Apprenticed under noted cinematographers
Christian Matras and
Boris Kaufman and shot
or co-shot several films directed by his uncle,
Jean Renoir. Renoir did the
photography for one of his uncle's cinematic apogees, _Une partie de campagne (1936)_ and was
the camera operator for the tragic, ebullient master text
The Grand Illusion (1937). As a
cinematographer, Claude Renoir was responsible for the luminous color
work of
The River (1951), _Carrosse d'or, Le (1952)_ and
Elena and Her Men (1956). He also generated the stark
black-and-white compositions of
Maurice Cloche's
Monsieur Vincent (1947) and the psychedelic
60s colors of
Roger Vadim's
Barbarella (1968). Renoir lensed a stunning array of
films, including
The Mystery of Picasso (1956),
Cleopatra (1963) and
Bertrand Blier's
Femmes Fatales (1976). After his
final DP credit,
The Spy Who Loved Me (1977), Renoir worked as a cameraman on three films
as he, sadly, lost his sight. Son of character actor
Pierre Renoir.