Magic Lantern Video & Book Store
 | Cinema of France
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| Foreign Cinema Pages |
![Francois Truffaut directing "La Nuit Americain" [1973]](images/Truffaut_directingDFNight.jpg)
| on this page:
on page two:
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"The history of French cinema is the history of cinema."
— cinematographer Nestor Almendros
"Godard is about ideas, Melville is about style, and Truffaut is about people."
— G.E. Nordell
French Films on DVD at Amazon.com
French Films on VHS at Amazon.com
French Movies poster catalog at AllPosters [dot] com
French-Language Movie Posters catalog at AllPosters [dot] com
France's César Award listings at Internet Movie Database
official César Award website
Prix Méliès [est. 1946]
French New Wave {Nouvelle Vague} entry at Wikipedia
French New Wave Films on DVD at Amazon.com
French New Wave Films on VHS at Amazon.com
Noir Films of France at BlackHat Mystery Bookstore
François Truffaut [1932-84] Page
Jean-Pierre Melville [1917-73] Page
Jean-Luc Godard Page
French Filmmakers
NOTE: Oscar Awards for Best Foreign Language Film are not attributed
by A.M.P.A.S. or IMDb to the director or producer, but to the country of origin.
Foreign Filmmakers
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Filmmakers of Asia
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Filmmakers of Canada
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Filmmakers of Germany
Filmmakers of India
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Filmmakers of Italy
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Filmmakers of Japan
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Filmmakers of Mexico
· ·
Magic Lantern's François Truffaut [1932-84] Page
Magic Lantern's Jean-Pierre Melville [1917-73] Page
Magic Lantern's Jean-Luc Godard Page
Jean Renoir [1894-1979] Page
Jacques Becker [1906-60]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
"Casque d'Or" [France April 1952; USA Aug 1952]
"Le Trou" [France March 1960; USA May 1964
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"Touchez Pas au Grisbi" [France March 1954, USA July 1959]
A gangster and his partner steal 50-million francs in gold bars and plan to retire. But the partner's ex-girlfriend tells her new crook boyfriend about the loot {'grisbi'), so he captures the partner, offering to exchange him for the gold. Co-written & directed by Jacques Becker; co-written by Albert Simonin from his novel; starring Jean Gabin, Jeanne Moreau, Dora Doll, René Dary & Lino Ventura Criterion subtitled b&w DVD [1/2005] for $26.99 Fox/Lorber b&w VHS [4/99] for $19.98 full credits from IMDb Rialto Pictures re-release movie page |
Claude Berri
actor-director Bertrand Blier
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Luc Besson
"La Femme Nikita" [1990] /tt0100263/
"The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada" [2005] /tt0419294/
"Taken" [2008] /tt0936501/
"From Paris With Love" [2010] /tt1179034/
http://www.frompariswithlovefilm.com/
"Taxi" 1 & 2 & 3 & 4
Robert Bresson [1901-99]
"Painting taught me to make not beautiful images but necessary ones." == Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson at Masters of Cinema fansite
Marcel Carne
Claude Chabrol
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
http://www.pathfinderpictures.com/page/chabrol.html
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Claude Chabrol Collection Box Set [2003]
Pathfinder color DVD [5/2003] 8 disks for $71.99 includes "Les Biches" (aka 'Bad Girls') [1968]; "This Man Must Die" (aka 'Que la Bête Meure') [1969]; "The Unfaithful Wife (La Femme Infidele)" [1969]; "La Rupture (The Breach)" [1970]; "The Butcher (Le Boucher)" [1970]; "Ten Days' Wonder" (aka "La Décade Prodigieuse") [1971] starring Orson Welles; "Nada" [1974]; & "Innocents With Dirty Hands (Les Innocents aux Mains Sales) [1975] |
"This Man Must Die" (aka 'Que la Bête Meure') [1969]
"The Unfaithful Wife (La Femme Infidele)" [1969]
"La Rupture" (The Breach)" [1970]
"The Butcher" (Le Boucher)" [1970]
"Ten Days' Wonder" (aka "La Décade Prodigieuse") [1971] starring Orson Welles
"Nada" [1974]
"Innocents With Dirty Hands (Les Innocents aux Mains Sales)" [1975]
"A Girl Cut In Two" [2008]
René Clair
"Un Chapeau de Paille d'Italie (The Italian Straw Hat)"
silent feature [France Jan 1928]
