L'Âge d'or
(Luis Buñuel, 1930)
Le Sang d'un poète
(Jean Cocteau, 1930)
Sous les toits de Paris
(René Clair, 1930)
This anarchic masterpiece of surrealist rebellion marks the start of Buñuel's life-long crusade against the bourgeoisie. [More...] Through dream-like imagery, we glimpse the troubled mind of a poet afflicted by pain and fear as he strives for his art. [More...] An enchanting visual poem to the ordinary people of Paris, their lives, their loves, set in the city of romance. [More...]
Prix de beauté
(Augusto Genina, 1930)
À nous la liberté
(René Clair, 1931)
Le Million
(René Clair, 1931)
The only French film to feature the iconic actress Louise Brooks, in what was to be her last major film role. [More...] Technology enslaves mankind but utltimately will free him, a Utopian vision which inspired Chaplin's Modern Times. [More...] This spectacular musical comedy is an obvious forerunner of the great Hollywood song and dance films of the 1930s. [More...]
Marius
(Marcel Pagnol, 1931)
L'Opéra de quat'sous
(G.W. Pabst, 1931)
Boudu sauvé des eaux
(Jean Renoir, 1932)
A memorable tale of unrequited love set in the romantic environs of the French port of Marseilles. [More...] This French film version of the famous Brecht-Weill opera stars the ever-popular Albert Préjean and Florelle. [More...] This delightful satire of bourgeois attitudes features an unforgettable performance from Michel Simon. [More...]
Les Croix de bois
(Raymond Bernard, 1932)
Vampyr
(Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1932)
Poil de carotte
(Julien Duvivier, 1932)
This brutally realistic portrayal of life and death on a WWI battlefield stands as France's most effective anti-war film. [More...] One of the most famous European horror films of the 1930s, all the more chilling because of its dreamlike visual style. [More...] A remarkable performance from the great Harry Baur makes this one of the most poignant French films about childhood. [More...]
Les Misérables
(Raymond Bernard, 1933)
La Maternelle
(Jean Benoît-Lévy, 1933)
Quatorze Juillet
(René Clair, 1933)
One of cinema's most ambitious and compelling adaptations of the most famous novel in French literature. [More...] Madeleine Renaud gives an extraordinary performance in this poignant drama, an early example of social realism. [More...] One of the most alluring of Clair's films, with great performances and some very imaginative camera work. [More...]
Zéro de conduite
(Jean Vigo, 1933)
Les Deux orphelines
(Maurice Tourneur, 1933)
L'Atalante
(Jean Vigo, 1934)
A film that brilliantly captures a child's loathing for authority was deemed anarchic by the censors and banned. [More...] Less famous than D.W. Griffith's Orphans of the Storm, but it tells the same story just as effectively. [More...] This simple tale of love lost and regained has acquired a legendary status, the last film of its short-lived director. [More...]
Angèle
(Marcel Pagnol, 1934)
La Kermesse héroïque
(Jacques Feyder, 1935)
Toni
(Jean Renoir, 1935)
An immensely poetic adaptation of a Jean Giono novel, making the most of its stunning Provence setting. [More...] Once reviled as Nazi propaganda, now regarded as one of the true masterpieces of French cinema, an ironic look at the perils of collaboration. [More...] A rare example of true neo-realism in French cinema. One of Renoir's assistants on this film was none other than Luchino Visconti... [More...]
La Belle équipe
(Julien Duvivier, 1936)
Drôle de drame
(Marcel Carné, 1936)
Mayerling
(Anatole Litvak, 1936)
The hopes of failings of the Popular Front are relived in this poignant drama in which camerarderie ends in brutal rivalry and mistrust, [More...] The most off-the-wall work from the legendary Carné-Prévert partnership is this outlandish black comedy, which features Louis Jouvet in a kilt. [More...] Charles Boyer and Danielle Darrieux star in one of the great romantic film dramas of all time – not to be confused with the 1968 remake. [More...]
