# Les Bronzés font du ski
**Les Bronzés font du ski** is a 1979 French comedy directed by Patrice Leconte and written and performed by the Paris café-theater troupe Le Splendid. It is the second film in the *Bronzés* series, moving the group of friends introduced in *[Les Bronzés](https://www.edgepedia.org/les-bronzes)* (1978) from an Ivorian vacation club to a winter sports holiday at Val-d'Isère, where new romantic entanglements and mishaps culminate in the team getting lost in the mountains.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 22 November 1979 (France); a restored version was re-released on 25 January 2017[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html) |
| Director / producer | Patrice Leconte; produced by Yves Rousset-Rouard for Trinacra Films[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/les_bronzes_font_du_ski) |
| Screenplay | An original screenplay for cinema, not a stage adaptation, written mainly by Thierry Lhermitte, Gérard Jugnot, and Christian Clavier, with Michel Blanc adding his own touches[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html) • [3](https://adrc-asso.org/films/diffusion-patrimoine/films-et-cycles/les-bronzes-font-du-ski) |
| Filming location | Val-d'Isère and its ski area; shooting began 5 March 1979 and ran for two months[4](https://www.valdisere.com/en/experiences/les-bronzes-font-du-ski/) • [5](https://www.ledauphine.com/montagne/2024/10/04/les-bronzes-font-du-ski-patrice-leconte-se-souvient-du-tournage) |
| Key crew | Cinematography Jean-François Robin; music Pierre Bachelet; editing Noëlle Boisson[6](https://adrc-asso.org/sites/default/files/adrc/fichiers/pdf_web_ardc_leconte.pdf) • [7](https://cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_l/films_leconte_patrice/les_bronzes_font_du_ski.htm) |
| French box office | About 1.5 million admissions, fewer than the first film's 2.3 million[8](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html) |
| Ratings | Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer 83%; IMDb 7.4/10 from about 10,000 users; AlloCiné 4.0/5 from more than 57,000 ratings[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/les_bronzes_font_du_ski) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0078907/) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html) |
## Spoilers
### Premise and characters
A year after meeting at a vacation club in Côte d'Ivoire, the friends reunite for a week of skiing at Val-d'Isère, where three of them now work.[10](https://www.senscritique.com/film/les_bronzes_font_du_ski/484446) Jérôme (Christian Clavier) and Gigi (Marie-Anne Chazel) are married; Gigi runs a crêperie while Jérôme practices medicine. Bernard (Gérard Jugnot) and Nathalie (Josiane Balasko), reconciled and newly rich, own a timeshare apartment in the resort. Popeye (Thierry Lhermitte) sells ski equipment in a shop actually run by his wife, who is unfaithful to him with his cousin, while he tells his friends he manages it. Jean-Claude Dusse (Michel Blanc), still single and hopeless at seduction, takes ski lessons to approach an instructor. Christiane (Dominique Lavanant) arrives with Marius (Maurice Chevit), a married man much older than she is.[4](https://www.valdisere.com/en/experiences/les-bronzes-font-du-ski/) • [11](https://www.filmfrance.net/films/les-bronzes-font-du-ski/) • [12](https://presse.france-montagnes.com/sites/default/files/dossier/les_bronzes_a_val_disere.pdf)
The film is built as a succession of comic sketches rather than a tightly plotted story: evenings of fondue, [mulled wine](https://www.edgepedia.org/mulled-wine), and local liqueurs, chairlifts and drag lifts, off-piste attempts, visits to local chalets, and a mountain trek that goes wrong.[13](https://www.ugc.fr/film.html?id=4646) Scenes that became widely quoted in France include Michel Blanc's Jean-Claude stuck on a stalled cable car singing "Quand te reverrai-je, pays des merveilles", the "planté de bâton" ski lesson, and the tasting of a local drink, "la foune", with shallot liqueur seasoned with garlic juice.[14](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-3198/critiques/spectateurs/recentes/)
## Production
The idea of a sequel came from producer Yves Rousset-Rouard before the first film was even finished; the actors and director, initially reluctant because they felt *Les Bronzés* was complete on its own, were won over by its box-office success.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html) Unlike the first film, which adapted the troupe's stage play *Amour, coquillages et crustacés*, the sequel was written directly for the screen, with Leconte deliberately steering toward a sharper, "meaner" humor than the original.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html) • [3](https://adrc-asso.org/films/diffusion-patrimoine/films-et-cycles/les-bronzes-font-du-ski)
**Shooting at Val-d'Isère.** Filming began on 5 March 1979 and lasted two months, with the crew shooting continuously on the chairlifts among real vacationers.[5](https://www.ledauphine.com/montagne/2024/10/04/les-bronzes-font-du-ski-patrice-leconte-se-souvient-du-tournage) Lhermitte and Clavier were strong skiers; Jugnot had no style but got down any slope; Michel Blanc, Marie-Anne Chazel, and Josiane Balasko were beginners coached by Stéphane Clavier, Christian's brother, a ski instructor and assistant director, and the actors were almost never doubled.[5](https://www.ledauphine.com/montagne/2024/10/04/les-bronzes-font-du-ski-patrice-leconte-se-souvient-du-tournage) The ski instructor who teaches Jean-Claude the "planté de bâton" was played by Fernand Bonnevie, a genuine instructor at the French ski school in Val-d'Isère, chosen by Leconte for his authentic Savoyard accent and sun-weathered face.[12](https://presse.france-montagnes.com/sites/default/files/dossier/les_bronzes_a_val_disere.pdf) Local residents appeared as extras.[15](https://www.mairie-valdisere.fr/la-commune/val-disere-village-au-patrimoine-vivant/patrimoine-immateriel/films/)
## Reception and cult status
At its release the film drew about 1.5 million admissions, less than the 2.3 million of *Les Bronzés*, although [Le Monde](https://www.edgepedia.org/le-monde)'s retrospective judged it the better-constructed film.[8](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html) Repeated television broadcasts then built its reputation: the paper notes that reruns of both films became countless and that the Grand Rex in Paris organized "soirées Bronzés".[8](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html) AlloCiné's audience summary makes the same point, saying the film's modest theatrical start was repaired by television broadcasts that made it one of the most popular French comedies.[16](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-3198/critiques/spectateurs/)
