Best Of...
French cinema: History
Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)
Christian-Jaque
In the mid-1700s, Fanfan la Tulipe is an inveterate skirt-chaser whose days of youthful debauchery appear to be at end when he is forced into marrying his latest amorous conquest, a farmer's daughter...
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Christian-Jaque
La Fayette (1962)
Jean Dréville
In 1776, the British colonies in America have begun to rise up against the British crown, intent on creating their own independent republic...
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Jean Dréville
La Folie des grandeurs (1971)
Gérard Oury
Don Salluste is the all-power minister and tax collector of the King of Spain. He delights in tyrannising the peasants with his band of loyal Black Knights...
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Gérard Oury
French Cancan (1954)
Jean Renoir
Nini, a pretty laundry worker, is recruited by Monsieur Danglard, along with a number of other attractive young women, to join his theatre company...
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Jean Renoir
Le Golem (1936)
Julien Duvivier
In the early years of the 17th century, the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II rules Bohemia with an iron grip whilst pursuing the alchemists' dream of endowing inanimate matter with life...
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Julien Duvivier
Golgotha (1935)
Julien Duvivier
Judaea, during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. When the self-proclaimed prophet Jesus Christ arrives in Jerusalem, he receives a rapturous welcome from the ordinary people of the city... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
Judaea, during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius. When the self-proclaimed prophet Jesus Christ arrives in Jerusalem, he receives a rapturous welcome from the ordinary people of the city... [More...]
Les Guichets du Louvre (1974)
Michel Mitrani
Paris, 16th July 1942. Paul, a young student, has just been tipped off that the French police are about to begin a massive round up of Jews in the Saint-Paul district of the capital... [More...]
Michel Mitrani
Paris, 16th July 1942. Paul, a young student, has just been tipped off that the French police are about to begin a massive round up of Jews in the Saint-Paul district of the capital... [More...]
L'Histoire d'Adèle H. (1975)
François Truffaut
A young woman arrives in Halifax, the capital city of Nova Scotia, in 1863, and immediately sets about looking for the man she has lost her heart to... [More...]
François Truffaut
A young woman arrives in Halifax, the capital city of Nova Scotia, in 1863, and immediately sets about looking for the man she has lost her heart to... [More...]
Il Gattopardo (1963)
Luchino Visconti
In the 1860s, Sicily is in the vanguard of huge social and political changes that are sweeping across a fragmented Italy, changes that will result in the country's eventual unification after much loss of blood... [More...]
Luchino Visconti
In the 1860s, Sicily is in the vanguard of huge social and political changes that are sweeping across a fragmented Italy, changes that will result in the country's eventual unification after much loss of blood... [More...]
Indigènes (2006)
Rachid Bouchareb
In 1943, at the height of the Second World War, around 200 thousand natives from French colonial Africa are recruited into the French First Army of the Free French Forces... [More...]
Rachid Bouchareb
In 1943, at the height of the Second World War, around 200 thousand natives from French colonial Africa are recruited into the French First Army of the Free French Forces... [More...]
Jeanne la Pucelle I - Les Batailles (1994)
Jacques Rivette
Upon hearing a message from God, a young French maid, Jeanne, feels compelled to leave her home in Domremy. She finally manages to get an audience with Charles, the dauphin of France, and she persuades him that it is her destiny to lead the French to victory against the English... [More...]
Jacques Rivette
Upon hearing a message from God, a young French maid, Jeanne, feels compelled to leave her home in Domremy. She finally manages to get an audience with Charles, the dauphin of France, and she persuades him that it is her destiny to lead the French to victory against the English... [More...]
Jeanne la Pucelle II - Les prisons (1994)
Jacques Rivette
After her victory at Orleans, Joan of Arc is emboldened to continue her assault against the English armies. Despite the ambivalence of the Dauphin and his advisers, she galvanises her troops and victory follows victory... [More...]