| A script was written by Alice Guy-Blaché prior to 1920, when she offered it to Charlie Chaplin in Hollywood; he declined. The tale is based on a nineteenth-century French farce, updated by Clair to 1895. A groom preparing for his marriage takes a shortcut thru the forest, where his horse eats the unique straw hat of a married woman who is dallying with her lover. The lover threatens to destroy the groom's house unless he replaces the hat, to preserve the woman's reputation. Adapted & directed by René Clair; based on the 1851 stageplay by Eugène Labiche & Marc Michel; starring Albert Préjean, Geymond Vital & Olga Tschechowa
DVD/Blu-ray not available; Connoisseur Video b&w VHS [7/94] out of prodn/used full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
![won Honorary Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film for "The Walls of Malapaga" [1949]](images/oscar_sm.gif) | René Clément [1913-96] IMDb listing • Wikipedia |
Henri-Georges Clouzot [1907-77]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Jean Cocteau
Philippe de Broca [1933-2004]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Arnaud Desplechin
Louis Feuillade [1873-1925]
browse Louis Feuillade on DVD • IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Louis Feuillade on Facebook
MEG's Louis Feuillade fansite
 | "Les Vampires" [Gaumont silent serial Nov 1915]
A vast gang of crooks who call themselves 'The Vampires' is undone by an intrepid reporter and a reformed member of the gang. Written & directed by Louis Feuillade; starring Musidora {as Irma Vep}, Édouard Mathé, Marcel Lévesque, Jean Aymé, Fernand Herrmann & Stacia Napierkowska Image Ent. subtitled silent b&w DVD [4/2005] 2 disks for $34.99 full credits from IMDb • film entry at Wikipedia |
 | "Judex" [Gaumont silent serial Dec 1916] Following French movie pioneer Louis Feuillade's classic "Les Vampires" [1915], he made another great early serial, 12 episodes about a 'caped crusader' avenging wrongs, a precursor to Batman and The Shadow. Co-written & directed by Louis Feuillade; starring René Cresté {as Judex}, Musidora, René Poyen, Édouard Mathé, Gaston Michel & Yvonne Dario Flicker Alley subtitled silent b&w DVD [6/2004] 2 disks for $39.95 full credits from IMDb • film entry at Wikipedia |
Abel Gance
Abel Gance's "Napoléon"
[France April 1927 silent; M.G.M. USA release Feb 1929]
see full details below
http://www.amazon.com/End-Of-The-World/dp/B001AD6UK0/
"Abel Gance: The Charm of Dynamite" documentary [1968] by Kevin Brownlow
video/DVD not available;
full credits from IMDb
Magic Lantern's
Jean-Luc Godard Page
actor-writer-director Sacha Guitry [1885-1957]
wrote 120 plays & 40 films, and acted in and directed most of them
browse Louis Feuillade on DVD • IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
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"Eclipse Series 22: Presenting Sacha Guitry" DVD Box Set [2010] 
Criterion b&w DVD set [7/2010] 4 disks for $52.49 contains 4 feature films: "Confessions of A Cheat (Le Roman d'un Tricheur)" [1936] with Jacqueline Delubac, Rosine Deréan & Henri Pfeifer; "Pearls of The Crown (Les Perles de La Couronne)" [1937] with Jacqueline Delubac & Lyn Harding; "Désiré" [1937] with Jacqueline Delubac, Pauline Carton & Arletty; and "Quadrille" [1938] with Jacqueline Delubac, Georges Gray, Gaby Morlay & Pauline Carton |
"Confessions of A Cheat (Le Roman d'un Tricheur)" [France 1936]
 | Starring, written & directed by Sacha Guitry, with Jacqueline Delubac, Rosine Deréan & Henri Pfeifer available on Criterion DVD box set above full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Pearls of The Crown (Les Perles de La Couronne)" [France 1937]
 | Starring, co-written & directed by Sacha Guitry, with Jacqueline Delubac & Lyn Harding available on Criterion DVD box set above full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia |
"Désiré" [France 1937]
 | Starring, written & directed by Sacha Guitry, with Jacqueline Delubac, Pauline Carton & Arletty available on Criterion DVD box set above full credits at IMDb |
"Quadrille" [1938]
 | Starring, written & directed by Sacha Guitry, with Gaby Morlay, Jacqueline Delubac, Georges Grey & Pauline Carton available on Criterion DVD box set above full credits at IMDb |
"Ils Etaient Neuf Celibataires (Nine Bachelors)" [France 1939] /tt0193239/
Starring, written & directed by Sacha Guitry, with Max Dearly, Elvire Popesco & Victor Boucher
"La Vie D'un Honnête Homme" aka "The Virtuous Scoundrel" [1953]
described as 'his neglected masterpiece'; written & directed & narrated by Sacha Guitry;
starring Michel Simon, Lana Marconi, Louis de Funès, Marguerite Pierry & Claude Gensac
Magic Lantern's
director Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968] Page
The only woman filmmaker to this day who owned her own studio.
