Willy Holt

Art

Willy Holt

Born November 30, 1921 · Quincy, Florida, USA

Died June 22, 2007 · aged 85

Willy Holt (30 November 1921 – 22 June 2007) was an American production designer, art director and actor who lived in France for many years. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film Is Paris Burning?, and won a César Award for Best Production Design for Au revoir, les enfants. Willy Holt was born in Quincy, Florida, in 1921, the son of an American mili…

Known For

The Ninth GateThe Ninth Gate · 1999
The Ninth Gate
★ 6.51999
MovieMysteryThriller
A rare book dealer finds himself at the heart of a string of paranormal events when he is hired to find the last two copies of a text, The Nine Gates of the Kingdom of Shadows, capable of summoning the Devil.
Bitter MoonBitter Moon · 1992
Bitter Moon
★ 7.11992
MovieThrillerDrama
A passenger on a cruise ship develops an irresistible infatuation with an eccentric paraplegic's wife.
The Day of the JackalThe Day of the Jackal · 1973
The Day of the Jackal
★ 7.51973
MovieActionThriller
An international assassin known as ‘The Jackal’ is employed by disgruntled French generals to kill President Charles de Gaulle, with a dedicated gendarme on the assassin’s trail.
Is Paris Burning?Is Paris Burning? · 1966
Is Paris Burning?
★ 7.21966
MovieWarDrama
Near the end of World War II, General Dietrich von Choltitz receives orders to burn down Paris if it becomes clear the Allies are going to invade, or if he's unable to maintain control of the city. After much contemplation, Choltitz ignores orders, enraging the Germans and giving hope to various resistance factions that the city will be liberated. Choltitz, alongside Swedish diplomat Raoul Nordling, helps a leader organise his forces.
Love and DeathLove and Death · 1975
Love and Death
★ 7.51975
MovieComedyRomance
In czarist Russia, a neurotic soldier and his distant cousin formulate a plot to assassinate Napoleon.
The TrainThe Train · 1964
The Train
★ 7.61964
MovieWarThriller
As the Allied forces approach Paris in August 1944, German Colonel Von Waldheim is desperate to take all of France's greatest paintings to Germany. He manages to secure a train to transport the valuable art works even as the chaos of retreat descends upon them. The French resistance however wants to stop them from stealing their national treasures but have received orders from London that they are not to be destroyed. The station master, Labiche, is tasked with scheduling the train and making it all happen smoothly but he is also part of a dwindling group of resistance fighters tasked with preventing the theft. He and others stage an elaborate ruse to keep the train from ever leaving French territory.
Two for the RoadTwo for the Road · 1967
Two for the Road
★ 7.01967
MovieDramaRomance
Architect Mark Wallace and his wife, Joanna, travel to France to meet with an affluent client. While there, they reflect on their first decade of marriage -- memories of when they first met, of courtship, and of road trips through the French countryside. As flirtation and playful quarreling turn to boredom with the banality of married life, the Wallaces struggle to rekindle their passion, while mutual infidelity threatens to tear them apart.
Au Revoir les EnfantsAu Revoir les Enfants · 1987
Au Revoir les Enfants
★ 7.51987
MovieDramaWar
Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.

Filmography

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The Thirst for GoldThe Thirst for Gold · 1993
The Thirst for Gold
★ 5.51993
MovieComedy
Urbain Donnadieu's first love is money. It's also his second, third and fourth love. The only reason he married - a tax inspector named Fleurette - was to avoid a fine for tax evasion. For several years, he has been stealing money from his construction company and buying gold bars with his ill-gotten gains. His plan is to deposit all this wealth in a Swiss Bank, where neither his wife - whom he is about to divorce - nor the French State can get at it. Accompanied by his money-grabbing Granny Zézette, Urbain heads off for Switzerland, with his gold concealed in the walls of a model house on the back of a trailer. Unfortunately, his scheme is threatened by his wife and his embittered ex-chauffeur, who are determined to get his money at any cost...

Production Design

A State of EmergencyA State of Emergency · 1986
A State of Emergency
★ 3.51986
Movie
This story is about a crusading scientist out to stop nuclear testing who is motivated by scientific fact, conscience and faith. Dr. Alex Carmody (Martin Sheen) is a physicist who becomes convinced that if the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. continue to test nuclear weapons, eventually one of these tests will set off an atomic chain reaction that will obliterate the world. Carmody travels to Portugal where he tries talks to one of the women who in 1911 saw a vision of the Virgin Mary that spoke to her and her two companions about the future. Carmody is certain that the Virgin Mary predicted the very chain reaction he and his co-worker Dr. Kenneth Parrish (Peter Firth) envision. Failing in his attempt to talk to the woman, Carmody then travels to Paris and elsewhere, warning Soviet and American officials that the tests they are planning should be cancelled before they become their last.

Production Design