The Best French fantasy films
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If there is one category of film that is under-represented in French cinema it
has to be the fantasy genre. In spite of the creative possibilities
which the genre offer, few producers and directors have dared to go there,
probably because the French cinema-going public
have traditionally preferred films set in the "real" world. However,
a few film-makers have been tempted to make fantasy films, sometimes
with success.
Fantasy cinema was most prevalent in France in the 1920s, when many avant-garde directors who were experimenting with the new medium of film saw the potential of the genre. The most notable contributions came from directors such as Abel Gance, Jean Epstein, Marcel L'Herbier and the young Luis Buñuel. In the 1940s, the celebrated writer-artist Jean Cocteau made two fantasy films that are now regarded as classics: La Belle et la bête and Orphée. Since, fantasy films have been few and far between in France, the genre apparently having little appeal to the French. New Wave directors François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard each had a fling with science-fiction in the mid-1960s, but since then the only notable contributions to the genre have come from unconventional film makers such as Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Claire Denis' full-on horror film Trouble Every Day (2001) was panned by the critics and shunned by the public, in spite of the popularity of American horror films such as Scream. The comparative rarity of the fantasy genre in French cinema means that these films will have an enduring fascination. Here's a selection of some of the best examples of French fantasy films... |
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Le Voyage dans la lune
Georges Méliès (1902) |
Fantômas
Louis Feuillade (1913) |
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Inspired by Jules Verne and H.G. Wells, this ambitious short was
the world's first science-fiction film and has become an icon
of 20th century cinema.
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The sinister master-criminal Fantômas had a penchant for macabre
killings in this legendary thriller film series, an early success for Gaumont.
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Entr'acte
René Clair (1924) |
Paris qui dort
René Clair (1925) |
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An utterly baffling surrealist short which was commissioned to
fill in the interval in a ballet. Its fantastic imagery makes it
a compelling work.
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Arguably the best science-fiction film made in France, this is also
an irrestibly funny farce with some nice Chaplinesque touches.
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La Chute de la maison Usher
Jean Epstein (1928) |
Un chien andalou
Luis Buñuel (1929) |
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Although let down by some model shots, this is a visually stunning
adaptation of an Edgar Allen Poe story, atmospheric and utterly
terrifying in a few places.
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The fruit of Buñuel and Dali's partnerhip is this bewildering yet
utterly mesmerising surrealist short film, made infamous by its opening
sequence of a woman having some very unusual eye treatment...
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La Petite marchande d'allumettes
Jean Renoir (1928) |
Les Mystères du château de Dé
Man Ray (1929) |
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Renoir's bold experimental approach gives an other-worldy, surreal edge to this
dark yet poignant adaptation of Hans Andersen's fairytale.
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The best known film from the great surrealist artist Man Ray
is a hauntingly evocative poem on the transitory nature of life and
the role that chance plays in the scheme of things.
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L'Age d'or
Luis Buñuel (1930) |
Le Sang d'un poète
Jean Cocteau (1932) |
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Attacking every institution under the sun, it's not hard to see why this
surrealist film was instantly banned as being a threat to public order.
What the stuffed giraffe signifies is anyone's guess though.
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Cocteau's attempts to express the tortured soul of a poet in this
surrealist short are as unfathomable as they are fascinating. A
haunting film indeed.
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L'Atlantide
G.W. Pabst (1932) |
La Main du diable
Maurice Tourneur (1943) |
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The lost city of Atlantis has lured many a filmmaker to his doom.
G.W. Pabst's foray into fantasy land is just about rescued by his
set designer and German film icon Brigitte Helm.
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Probably inspired by Robert Wiene's silent horror film The Hands of Orloc,
this chilling work evokes German expressionism in almost every shot.
Some off-the-wall comic touches add to its strange appeal.
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Les Jeux sont faits
Jean Delannoy (1945) |
Les Visiteurs du soir
Marcel Carné (1942) |
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The philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre contributed to this
existentialist romantic fantasy, which explores the question
of free will with great imagination and humour.
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This fantasy drama is most memorable for Jules Berry's wondrously
camp portrayal of the Devil. It is an intense and poetic work,
with an obvious anti-Nazi allegorical sub-text.
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La Fiancée des ténèbres
Serge de Poligny (1945) |
La Belle et la bête
Jean Cocteau (1946) |
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The mixture of neo-realism and fairytale makes this a particularly
haunting film, feeling like a cross between Cocteau’s La Belle et la bête
and the 1976 horror film The Omen.
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One of the most poetic films ever made, Cocteau's take on The Beauty and
the Beast is utterly mesmerising, beautifully filmed and with an unforgettable
performance from Jean Marais.
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Orphée
Jean Cocteau (1949) |
La Beauté du diable
René Clair (1950) |
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By updating a famous Greek myth, Jean Cocteau creates a work that
is dark, poetic and mysterious. Some scenes have become legendary, and
María Casares is spine-chilling as the queen of the underworld.
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Gerard Philipe and Michel Simon swap identities and clearly have a lot of fun in
this comic version of the Faust story. Whilst the story is a bit barmy,
it makes enjoyable viewing, and Philipe is particularly entertaining.
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Les Yeux sans visage
Georges Franju (1959) |
Le Testament du Docteur Cordelier
Jean Renoir (1959) |
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Probably the best horror film in French cinema, and certainly the most gruesome,
coming with an easy-to-follow guide on how to cut yourself a new face. It's dark
and scary, but it's also absorbing and strangely poetic.