Blaché made over 700 films; 130 films survive, but only 3 of her 40 features
 | "Gaumont Treasures: 1897-1913" DVD Box Set [2009]
Kino Video b&w DVD set [9/2009] 85+ films on 3 disks for $79.95 DISK 1 contains 70+ silent short films produced and-or directed from 1897 to 1907 by Alice Guy-Blaché [1873-1968], including the 33-minute religious epic "La Vie du Christ" aka "The Birth, The Life and The Death of Christ" [1906], and performances by Félix Mayol with 'Phono-Cinema' synchronous sound DISK 2 is films of Louis Feuillade [1873-1925]; DISK 3 is films of Léonce Perret [1880-1935] |
Jean-Pierre Jeunet
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
| | Claude Lelouch
IMDb listing • Wikipedia |
“I do have an awkward relationship with the elite, ever since A Man and A Woman."
— Claude Lelouch
"And Now My Love" aka "Toute une vie"
[France May 1974, AVCO-Embassy/U.S.A. March 1975]
This film was how I discovered Simultaneous Bilingual Film Production
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A love story that spans a century, with the two young lovers meeting in the very last frame. {But now the DVD includes the restored 20-minute scifi-fantasy sequence after that supremely-romantic moment; one option is to halt the movie when the fantasy portion begins.}
Co-written & directed by Claude Lelouch; starring Marthe Keller (in 3 roles), André Dussollier, Charles Denner (in 3 roles), Carla Gravina, Charles Gérard, Gilbert Bécaud, Sam Letrone, Daniel Boulanger, André Falcon, Nathalie Courval, Judith Magre, Annie Kerani & Maria Pia Conte; Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay
Image Ent. widescreen subtitled color DVD [12/2003] for $22.99 Columbia-Tristar subtitled color VHS [2/93] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"Roman de Gare" [France May 2007, USA April 2008]
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An examination of what is real and what is not, thru the interconnections among a famous crime writer who secretly uses a ghost writer, a serial killer on the loose, and a hairdresser on her way to the country with her fiancée.
