French film photo galley for 1960

French films of the 1960s

Austerlitz (1960)

Over forty years after making his landmark epic Napoléon , Abel Gance returns to the life of France’s most famous general in this lavish production which focuses on one comparatively short but decisive point in his life. Whilst Austerlitz is visually impressive, with great attention to period detail, and is historically about as accurate as a film can be... [More...]

Comment qu'elle est! (1960)

Just as French cinema was going through its most significant upheaval for decades, FBI agent Lemmy Caution made a welcome return to cinema screens after an absence of nearly five years. Forget the French New Wave; we are back in the safe, familiar world of sauve secret agents, svelte and seductive women, guns and fist fights... [More...]

Crésus (1960)

Jean Giono is one of France’s most respected writers, famous for his enduring descriptions of Provence life. Many of his novels have been adapted for cinema – most successfully by Marcel Pagnol. Crésus was Giono’s first and only attempt to direct a film – a simple, unambitious film which appears to have fallen through a time warp from the 1930s... [More...]

Fortunat (1960)

Fortunat is an engaging tragicomic melodrama which paints a realistic and moving picture of life for ordinary folk living in France during the Occupation. The film stars two of France’s acting legends, Michèle Morgan and Bourvil, both of whom are on fine form, with Bourvil in particular giving one of his most sympathetic and captivating screen performances... [More...]

Les Honneurs de la guerre (1960)

Les Honneurs de la guerre is a simple, little known film, made on a modest budget, but, it must surely rate as one of the most powerful and memorable anti-war films ever made. The sheer mad absurdity of war and the ease with which humankind can, through a combination of fear, distrust and desire for revenge, succumb to the evil impulse for blood lust are illustrated with heart-breaking effect... [More...]

Le Bossu (1960)

André Hunebelle directs this swashbuckling historical romp with gusto and a characteristic cheerfulness, giving French cinema one of its enduring popular classics. The film stars Jean Marais, an iconic figure in French cinema who, having earned a reputation as a serious actor in the 1940s under the tutelage of his friend and mentor Jean Cocteau... [More...]

Le Capitan (1960)

After the enormous success of Le Bossu in 1959, director André Hunebelle brought together Jean Marais and Bourvil for a second time in a similar kind of swash-buckling historical adventure film. Although the film doesn’t exactly break new ground in its genre (except for the inclusion of two badly fitting musical numbers sung by Bourvil)... [More...]

Le Mouton (1960)

Le Mouton is unapologetically one of those slapdash low budget comedies intended to showcase the talents of a popular comedian of the day, in this case Fernand Raynaud. Although the script is awful, a concoction of silly situations that barely resembles a plot, Raynaud’s presence more than makes up for this and, whilst clearly not a masterpiece... [More...]

Le Testament d'Orphée (1960)

Jean Cocteau’s final film is a fitting conclusion to a remarkable artistic career spanning over fifty years. The film manages to encompass all aspects of Cocteau’s creative genius and it is perhaps the best homage that cinema could offer him, whilst being a stunning work of art in its own right. As the title suggests... [More...]

Le Trou (1960)

Le Trou, Jacques Becker’s last film, is undoubtedly the director’s best work and was hailed at the time (particularly by the New Wave directors such as François Truffaut) as a masterpiece. Today, it remains a compelling film, superbly directed and photographed with a remarkable attention to detail. The film bears some similarity to Robert Bresson’s 1956 film Un condamné... [More...]

Le Baron de l'écluse (1960)

In this light romantic comedy, Delannoy plays on his strengths as a director and also capitalises on the formidable acting talent in his cast – notably Jean Gabin and Micheline Presle. Gabin is particularly impressive as the gentleman gambler who appears wealthy and imposing, but in truth has scarcely a sou to his name... [More...]

Les Bonnes femmes (1960)

Although it is now widely regarded as one of the most important and representative films of the French New Wave, Les Bonnes femmes faced a barrage of negative criticism when it was first released in 1960. Today, the film might be classified as a social drama, and it is perhaps Claude Chabrol’s most realistic film... [More...]

Les Yeux sans visage (1960)

Probably the one French film that is guaranteed to give you nightmares, Les Yeux sans visage is a magnificent blend of horror and romantic poetry which is also an exploration of the morality of scientific endeavour. It spawned a host of similar films involving crazed surgeons indulging in bodily mutilation, but it remains... [More...]

Lettere di una novizia (1960)

This run-of-the-mill melodrama from director Alberto Lattuada would be easily overlooked were it not for the presence of two up-and-coming French actors, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Pascale Petit. Their contribution alone gives the film a touch of "New Wave" modernity which is otherwise belied by the staid direction and rather unimaginative cinematography... [More...]

Moderato cantabile (1960)

A beautifully lyrical but sombre piece of cinema, Moderato Cantabile is an excellent example of the French new wave of the early 1960s. It is a moving and eloquent study of the psychology of a bored, well-off housewife, trapped in a life of routine and predictability, whilst longing for some danger to give her life meaning... [More...]

Paris nous appartient (1960)

Along with Claude Chabrol’s Le Beau Serge and François Truffaut’s Les Quatre cent coups, Paris nous appartient marks the debut of another great director of the French New Wave, this time Jacques Rivette. For his first full length film, Rivette combines a familiar thriller theme with that distinctively fresh New Wave blend of contemporary realism and visual poetry... [More...]

Plein soleil (1960)

Despite its sumptuous colour photography and expansive Mediterranean location, Plein soleil has all the characteristics of a classic film noir and is unmistakably director René Clément’s most confident and inspired foray into the thriller genre. The film is based on a popular novel by Patricia Highsmith (The Talented Mr Ripley)... [More...]

Ravissante (1960)

This engaging comedy was written and directed by Robert Lamoureux, a popular figure in French cinema of the 1950s. Not surprisingly, Lamoureux also takes a lead role in this film as the seductive Thierry. This film may not be in the same league as the contemporary New Wave films of the early 1960s, mainly because it is allied too closely with the traditional romantic cinema of the 1950s... [More...]

Tirez sur le pianiste (1960)

With one successful film (Les quatre cents coups) under his belt, director François Truffaut was free to indulge himself in two of his personal passions, American gangster movies and male-female relationships. The result is Tirez sur le pianiste, a pastiche of gangster film and film noir which is both visually impressive and funny... [More...]

Un taxi pour Tobrouk (1960)

Inspired by a popular novel by René Havard, Un taxi pour Tobrouk is a classic French war film that shows the brutality and absurdity of war without slipping into sentimentality or laboured anti-war polemic. Whilst there are a few impressive action scenes, for the most part the film focuses tightly on the relationship between the five main characters... [More...]

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