- Val d'Isère celebrates this weekend the 40th anniversary of "Bronzés font du ski", a famous comedy filmed in the resort in 1979.
- This cult film has remained anchored in the history of the Savoyard resort over the decades.
Gigi, Popeye and even Bernard will be back this Saturday in Val d'Isère (Savoie) to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the famous French comedy, filmed in the Isère resort during the winter of 1979. Marie-Anne Chazel, Thierry Lhermitte , Gérard Jugnot and part of the film crew will live again, in the company of the public, the mythical scenes of the Bronzés do skiing, which has marked the history of the resort and the Avalins, its inhabitants.
“The film was not an immediate success at the time. It has become one of the most important French comedies over the broadcasts. And today, Les Bronzés remains truly anchored in the imagination, in French culture, when one thinks of the mountains and winter sports, ”underlines Cécile Ferrando, the marketing director of the tourist office.
Small roles embodied by locals
“I was four years old at the time of filming. I grew up with this comedy which also remained deeply rooted in the station, ”she adds. And for good reason. Several local residents played a small role in the film. “The couple who come with their pig to Christian Clavier's medical office were friends of my parents. I can tell you that they didn't have to force themselves for the accent! ", Says Christelle Bonnevie, at the head of the restaurant Les Crozets where the film crew came to lunch during the shooting. “My mother prepared them full meals. She told us a lot about this time and kept memories of funny moments and a nice team, ”adds the forties, also owner of the stable where the scene of the refuge was filmed with the Italians.
[📽TANNED SKIING]
The cinema screening at 8:30 p.m. on Saturday January 11 is already full! 🤷♂️New session same day at 10 p.m. 🙌 # valdisere # lesbronzés #cinema # leplantédebâton #lafoliedoucevaldisere
Program of the day 👉 https://t.co/hjP2CuknU3 pic.twitter.com/MFF6V4z3Wg
"It stayed in its juice," adds this Savoyard who never tires of watching the comedy, rebroadcast each year. "It amuses us to recognize the places of the scenes of the film, even if Val d'Isère has changed a lot". Benjamin Dubois, technical director at the French Ski School, also has a particular attachment to the film. His neighbor, Fernand, has become the most famous ski instructor in France, after having embodied in the film the one who insists on the "stick sticking" with Jean-Claude Duss. "He has died since. He was really a nice guy. When we were children, he told us that we had chosen him for the film because he was the oldest and the ugliest, he laughs. Her grandson is one of my friends. He opened a cottage which he called "Stick him stick".
Benjamin's father also accompanied the film crew in 1979 during a few mountain scenes. “Among the anecdotes he told us, there is the picnic scene. The team was helicoptered to the area where the scene is filmed. Bad weather arrived quickly and my father found himself in the middle of a storm with Lhermitte, Clavier and Jugnot, with just a radio in contact with the emergency services. It was a complicated day, ”he adds.
Cult scenes immortalized for 40 years
If Les Bronzés do ski have left lasting memories in the resort, they did not participate in the tourist attractiveness of Val d'Isère. “It didn't help us especially for the fame. Many people do not know that it was filmed here. But the Avalans remain proud that the station was chosen for this film which has never had an equivalent since, "underlines Benjamin.
"It was more the locals, the people from here who participated in this" storytelling "by telling the filming and showing the places of the cult scenes to tourists for all these years," confirms Cécile Ferrando. Among these sites, the chalet where the "Gigi pancake" scene was filmed has become a tour operator, but the decor has remained intact. The chairlift where Jean-Claude Duss was blocked part of the night no longer exists in the state of course. "But there is still a chairlift there, modernized, the Bellevarde Express," explains Benjamin Dubois.
A timeless comedy
In front of these places, panels repeating the cult phrases of comedy were installed on the occasion of the film's 40th anniversary. Four decades during which Les Bronzés finally did not take on many wrinkles. “This film was in the picture for sure, with Parisians who discover the natives by going to the mountains and drink mulled wine. Do you think we locals drink mulled wine ?, laughs Christelle. But they imagined scenes and lines so close to reality that the success of the film could only last, without going out of fashion. "
"It's cliché, that's for sure," agrees Benjamin, "but we all know a super-heavy ski instructor who is constantly flirting, or even Parisians who land in the mountains in mink," jokes Benjamin, with reference to Josiane Balasko, alias Nathalie, who, apart from her animal skin, has marked generations of viewers with her memorable fall on the slopes and her swollen calves, caught in pincers in her ski boots.
Culture
VIDEO. “Les Bronzés”: A documentary on C8 tells the backstage and laughter of cult films
Television
TF1: Full box for “Les Bronzés font du ski” with nearly 8 million viewers
- Lyon
- Comedy
- Valley of Isere
- Thierry lhermitte
- Mountain
- Television