Co-produced, co-written & directed by Claude Lelouch; starring Fanny Ardant, Dominique Pinon, Audrey Dana, Zinedine Soualem, Myriam Boyer, Michèle Bernier & Cyrille Eldin
video/DVD not yet available • full credits from IMDb official movie sites: France {requires Flash} • USA {requires Flash} |
Louis Malle [1932-95]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Magic Lantern's
Jean-Pierre Melville [1917-73] Page
Marcel Pagnol [1895-1974]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
The Fanny or Marseilles Trilogy
starring Raimu, Pierre Fresnay & Orane Demazis
Kino Video b&w DVD [9/2007] 4 disks for $53.99
Kino Video b&w DVD [6/2004] 4 disks - out of prodn/used
credits: "Marius [1931] • "Fanny" [1933] • "César" [1936]
"Port of Seven Seas" [M.G.M. July 1938]
"La Trilogie Marseillaise: Marius" [France April 2000 TV movie] /tt0243407/
"La Trilogie Marseillaise: Fanny" [France April 2000 TV movie] /tt0243250/
"La Trilogie Marseillaise: César" [France April 2000 TV movie] /tt0243844/
Pagnol's 'Souvenirs d'Enfance (Memories of Childhood)" Books
"La Gloire de mon Père (My Father's Glory)" [1957 autobiographical novel]
1990 film based on the novel, co-written & directed by Yves Robert /tt0099669/
"Le Château de ma Mère (My Mother's Castle)" [1957 autobiographical novel]
1990 film based on the novel, co-written & directed by Yves Robert /tt0099266/
"L'Eau des Collines [1964 novel]
"Jean de Florette" [France Aug 1986, Orion USA Aug 1987] film based on the novel /tt0091288/
Co-written & directed by Claude Berri; starring Gérard Depardieu, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil & Elisabeth Depardieu
"Manon des Sources" [France Nov 1986, Orion USA Nov 1987] film based on the novel /tt0091480/
Co-written & directed by Claude Berri; starring Emmanuelle Béart, Yves Montand & Daniel Auteuil
| | Jean Renoir [1894-1979] books • posters • IMDb listing • Wikipedia |
"Jean Renoir: The Boss" docufilm [1966]
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"The River" aka "Le Fleuve" [United Artists; U.S.A. Sept 1951, France Dec 1951] Three teenage girls – a daughter of English settlers, a daughter of an American industrialist, and a Bengali-American – vie for the innocent affections of a dashing Captain. Renoir, as usual, brings his poetic sensibilities to another view of the human condition. Co-produced, co-written & directed by Jean Renoir [1894-1979]; co-written by Rumer Godden, from her novel; starring Patricia Walters, Radha, Adrienne Corri, Thomas E. Breen, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight, Arthur Shields & Suprova Mukerjee Criterion Special Edition color DVD [3/2005] for $24.99 HomeVision color VHS [6/2000] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb; movie entry at Wikipedia based on the 1946 novel by Rumer Godden, OBE [1907-98] Pan 7½x5 pb [4/2004] for $11.67 Viking 8¾x5¾ hardcover [9/88] for $22.95 |
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"Boudu Saved From Drowning" [France Nov 1932] aka "Boudu sauvé des eaux" A good-hearted bookseller rescues a bum who has jumped into the Seine, and takes him home, upsetting the bourgeois household in many ways. Co-written & directed by Jean Renoir, based on the play by René Fauchois; starring Michel Simon, Charles Granval, Marcelle Hainia, Sévérine Lerczinska, Jean Gehret, Max Dalban, Jean Dasté & Jacques Becker Criterion b&w DVD [8/2005] for $26.99 Criterion b&w VHS [11/2002] for $24.95 full credits from IMDb critical text [1994] by Richard Boston British Film Institute 7½x5½ pb [12/94] for $14.95 |
Alain Resnais
"You sense that all of the resources of cinema are available to Resnais." — reviewer Stuart Klawans in 2009
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
"Wild Grass" [2009]
Alain Robbe-Grillet [1922-2008]
Eric Rohmer [1920-2010]
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
Contes Moraux (Six Moral Tales) [1963-72]
"Six Moral Tales" DVD set
Comédies et Proverbes (Comedies and Proverbs) [1981-87]
Contes des Quatre Saisons (Tales of The Four Seasons) [1990-98]
| | Magic Lantern's Jacques Tati [1907-82] Page |
Bertrand Tavernier
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
president of Institut Lumière museum [est. 1982] in Lyon, France
André Téchiné
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
"My Favorite Season" [1993]
"Wild Reeds" [1994]
| | Magic Lantern's François Truffaut [1932-84] Page |
Agnès Varda
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
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"4 by Agnès Varda" [2008]
