French Cinema

I'm Fench, so I know pretty well the French Cinema. I'm interested to see which movies are the most popular, knonw & liked in the world.

Many people, including me, but not including all, think that ”Children of Paradise” is the best movie ever made in any country. I wrote a user review of this movie as a “Gesamtkunstwerk”.

“Blue Is the Warmest Colour” (by Adelatif Kechiche) is not generally considered a French movie because the finances are from Tunisia. But all the main actors are French, and so are their problems, their situations, their behaviour etc. I think this movie is outstanding in a sense which few films are.

Occasionally I have not bothered to find an international title. But concerning “La jetée” it seems to have different titles in different countries. In Denmark it is called “Year Zero”.

There are quite a few movies from the late 1930s, the entire 1940s, and a part of the 1950s which I loved very much at that time. “L’epave” is one of them. Some of them I have never had the opportunity to see again. – One exception is “Le jeune folle”. However, what attracted me most in my youth was the whistling signal of the searching boys. But presently my hearing is significantly reduced, and without the mood of these scenes the movie is not of great value to me.

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La grande illusion (The Great Illusion) by Renoir, Jean // 1937

Quai des brûmes (Quay of Fog) by Carné, Marcel // 1938

La régle du jeu (Rules of the Game) by Renoir, Jean // 1939

Le jour se lève (Daybreak) by Carné, Marcel // 1939

Les enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) by Carné, Marcel // 1945

La beauté du Diable (Beauty of the Devil) by Clair, René // 1949

L'épave (The Wreck / Sin and Desire) by Rozier, Willy // 1949

Les sept peches capitaus (The Seven Cardinal Sins) by Lacombe, Georges // 1952

Les amants (The Lovers) by Malle, Louis // 1958

Les misérables by Chanois, Jean-Paul de // 1958

Hiroshima, mon amour (Hiroshima, My Love) by Resnais, Alain // 1959

La vérité (Truth) by Clouzot, Henri-Georges // 1960

L'année dernière à Marienbad (Last Year in Marienbad) by Resnais, Alain // 1960

Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray (Sundays and Cybèle) by Bourguignon, Serge // 1961

Jules et Jim by Truffaut, Francois // 1962

La jetée (?) by Marker, Chris // 1962

L'oiseau du paradis (Bird of Paradise) by Camus, Marcel // 1962

Le joli Mai (Beautiful May) by Marker, Chris // 1963

Les parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrella of Cherbourg) by Demy, Jacques // 1963

L'immortelle (The Undeadly One) by Robbe-Grillet, Alain // 1963

Muriel, ou le temps d'un retour (Muriel) by Resnais, Alain // 1963

Le bonheur (Happiness) by Varda, Agnès // 1965

Les demoiselles de Rochefort (The Girls of Rochefort) by Demy, Jacques // 1966

Un soir, un train by Delvaux, André // 1968

La sirène du Mississippi (The Mermaid of Mississippi // Truffaut, Francois // 1969

Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (The Discrete Charm of the Bourgeoisy) by Buñuel, Luis // 1972

La nuit américaine (Day for Night) by Truffaut, Francois // 1973

Cet obscur objet du désir (The strange Object of Desire) by Buñuel, Luis // 1977

La dentellière (The Lace-Maker) by Goretta, Claude // 1977

Clair de femme (Womanlight) by Costa-Gavras, Constantin // 1979

Jean de Florette (I) by Berri, Claude // 1986

Jean de Florette (II) by Berri, Claude // 1987

Mauvais sang (Evil Blood) by Carax, Leos // 1986

Quelques jours avec moi (A Few Days With Me) by Sautet, Claude // 1988

Monsieur Hire by Leconte, Patrice // 1989

J'embrasse pas (I Don’t Kiss) by Téchiné, André // 1991

Les nuits fauves (Violent Nights) by Collard, Cyril // 1992

Trois couleurs: blanc (Three Colours: White) by Kieslowski, Krzysztof // 1994

Le hussard sur le toit (The Riders on the Roof) by Rappeneau, Jean-Paul // 1996

Jeanne et le garcon formidable (Jeanne and the Perfect Guy) by Ducastel, Olivier & Martineau, Jacques // 1997

Seul contre tous (I Stand Alone) by Noé, Gaspar // 1998

Les diables (The Little Devils) by Ruggia, Christophe // 2002

Stormy Weather by Anspach, Solveig // 2003

La petite chartreuse (The Little Chartreuse) by Denis, Jean-Pierre // 2005

Va, vis et deviens (Live and Become) by Mihaileanu, Radu // 2005

Coeurs (Hearts) by Resnais, Alain // 2006

Le deuxieme souffle (At Second Breath) by Corneau, Alain // 2007

Pour Elle (Anything for Her) by Cavayé, Fred // 2008

L'ecume des jours (Foam of the Day) by Gondry, Michel // 2013

some more,not mentioned in max's long knowing list (max is a connoisseur ,as far as French cinema is concerned ,even though I do not always share his views -"les nuits fauves " ,for instance ,is an irresponsible movie IMHO-


Julien Duvivier:
"Pépé Le Moko"(1937)(which influenced lots of films noirs)
"un carnet de bal" (1937)
"panique"(1945)

HG Clouzot:
"le corbeau" (1943)
" manon" (1949)
"le salaire de la peur" (1955)and bien sûr"les diaboliques"(1956)

Claude Chabrol
"le boucher" (1969)

Claude Miller
" la meilleure façon de marcher" (1975)



I wish I could be like Gladstone Gander.

I adore French Cinema, although I am not as fond of Nouvelle Vague as other eras.My favourites are...

Le Quai Des Brumes
Le Jour Se Leve
Le Corbeau
Les Enfants Du Paradis
La Belle Et La Bete
Quai Des Orfevres
Jour De Fete
Touchez Pas Au Grisbi
Rififi
Les Diaboliques
Les Espions
Le Trou
Tirez Sur Le Pianiste
Le Yeux Sans Visage
Le Cercle Rogue
La Femme Infidele
Buffet Froid
Jean De Florette
Manon Des Sources
Amelie
Les Choristes
A La Folie...Pas Du Tout
Indigenes
Le Deuxieme Soufflé
A Bout Portant
Mesrine (part 1 & 2)
Pour Elle
Ne Le Dis A Personne
La Rafle
OSS 117: Caire,Nid Du Espions
Taxi
36 Quai Des Orfevres
Le Guetteur
Apres Vous






"Barney Sloane...That's my new name...My old one's a little more Italian."

To simplify my response, I'll focus on directors who are French.

I'm a fan of Gaspar Noe. Though not a Frenchman himself, I still consider his films "French," as they are filmed either in the country/language or with French financial backing/actors.

I'm also really big into the Left Bank, especially Rensais and Robbe-Grillet (in particular their early work).

After years of not really liking Godard with the exception of Alphaville, I've finally discovered a couple more of his films that I truly appreciate (Vivre Sa Vie and Une Femme Mariee).

I could really go on with this list, but those were the immediate ones to come to mind.