Jacques Rivette
After her victory at Orleans, Joan of Arc is emboldened to continue her assault against the English armies. Despite the ambivalence of the Dauphin and his advisers, she galvanises her troops and victory follows victory... [More...]
La Jeune folle (1952)
Yves Allégret
Ireland 1922. A nationalist uprising against England has claimed its first victims. As she performs her domestic chores at a Dublin convent, orphan Catherine thinks only of her brother Kevin, a Republican who is on the run from the government forces... [More...]
Yves Allégret
Ireland 1922. A nationalist uprising against England has claimed its first victims. As she performs her domestic chores at a Dublin convent, orphan Catherine thinks only of her brother Kevin, a Republican who is on the run from the government forces... [More...]
Le Joueur d'échecs (1927)
Raymond Bernard
The year is 1776. Under Catherine the Great, Russia has annexed Poland, Lithuania and Prussia. Polish nobleman Boleslas Vorowski is the leader of a secret resistance movement that intends to free Poland from the yoke of imperialist Russia... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
The year is 1776. Under Catherine the Great, Russia has annexed Poland, Lithuania and Prussia. Polish nobleman Boleslas Vorowski is the leader of a secret resistance movement that intends to free Poland from the yoke of imperialist Russia... [More...]
Le Juge et l'assassin (1976)
Bertrand Tavernier
France, 1893. When the young woman he is infatuated with rejects him, Joseph Bouvier, a sergeant in the French army, shoots her and then turns the gun on himself... [More...]
Bertrand Tavernier
France, 1893. When the young woman he is infatuated with rejects him, Joseph Bouvier, a sergeant in the French army, shoots her and then turns the gun on himself... [More...]
Le Jugement de Dieu (1952)
Raymond Bernard
In the 15th century, Prince Albert of Bavria must marry the far from attractive Bertha de Wurtemberg for political reasons... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
In the 15th century, Prince Albert of Bavria must marry the far from attractive Bertha de Wurtemberg for political reasons... [More...]
La Kermesse héroïque (1935)
Jacques Feyder
1616. In the small Flemish village of Boom, the burgomaster is preparing a banquet for his daughter's wedding to the local butcher... [More...]
Jacques Feyder
1616. In the small Flemish village of Boom, the burgomaster is preparing a banquet for his daughter's wedding to the local butcher... [More...]
La Kermesse rouge (1947)
Paul Mesnier
Paris in the 1890s. When Agnès Bonnardet falls in love with a struggling Montmartre painter, Claude Sironi, her aristocratic relatives waste no time in acting to thwart a mésalliance that will bring disgrace on the family... [More...]
Paul Mesnier
Paris in the 1890s. When Agnès Bonnardet falls in love with a struggling Montmartre painter, Claude Sironi, her aristocratic relatives waste no time in acting to thwart a mésalliance that will bring disgrace on the family... [More...]
Lancelot du Lac (1974)
Robert Bresson
Their number reduced through countless skirmishes in their quest for the Holy Grail, the knights of the Round Table return to Camelot, weary and defeated... [More...]
Robert Bresson
Their number reduced through countless skirmishes in their quest for the Holy Grail, the knights of the Round Table return to Camelot, weary and defeated... [More...]
Lucie Aubrac (1997)
Claude Berri
Lyon, 1943. In Nazi occupied France, Raymond Aubrac is a leading member of the French Resistance. Shortly after blowing up a German supply train, he is arrested, ostensibly for blackmarketeering... [More...]
Claude Berri
Lyon, 1943. In Nazi occupied France, Raymond Aubrac is a leading member of the French Resistance. Shortly after blowing up a German supply train, he is arrested, ostensibly for blackmarketeering... [More...]
Ludwig (1972)
Luchino Visconti
Ludwig II is a mere youth of nineteen when he ascends to the throne of Bavaria in 1864. A sensitive and idealistic young man, he shows far more interest in the arts and architecture than he does in matters of state... [More...]