Criterion Collection color/b&w DVD set [1/2008] 4 disks for $89.99 includes restored versions of "La Pointe Courte" [1956] starring Silvia Monfort & Philippe Noiret; "Cléo From 5 To 7" [1961] starring Corinne Marchand; "Le Bonheur" [1965] starring Jean-Claude Drouot, Claire Drouot & Marie-France Boyer; and "Vagabond" [1985] starring Sandrine Bonnaire |
Jean Vigo [1905-34]
Prix Jean Vigo •
IMDb listing •
Wikipedia
 | "Zéro de Conduite: Jeunes Diables au Collège" [France April 1933] aka "Zero For Conduct" [U.S.A. June 1947] Banned until 1946: Bored & oppressed at their boarding school, the students revolt. Written & directed by Jean Vigo; starring Louis Lefebvre, Gilbert Pruchon, Coco Golstein, Gérard de Bédarieux, Jean Dasté, Robert le Flon, Du Verron, Delphin, Léon Larive, Madame Émile, Louis de Gonzague & Raphaël Diligent Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [12/94] for $14.99 full credits at IMDb |
 | "L'Atalante" [Gaumont Intl./France Sept 1934, U.S.A. June 1947]
"Lyrically expressive ... a pioneer of poetic realism ... a portrait of a nation." A handsome barge captain marries a girl from a small village, who soon becomes bored with canal-bound life. When they reach Paris, she jumps ship. Co-written & directed by Jean Vigo; starring Michel Simon, Dita Parlo, Jean Dasté, Gilles Margaritis, Louis Lefebvre, Maurice Gilles & Raphaël Diligent New Yorker Films b&w DVD [4/2003] for $24.99 Timeless Multimedia b&w VHS [7/94] for $14.24 New Yorker Films b&w VHS [11/98] for $18.95 full credits at IMDb |
Selected French Films
France's films have received 3 early Honorary Oscar Awards and 9 Best Foreign Language Oscar® wins,
among 34 Best Foreign Film nominations.
list of France's submissions for Oscar consideration
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"Chacun Son Cinéma (To Each His Own Cinema)" [France May 2007]
Subtitle: ".. ou Ce petit coup au coeur quand la lumière s'eteint et que le film commence" {.. or That Small Skip of The Heart When The Lights Go Out and The Film Begins} Produced by & for the Cannes Film Festival; 117-minute collection of short films by 36 directors from 25 countries; French-language (DVDs have English and Chinese subtitles) Deltamac Limited Edition all-region widescreen color DVD [2/2008] out of prodn/used Universal/Studio Canal Region 2 color DVD [5/2007] for €9,99 from Amazon France Universal/Studio Canal Region 2 color DVD [5/2008] 2 disks for €24,99 from Amazon France full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia France |
Selected films of: Asia • Canada • Germany • India • Italy • Japan • Mexico
Abel Gance's "Napoléon"
[France April 1927 silent; M.G.M. USA release Feb 1929]
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This six-hour masterpiece was Part 1 of Gance's planned six-film life work about Napoleon, but Gance could never get funding for the rest. The film covers Napoleon Bonapart's early years up thru the French Army's triumphant invasion of Italy in 1797, and the final twenty-minute triptych sequence (on three screens) alternates widescreen panoramas of war with complex multiple-image montages projected simultaneously, ending in blue-white-red tinting symbolizing the tricolor flag of France.
There was a stereo sound reissue in 1934; the Brownlow-Coppola 235-minute version was exhibited with live orchestras in 1981; the 5-hour re-restoration was completed in 2000. Written, directed & edited by Abel Gance [1889-1981]; starring Albert Dieudonné & Gina Manès Region 1 DVD not available in USA Universal 1981 release b&w/color VHS [3/92] 2 tapes - out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb color Coppola 1981 re-release 27"x41" poster from Amazon for $39.99 "Napoleon" script? [1990] by Abel Gance
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"Napoleon" [1983] by Kevin Brownlow
Abel Gance's masterpeice would have been lost had then-teenager Brownlow not discovered 9.5mm snippets in a London shop. The book is a record of the 30-plus years of extraordinary work that resulted in the 4-hour 1981 version and the over-five-hour restoration of 2000. British Film Institute 9x6 pb [1/2008] not available? Knopf pb [10/83] out of print/used Jonathan Cape hardcover [5/83] out of prodn/used |
"À Nous la Liberté" [France Dec 1931]
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A famous left-wing satirical comedy, considered the inspiration for Chaplin's 'Modern Times'. A tale of two loveable convict pals after release from prison; one works his way up to factory owner, but is blackmailed over his past, so the two reunite and take to the road as tramps.