Contemporary ratings reflect that standing: 83% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer, 7.4/10 on IMDb, and 4.0/5 from more than 57,000 AlloCiné users.[2](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/les_bronzes_font_du_ski) • [9](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0078907/) • [1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html) Many French viewers rank it above the first film; Leconte himself called it "really very funny, and no doubt meaner than the first".[3](https://adrc-asso.org/films/diffusion-patrimoine/films-et-cycles/les-bronzes-font-du-ski)
## Place in the series and legacy
The film is the second of a trilogy directed by Leconte: *Les Bronzés* (1978), *Les Bronzés font du ski* (1979), and *Les Bronzés 3: amis pour la vie* (2006), which outperformed both predecessors at the box office.[17](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2021/02/03/neige-glissades-et-avalanche-sept-films-pour-les-nostalgiques-des-pistes_6068557_3476.html) • [6](https://adrc-asso.org/sites/default/files/adrc/fichiers/pdf_web_ardc_leconte.pdf) Its lines and situations remain part of everyday French ski-culture references, to the stated surprise of the film's authors, and Val-d'Isère still promotes the locations, including the Tête de Solaise drag lift and the church of Saint-Bernard de Menthon, that appear on screen.[18](https://www.lequipe.fr/Tous-sports/Article/Cinema-la-veritable-histoire-des-bronzes-font-du-ski/1092505) • [12](https://presse.france-montagnes.com/sites/default/files/dossier/les_bronzes_a_val_disere.pdf) • [19](https://patrimoines.savoie.fr/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-08/la-rubrique-39_2020-08-31_11-27-50_339.pdf) A restored version by Studiocanal circulated in theaters from 2017, and the film is available for digital rental or purchase on French platforms.[1](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html) • [20](https://www.justwatch.com/fr/film/les-bronzes-font-du-ski)
## References
1. [Les Bronzés font du ski, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm%3D3198.html)
2. [Les Bronzés font du ski, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/les_bronzes_font_du_ski)
3. [Les Bronzés font du ski, ADRC](https://adrc-asso.org/films/diffusion-patrimoine/films-et-cycles/les-bronzes-font-du-ski)
4. [Les Bronzés font du ski: anecdotes and filming locations in Val d'Isère, Valdisere.com](https://www.valdisere.com/en/experiences/les-bronzes-font-du-ski/)
5. [Les Bronzés font du ski: Patrice Leconte se souvient du tournage, Le Dauphiné libéré](https://www.ledauphine.com/montagne/2024/10/04/les-bronzes-font-du-ski-patrice-leconte-se-souvient-du-tournage)
6. [Les Bronzés font du ski, ADRC dossier Patrice Leconte](https://adrc-asso.org/sites/default/files/adrc/fichiers/pdf_web_ardc_leconte.pdf)
7. [Les Bronzés font du ski, cinema-francais.fr](https://cinema-francais.fr/les_films/films_l/films_leconte_patrice/les_bronzes_font_du_ski.htm)
8. [« Les Bronzés » : retour sur un film culte, Le Monde (2013)](https://www.lemonde.fr/culture/article/2013/07/25/les-bronzes-font-des-petits_3453682_3246.html)
9. [Les bronzés font du ski (1979), IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/fr/title/tt0078907/)
10. [Les Bronzés font du ski, SensCritique](https://www.senscritique.com/film/les_bronzes_font_du_ski/484446)
11. [Les Bronzés font du ski, Film France CNC](https://www.filmfrance.net/films/les-bronzes-font-du-ski/)
12. [Les Bronzés font du ski – tournage Val d'Isère, France Montagnes press kit](https://presse.france-montagnes.com/sites/default/files/dossier/les_bronzes_a_val_disere.pdf)
13. [Les Bronzés font du ski, UGC](https://www.ugc.fr/film.html?id=4646)
14. [Critiques spectateurs, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-3198/critiques/spectateurs/recentes/)
15. [Cinéma et tournages à Val d'Isère, Mairie de Val-d'Isère](https://www.mairie-valdisere.fr/la-commune/val-disere-village-au-patrimoine-vivant/patrimoine-immateriel/films/)
16. [Critiques du film Les Bronzés font du ski, AlloCiné](https://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm-3198/critiques/spectateurs/)
17. [Neige, glissades et avalanche, sept films pour les nostalgiques des pistes, Le Monde (2021)](https://www.lemonde.fr/cinema/article/2021/02/03/neige-glissades-et-avalanche-sept-films-pour-les-nostalgiques-des-pistes_6068557_3476.html)
18. [Cinéma : la véritable histoire des «Bronzés font du ski», L'Équipe](https://www.lequipe.fr/Tous-sports/Article/Cinema-la-veritable-histoire-des-bronzes-font-du-ski/1092505)
19. [Patrimoines de Savoie, rubrique 39 (2020)](https://patrimoines.savoie.fr/upload/docs/application/pdf/2020-08/la-rubrique-39_2020-08-31_11-27-50_339.pdf)
20. [Regarder Les Bronzés font du ski en streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/fr/film/les-bronzes-font-du-ski)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Franchise and series entries as standalone works › Teen and comedy series film entries › Entries released before 1990*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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