Luchino Visconti
Ludwig II is a mere youth of nineteen when he ascends to the throne of Bavaria in 1864. A sensitive and idealistic young man, he shows far more interest in the arts and architecture than he does in matters of state... [More...]
Mademoiselle de Joncquières (2018)
Emmanuel Mouret
France, in the mid-1700s. After the death of her husband, Madame de La Pommeraye lives a secluded life at her large country estate... [More...]
Emmanuel Mouret
France, in the mid-1700s. After the death of her husband, Madame de La Pommeraye lives a secluded life at her large country estate... [More...]
La Marseillaise (1938)
Jean Renoir
On 14th July 1789, the Duke of Rochefoucauld informs King Louis XVI of France that the Bastille has fallen to a Parisian mob... [More...]
Jean Renoir
On 14th July 1789, the Duke of Rochefoucauld informs King Louis XVI of France that the Bastille has fallen to a Parisian mob... [More...]
Mauprat (1926)
Jean Epstein
Hubert de Mauprat is an ageing French nobleman who leads a quiet life at his castle of Saint Sévère in the company of his daughter Edmée... [More...]
Jean Epstein
Hubert de Mauprat is an ageing French nobleman who leads a quiet life at his castle of Saint Sévère in the company of his daughter Edmée... [More...]
Mayerling (1936)
Anatole Litvak
In the late 1880s, Archduke Rudolph is the crown prince of Austria, a rebellious young man who prefers the company of ordinary folk to that of the nobility... [More...]
Anatole Litvak
In the late 1880s, Archduke Rudolph is the crown prince of Austria, a rebellious young man who prefers the company of ordinary folk to that of the nobility... [More...]
Mayrig (1992)
Henri Verneuil
In 1921, a shipload of Armenian refugees arrive in Marseilles, hoping to begin a new life. These include six-year-old Azad Zakarian, his father Hagop, his mother Araxi and his two aunts Anna and Gayané... [More...]
Henri Verneuil
In 1921, a shipload of Armenian refugees arrive in Marseilles, hoping to begin a new life. These include six-year-old Azad Zakarian, his father Hagop, his mother Araxi and his two aunts Anna and Gayané... [More...]
Michel Strogoff (1926)
Viktor Tourjansky
As a revolt by the Tartars threatens to tear the Russian Empire in two, the soldier Michel Strogoff is sent to the Siberian town of Irkutsk with a vital message from the Tsar... [More...]
Viktor Tourjansky
As a revolt by the Tartars threatens to tear the Russian Empire in two, the soldier Michel Strogoff is sent to the Siberian town of Irkutsk with a vital message from the Tsar... [More...]
Le Miracle des loups (1924)
Raymond Bernard
In 1461, following the One Hundred Years' War, France is a divided nation. King Louis XI is resolved to bring the country together, but his ambitions are threatened by noblemen who are reluctant to give up their power... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
In 1461, following the One Hundred Years' War, France is a divided nation. King Louis XI is resolved to bring the country together, but his ambitions are threatened by noblemen who are reluctant to give up their power... [More...]
Les Misérables (1913)
Albert Capellani
Époque I - Jean Valjean France, 1815. Unable to find work as a labourer, Jean Valjean is forced to steal a loaf of bread for his starving mother... [More...]
Albert Capellani
Époque I - Jean Valjean France, 1815. Unable to find work as a labourer, Jean Valjean is forced to steal a loaf of bread for his starving mother... [More...]
Les Misérables (1933)
Raymond Bernard
Jean Valjean leaves jail, having served a 15-year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread, a hard and bitter man. The kindness of a bishop sets him on a new course, however, and eight years later he has become Monsieur Madeleine, a respected mayor and industrialist... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
Jean Valjean leaves jail, having served a 15-year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread, a hard and bitter man. The kindness of a bishop sets him on a new course, however, and eight years later he has become Monsieur Madeleine, a respected mayor and industrialist... [More...]