Directed by René Clair; starring Raymond Cordy & Henri Marchand
Home Vision subtitled b&w DVD [8/2002] for $26.99 Timeless Multimedia subtitled b&w VHS [12/94] for $12.99 full credits from IMDb |
"The Grand Illusion"
[France June 1937; USA Sept 1938]
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Complex, profound and heartbreakingly human look at the illusions inherent in war & heroism, social class & individual character, romantic love, religion – all are trapped in illusion.
Co-written & directed by Jean Renoir; starring Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim & Marcel Dalio; Oscar nominated for Best Picture
Criterion b&w DVD w/English subtitles [11/99] for $34.76 TimelessVideo b&w VHS w/English subtitles [8/97] for $14.99 Criterion b&w VHS w/English subtitles [11/99] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
"Rules of The Game"
aka "La Règle du Jeu" [France 1939]
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Banned in France until 1956, Renoir's second masterpiece views life as both a comedy and a tragedy, showing a frenzied hunting weekend in the country against a background of Europe's pending devastation during World War II. Indescribable: What you are left with is the sense that Life makes no sense whatsoever, which conclusion makes perfect sense.
Co-written & directed by & co-starring Jean Renoir; also starring Marcel Dalio, Roland Toutain & Nora Gregor
Criterion b&w DVD w/subtitles [1/2004] 2 disks for $29.96 Home Vision b&w VHS w/English subtitles [7/93] for $29.95 full credits from IMDb |
| | "Monsieur Vincent" [France 1948]
Directed by Maurice Cloche |
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"Forbidden Games" [France 1952] aka "Jeux Interdits" Directed by René Clément |
"Les Diaboliques"
[France Jan 1955; USA Nov 1955]
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Two schoolteachers, the wife & mistress of a sadistic boarding school headmaster, plot to kill him. But after they drown him and dump the body in a swimming pool, the corpse goes missing ...
Produced, co-written & directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot; based on a novel by Boileau-Narcejac; starring Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel & Michel Serrault
Criterion subtitled b&w DVD [1/99] for $18.97 Homevision subtitled restored b&w VHS [9/2001] for $28.45 Madacy b&w VHS [9/97] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"The Red Balloon"
aka "Le Ballon Rouge" [France 1956]
 | Written & directed by Albert Lamorisse; starring Pascal Lamorisse; won the Oscar for Best Screenplay even though there is not one word of dialogue in the film; won BAFTA Special Award
Janus Films & Criterion color DVD [4/2008] for $10.49 Home Vision color VHS [3/96] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb children's book by Albert Lamorisse Doubleday YA 12x8¼ pb [8/78] for $9.71 Doubleday YA 12x8¾ hardcover [8/67] for $11.53 1989 stage musical: book & lyrics by Anthony Clark (music by Mark Vibrans) TCG/Oberon 8¼x5 pb [4/2000] for $16.95 Nick Hern Books hardcover [5/97] out of print/used |
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"Black Orpheus" aka 'Orfeu Negro' [France 1959]
Directed by Marcel Camus; won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film |
"Hiroshima mon Amour"
[Pathé France June 1959; U.S.A. May 1960]
Directed by Alain Resnais; written by Marguerite Duras; starring Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada
& Bernard Fresson; Oscar nomination for Best Original Script;
full credits from IMDb
"Breathless" aka 'Á Bout de Souffle'
[France March 1960; US release Feb 1961]
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One of the films that began the French 'Nouvelle Vague' [New Wave] movement, the story of a small-time crook who finds love (maybe) when his life is at its most dangerous point. This triumph of cinema noir reveals the truth behind our truths, thru the lives in the movie that are contaminated by American movies and avant garde posing. The viewer is left uncertain where truth may indeed exist.
