Claude Chabrol, one of the early pioneers of French New Wave cinema, died yesterday at the age of 80.

Though not as well-known as some of his very well-known contemporaries, Jean-Luc Godard and Francois Truffaut, Chabrol thrilled audiences for years with his cerebral-styled thrillers and kept working right up until the end as his last film, Inspector Bellamy, starring Gérard Depardieu is coming out in October.