson " Marjorie " played by Anne Charrier, Valérie Karsenti and François Vincentelli ; " A Child in Danger ", filmed in 2016, which takes place at the Museum, in La Grave, on the Canal du Midi, and in front of the university campus.

Some famous people

Writers, actors, comedians, politicians, journalists, several famous men and women were born in Toulouse or in the Pyrenees.

• Politicians : Philippe Douste-Blazy, (born in 1953 in Lourdes) French doctor and politician, MP, mayor of Lourdes then of Toulouse, former minister of culture, health, foreign affairs; Christine Albanel, former minister of culture and communication born in 1955 in Toulouse; the former minister, former president of the National Assembly, president of the Constitutional Council, Jean-Louis Debré, was born in 1944 in Toulouse;
• Writers : Théophile Gautier (born in Tarbes in 1811-1872) poet and novelist; Francis Jammes born in Tournay (Hautes-Pyrénées) in 1868 and died in 1938 in Hasparren (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), French poet, novelist, playwright and critic who spent most of his life in Béarn and the Basque Country, his main sources of inspiration; the writer Paulo Coelho, author of "The Alchemist", lived several months a year in Saint-Martin in the Hautes-Pyrénées; Louis-Georges-Gustave de Caunes, French journalist born in 1919 in Toulouse and died in 2004 in La Rochelle; José Cabanis, born in 1922 in Toulouse and died in 2000 in Balma, French novelist, essayist and magistrate, member of the Académie française who won the Prix Renaudot in 1966 for his novel The Battle of Toulouse; Géraldine Maillet, French novelist, director, screenwriter, television columnist and former model born in 1972 in Toulouse.
• The French actor and comedian: Henri Génébés, known as Henri Génès, was born in Tarbes in 1919 (died in 2005).
• Musicians and singers : accordionist, pianist and composer Yvette Horner, born in 1922 in Tarbes; Gilles Servat, born on February 1, 1945 in Tarbes, the French singer-songwriter is a fervent defender of Armorican Breton culture and of Breton and French expression; composer Sophie Lacaze, born in 1963 in Lourdes; Magyd Cherfi, born in 1962 in Toulouse, singer, member of the group Zebda; Claude Nougaro, born in 1929 in Toulouse and died in 2004 in Paris, French singer-songwriter and poet; singer Ringo, born in 1947 in Toulouse. They are also from Toulouse: singer Jain (born in 1992), the French pop rock group Cats on Trees, the idols of the 1980s Jean Pierre Mader and Emile et Images ; not forgetting the comedy duo Les chevaliers du Fiel. Gabriel Fauré (1845-1924) set the lights of the Ariège countryside to music.

But also: Saint Bernadette Soubirous, Marie-Bernarde Soubirous, born in 1844 in Lourdes, and died in 1879; Ferdinand Foch, Marshal of France, born in 1851 in Tarbes and died in 1929, commander-in-chief of the allied forces during the First World War; Dominique-Jean Larrey, Baron Larrey of the Empire, doctor and surgeon, French military, father of emergency medicine, born in 1766 in Baudéan (Hautes-Pyrénées) and died in 1842; Pierre-Georges Latécoère (Pierre, Charles, Georges), born in 1883 in Bagnères-de-Bigorre and died in 1943 in Paris, is a precursor of French commercial aviation between the two wars and in particular of airmail; Sylvain Augier, radio and television presenter born in 1955 in Toulouse; presenter and television man Patrice Carmouze born in Toulouse in 1951; Jean-Luc Reichmann, television and radio presenter and producer born in Toulouse in 1960;

We will also not forget Jean-Pierre Rives, the "golden helmet" hero of Toulouse rugby; Jean Dieuzaide, the great man of photography who gave the city of Toulouse the prestigious gallery of the Château d'Eau.

books

There are many books on Toulouse and the Pyrenees. Practical works, tourist guides, beautiful works, cookbooks or books for mountain lovers, each with their own style.

• The Little Smart Hautes-Pyrénées
• The Little Smart Toulouse
• The Pyrenees Gascony + Toulouse region Backpacker's Guide
• Geo Guide Pyrenees Gascony
• Midi-Pyrénées Haute-Garonne Green Guide
• Green Guide Pyrenees Toulouse Gers
• Toulouse, art of living, Privat
• The thermal spas of the Pyrenees in the Belle Époque, Cairn
• Discovering the Pyrenees, Arteaz
• Pyrenees, 40 years of photographs, Cairn
• The Hautes-Pyrénées on foot, 45 walks and hikes.