Directed by Jean-Luc Godard, written by Jean-Luc Godard & François Truffaut [1932-84]; starring Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg & Jean-Pierre Melville
Timeless Video b&w VHS w/Engl. subtitles [7/94] for $14.99 Fox/Lorber b&w DVD w/Engl. subtitles [11/2001] for $21.49 full credits from IMDb |
"Shoot The Piano Player"
aka "Tirez sur Le Pianiste" [France Nov 1960, USA July 1962]
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After his wife's suicide, a virtuoso pianist gives up on life and takes a job playing piano in a bar. When his criminal brother takes refuge in the bar, chased by two gangsters, the piano player and the waitress who loves him are also placed in jeopardy.
Co-written & directed by François Truffaut [1932-84]; adapted from a novel by David Goodis; starring Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Richard Kanayan, Claude Mansard, Daniel Boulanger, Nicole Berger, Michèle Mercier & Serge Davri
Fox/Lorber b&w DVD [5/99] out of prodn/used Home Vision widescreen b&w VHS [4/98] out of prodn/used Fox/Lorber widescreen b&w VHS [4/99] out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
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"Down There" {aka "Shoot The Piano Player"} [1936] by David Goodis Vintage 8x5¼ pb [10/90] for $9.80 script, with critical text by Peter Brunette [1993] Rutgers Univ Press 9x6 pb [6/93] for $17.00 |
"The Battle of Algiers" [1966]
full credits from IMDb
"Five Directors on The Battle of Algiers" [2004 docufilm]
http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0768113/
"La Guerre et Fini" [1966]
Directed by Alain Resnais; starring Yves Montand, Ingrid Thulin,
Geneviève Bujold, Jean-François Rémi & Michel Piccoli
"King of Hearts" [France 1966]
aka "Le Roi de Coeur"
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The inmates of an insane asylum get loose, but they may be more sane than the outside world. A delightful, surreal, farcical anti-war fairytale.
Co-produced & directed by Philippe de Broca; starring Alan Bates, Geneviève Bujold, Jean-Claude Brialy, Adolfo Celi &
Micheline Presle
MGM/UA letterbox DVD [4/2001] with Eng/Span/Fr subtitles for $16.99 MGM/UA widescreen VHS [11/2001] with English subtitles for $16.99 full credits from IMDb |
"The Sorrow and The Pity" documentary feature
aka "Le Chagrin et La Pitié" [France 1971, USA 1972]
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This documentary altered the way that France views the historical Vichy government and its collaboration with the Germans during WWII. Part 1 "The Collapse" centers on an interview with Pierre Mendès-France, jailed for anti-Vichy action and later France's Prime Minister; Part 2 "The Choice" centers on interviews with French youths who fought on the eastern front wearing German uniforms.
Co-written & directed by Marcel Ophüls; nominated for Best Documentary Oscar in 1972
Image Ent. b&w subtitled DVD [4/2001] for $44.99 Milestone b&w subtitled VHS [8/00] 2 tapes - out of prodn/used full credits from IMDb |
"The Discreet Charm of The Bourgeoisie"
[France 1972]
Co-written & directed by Luis Buñuel, starring Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Bulle Ogier & Jean-Pierre Cassel;
won the Academy Award for Best Foreign-Language Film; listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (5/2005)
"La Décade Prodigieuse" [France Dec 1971]
aka "Ten Days' Wonder" [USA April 1972]
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A young sculptor wakes up in a hotel room, hands bloodied and not knowing how he got there. He recruits a college professor to go with him to his father's country chateau, where they find family intrigue, adultery, and blackmail. Directed by Claude Chabrol; based on the Ellery Queen novel "Ten Days' Wonder" [1948]; starring Orson Welles [1915-85], Michel Piccoli, Anthony Perkins & Marlène Jobert
Pathfinder dubbed color DVD [5/2003] for $17.99 Pathfinder dubbed color VHS [5/2003] for $19.98 Vivendi subtitled color VHS [5/93] for $18.99 full credits from IMDb |
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"Day For Night" aka "La Nuit Américaine" [France May 1973, U.S.A. Sept 1973] Co-written & directed by François Truffaut; starring Jacqueline Bisset, Valentina Cortese, Dani, Alexandra Stewart, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Jean Champion, Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut, Nike Arrighi & Nathalie Baye; won Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film, Oscar nominated for Best Director, Best Original Screenplay, Best Supporting Actress (VC); listed on Time Magazine's All-TIME 100 Movies (5/2005); full credits at IMDb |
"Amélie" aka "Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain"
[France April 2001, U.S.A. Sept 2001]
Co-written & directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet; starring Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz & a concrete garden gnome;
Oscar noms for Best Foreign Language Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Sound, Best Set
Decoration; won 2 of 9 BAFTA noms; won 4 of 13 César Award nominations; won Prix Méliès
full credits from IMDb
"A Very Long Engagement"
aka 'Un long Dimanche de Fiançailles' [Warner France 2004]
Co-written & directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet; based on the novel by Sebastien Japrisot;
starring Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel & Jodie Foster
DVD •
full credits at IMDb
"Fauteuils d'Orchestre" aka "Avenue Montaigne"
[Studio Canal Feb 2006, USA Feb 2007]
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A very, very French film; more importantly, this is a superb French film. A young girl leaves the provinces for Paris, and finds a job as waitress at the bistro across Avenue Montaigne from an art gallery, a concert house, and a legitimate theater on the day before an art auction, a classical piano performance, and the opening night of a Feydeau farce acted by the insecure star of a television soap opera.
