Claude Chabrol, RIP

The Telegraph obit, as linked by Ebert on Twitter, is likely the best online. Chabrol died today at the age of 80. He was, by all accounts, a master, though it should not surprise anyone that he was never nominated for an Oscar.

In general, Chabrol avoided what he called “big subjects”, preferring little themes to which he could give the big treatment. When he departed from this principle, the results were usually unfortunate, as in Ten Days’ Wonder (1972), an Ellery Queen story with Orson Welles and Anthony Perkins that he inflated into a study of comparative religion; and Nada (1974), an ill-considered foray into the field of politics and international terrorism. Of Ten Days’ Wonder it was said that he let his belly rule his brain, accepting the assignment only because it could be shot in Alsace, where he was eager to sample the cuisine.