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Jean Renoir's most surprising film is this
chilling T.V. adaptation of R.L.Stevenson's "The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll
and Mr Hyde", starring the great Jean-Louis Barrault.
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Le Procès
Orson Welles (1964) |
Fantômas
André Hunebelle (1964) |
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Did someone mention Kafka? If this film doesn't persuade you that Orson Welles
was a genius, nothing will. With its monolithic sets, expressionist
photography and a tortured performance from Anthony Perkins, it is just
stunning.
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Although this 1960s revival of Fantômas isn't a patch on Feuillade's version, it
is great fun, with a wondrously camp performance from Jean Marais as the green-skinned
villain (who, it now appears, is an alien).
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Farenheit 451
François Truffaut (1966) |
Alphaville
Jean-Luc Godard (1965) |
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Truffaut's adaptation of Ray Bradbury's novel would stand up a lot better than
it does if it weren't for the risable special effects. Despite that, it's still
a beautiful film, and a science-fiction classic.
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Sardonic FBI agent Lemmy Caution is thrown into a bewildering mix of sci-fi, thriller
and black comedy. At least he has Anna Karina to keep him company. But can
he prevent an insane computer from destroying the world?
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Barbarella
Roger Vadim (1968) |
Un soir, un train
André Delvaux (1968) |
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This gloriously mad melange of science-fiction and pop comedy
has become a cult classic, mainly on the strength of what Jane Fonda is
(or, more precisely, isn't) wearing on her mission to save the Earth.
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Yves Montand and Anouk Aimée star in this haunting love story which
flitters seemlessly between reality and fantasy.
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Goto, l'île d'amour
Walerian Borowczyk (1968) |
Peau d'âne
Jacques Demy (1970) |
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This film from controversial director Walerian Borowczyk
is a surreal, erotic fantasy which coldly satirises the state-controlling regimes of
Eastern Europe.
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Catherine Deneuve stars in this bizarre musical fantasy
which is irresistibly enchanting, despite the dubious nature of the plot.
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L'Alliance
Christian de Chalonge (1970) |
Traitement de choc
Alain Jessua (1973) |
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Anna Karina stars in this unsettling pychological drama which
has the most unimaginably bizarre ending you can think of.
Worth watching just for the last five minutes.
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This updated vampire story may feel a touch ridiculous in places, but
creepy performances from Alain Delon and Annie Girardot bring out
the spine-tingling horror just when it's needed.
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La Bête
Walerian Borowczyk (1975) |
The Medusa Touch
Jack Gold (1978) |
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An utterly bewildering but strangely mesmeric melange of
anti-bourgeois black comedy, camp gothic horror and parodied porn.
Hilariously funny in places but also rather disturbing.
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Richard Burton finds he has a knack for killing people in this
slightly ridiculous but watchable demonic thriller, which has
strong similarities with The Omen.
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Le Locataire
Roman Polanski (1976) |
Providence
Alain Resnais (1977) |
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Roman Polanki both directed and starred in this re-interpretation of his earlier film,
Repulsion. It's a chilling psychological thriller which becomes
increasingly frightening as it progresses.
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Absorbing performances from Dirk Bogarde and John Gielgud
make this characteristically baffling melange of drama and fantasy
an enjoyable and unsettling cinematic experience. One of Alain
Resnais' most intriguing films.
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Buffet froid
Bertrand Blier (1979) |
La Mort en direct
Bertrand Tavernier (1980) |
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This bizarre black comedy is one of the most popular films from Bertrand Blier,
a true maverick of French cinema. Some great acting makes this a
compelling surreal masterpiece.
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Foreseeing the rise of Reality TV, this disturbing sci-fi drama shows
the nastier side of human nature. It's also one of Romy Schneider's
last great performances.
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Le Dernier combat
Luc Besson (1983) |
Delicatessen
Jeunet & Caro (1991) |
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This bleak post-apocalyptic sci-fi thriller was Luc Besson's first film.
The weakness in the storyline is more than made up for by the impressive
visual sense that Besson brings to the drama.
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One of the most memorable sci-fi films of the 1990s, with its distinctive
visual look and off-the-wall black comedy. It's wierd, creepy, but also
a lot of fun.
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Simple mortel
Pierre Jolivet (1991) |
La Cité des enfants perdus
Jeunet & Caro (1995) |
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This eerie sci-fi thriller is a dark portrayal of obsession,
masterfully composed as an existentialist nightmare, and utterly chilling.
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With its dazzling special effects this sci-fi fantasy is a visually
stunning work, a post-apocalyptic fairytale from the same team that brought us Delicatessen.
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Les Visiteurs
Jean-Marie Poiré (1993) |
Trois vies et une seule mort
Raoul Ruiz (1996) |
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This hilarious farce featuring a time-travelling knight and his vassal proved
to be a huge box office success in France. Jean Reno and Christian
Clavier make this a comic tour de force.
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The multi-faceted Marcello Mastroianni appears in several guises in this
baffling yet strangely coherent fantasy drama. Some bizarre surreal touches
add to its off-kilter charm.
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Sitcom
François Ozon (1998) |
Trouble Every Day
Claire Denis (2001) |
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All is not quite what it seems in cosy middle class suburbia. Behind
the chintz curtains there are murderous dreams and dark fantasies.
And all because of a sinister white rat...
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Claire Denis courted no end of controversy with this
shockingly graphic re-interpretation of the traditional vampire tale.
Definitely not one for the squeamish.
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