He directed Quest for Fire (1981), The Name of the Rose (1986), The Bear (1988), The Lover (1992), Seven Years in Tibet (1997), Enemy at the Gates (2001), Black Gold (2011), and Wolf Totem (2015).

After Hothead (1979), a French-language film that became a cult classic in his homeland, he moved to Kenya, Scotland and Canada to shoot Quest for Fire, which brought him international recognition.

He then directed Sean Connery in The Name of the Rose (1986), which was shot in Italian and German monasteries (César for Best Foreign Film and David Di Donatello for Best Director), and is based on Umberto Eco's popular novel of the same name.

In 2001, Annaud reunited Jude Law and Ed Harris in a retelling of the Battle of Stalingrad (Enemy at the Gates, 2001), filmed in Germany.

He then set out to revive ancient Greece (His Majesty Minor, 2007), shot entirely in Spain, then Arabia of the late 1930s, directing Antonio Banderas in Tunisia and Qatar in Black Gold (2011).

[4] In 2018, Annaud directed Patrick Dempsey in his 10-part television adaptation of Joël Dicker's best-seller The Truth about the Harry Quebert Affair (2018); it was released in 22 countries and shot in Canada.