Un grand amour de Beethoven
(Abel Gance, 1936)
Le Roman d'un tricheur
(Sacha Guitry, 1936)
Les Bas-fonds
(Jean Renoir, 1936)
A beautiful and appropriately melancholic account of the life of one of the world's greatest composers, Ludwig van Beethoven. [More...] Sacha Guitry's most inspired and entertaining film follows the fortunes of a man who can't stop cheating... [More...] This daringly realist portrait of society's unwashed and unloved lowlife was a severe reaction to the failings of the Popular Front. [More...]
Le Crime de M. Lange
(Jean Renoir, 1936)
La Grande illusion
(Jean Renoir, 1937)
L'Étrange M. Victor
(Jean Grémillon, 1937)
The triumph of the ordinary man over an odious capitalist parasite - surely there can be no political message in this film? [More...] One of the triumphs of French cinema, this potent anti-war film so offended the Nazis that they tried to obliterate it. [More...] Raimu gives one of his towering performances in this sombre tale of guilt, deceit and retribution. [More...]
Regain
(Marcel Pagnol, 1937)
Un carnet de bal
(Julien Duvivier, 1937)
Gueule d'amour
(Jean Grémillon, 1937)
L’Herbier takes a plain melodrama and transforms it into an enthralling dream-like fantasy, heaving with emotional turmoil. [More...] What makes this episodic film unmissable is its exceptional cast, which includes Harry Baur, Marie Bell, Fernandel, Louis Jouvet and Raimu. [More...] This fine adaptation of André Beucler's novella features Jean Gabin at his near best as a legionnaire who falls for the wrong woman. [More...]
La Bête humaine
(Jean Renoir, 1938)
Les Disparus de Saint-Agil
(Christian-Jaque, 1938)
La Femme du boulanger
(Marcel Pagnol, 1938)
This bleak adaptation of an Emile Zola novel, features Jean Gabin at his best, as a train driver who just can't help killing people. [More...] This eerie suspense drama features memorable contributions from Erich von Stroheim and Michel Simon and has more than a touch of film noir. [More...] Raimu's harrowing portrayal of a man who loses his wife to another makes this one of Marcel Pagnol's greatest films. [More...]
La Marseillaise
(Jean Renoir, 1938)
Le Schpountz
(Marcel Pagnol, 1938)
Les Otages
(Raymond Bernard, 1938)
This epic account of the French Revolution is one of Jean Renoir's most ambitious and compelling films. [More...] French comedy giant Fernanel stars in one of his most famous roles in this enjoyable satire of the French film industry. [More...] Raymond Bernard's most unusual film is this strange black comedy on the nature of heroism, released when war in Europe appeared unavoidable. [More...]
Pépé le Moko
(Julien Duvivier, 1937)
Hôtel du Nord
(Marcel Carné, 1938)
Le Quai des brumes
(Marcel Carné, 1938)
Banned by the authorities for being too depressing, this fusion of poetic realism and early film noir is is now regarded as a masterpiece. [More...] In this, the apotheosis of poetic realism, the only relief from the funereal mood is the now legendary repartee between Arletty and Jouvet. [More...] The bleak pessimism of the late 1930s is perfectly evoked in this haunting tale of ill-fated love, conjured by the masters of poetic realism. [More...]
Les Gens du voyage
(Jacques Feyder, 1938)
Le Jour se lève
(Marcel Carné, 1939)
La Règle du jeu
(Jean Renoir, 1939)
Françoise Rosay's gutsy portrayal of a fearless lion-tamer makes this a memorable drama with some nice film noir touches. [More...] With its melancholic photography and doom-laden plot, this is one of the best examples of poetic realism, reflective of a world that is falling apart. [More...] Renoir's greatest work and a masterpiece of French cinema, this combines dramatic intrigue and farce to take a brutal swipe at the ruling classes. [More...]
       

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