Co-written & directed by Danièle Thompson; co-written by & starring Christopher Thompson; also starring Cécile De France, Valérie Lemercier, Albert Dupontel, Laura Morante, Claude Brasseur, Dani, Annelise Hesme, François Rollin & Sydney Pollack
Velocity/ThinkFilm widescreen subtitled color DVD [7/2007] for $20.99 full credits from IMDb |
"La Môme" aka "La Vie en Rose"
[Canal+ France Feb 2007, Picturehouse USA June 2007]
 | "The passionate life of Edith Piaf" Cabaret & concert singer Édith Piaf [1915-63] was dubbed 'the Little Sparrow'. She rose from poverty to entertainment legend, but her constant companions were alcohol, tragedy and heartache. Co-written & directed by Olivier Dahan; co-written by Isabelle Sobelman; starring Marion Cotillard {as Piaf}, Sylvie Testud, Pascal Greggory, Emmanuelle Seigner, Jean-Paul Rouve, Gérard Depardieu, Clotilde Courau, Jean-Pierre Martins, Catherine Allégret, Marc Barbé & Caroline Sihol; won Oscar for Best Actress, won 4 BAFTA Awards, 3 Czech Lions, and 5 César Awards & 2 Lumiere Awards & 3 NRJ Ciné Awards & Étoile d'Or Award in France
widescreen color Blu-ray [12/2008] out of prodn/used H.B.O. Home Video widescreen color DVD [11/2007] for $20.49 E.M.I. Classics soundtrack CD [5/2007] 27 tracks for $14.99 full credits at IMDb • official movie site |
"Paris" [Studio Canal France Feb 2008, I.F.C. USA Sept 2009]
 | An all-star cast in a delightful romance, a valentine to the City of Light. While waiting for a heart transplant, a young dancer rediscovers his family; observation of the teeming streets outside his window gives him hope, and a new sense of how he might spend the time still left to him.
Written & directed by Cedric Klapisch; starring Juliette Binoche, Romain Duris, Mélanie Laurent, Albert Dupontel, Fabrice Luchini, François Cluzet & Karin Viard
M.P.I. Home Video widescreen color Blu-ray [3/2010] for $26.49 
M.P.I. Home Video widescreen color DVD [3/2010] for $17.49
101 Distribution soundtrack CD [2/2008] 15 tracks for $29.99 full credits at IMDb • official movie site {in French} |
"Deux de la Vague (Two In The Wave)"
[Lorber Films France 2009, USA May 2010]
 | Godard & Truffaut were friends during the creation of the French New Wave {Nouvelle Vague} cinema of the 1950s and 1960s – after the success of "the 400 Blows", Truffaut gave Godard the script for "Breathless". But they split over France's political changes in 1968; actor Léaud had worked for them both, and was torn between them, much like a child with divorced parents.
91-minute documentary produced & directed by Emmanuel Laurent; written & narrated By Antoine De Baecque; featuring directors Jean-Luc Godard & François Truffaut, and actor Jean-Pierre Léaud DVD/Blu-ray not yet available • full credits at IMDb |
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