French films by genre...

One of the main attractions of French cinema is its diversity. As well as the more serious auteur films loved by art house audiences, there are all the usual genre films - thrillers, war films, action-adventure films and horror movies - and comedies for every taste. Not many French filmmakers have the budgets of their Hollywood counterparts, but what directors lack in resources they more than make up for in imagination and daring. French cinema continues to be among the most diverse and exciting in the world.

Cinema was invented in France in 1895 and ever since the French have embraced film as their Seventh Art. Despite changing fashions and major political and social upheavals, the French film industry has thrived for over a hundred years and remains one of the strongest and most vibrant in the world today. The history of French cinema is fascinating and offers an insight into how France, indeed the world, has changed over the past century. From the early experimentalists of the silent era to the timeless masterpieces of the 1930s and 1940s, from the revolutionary developments of the French New Wave to today’s remarkably diverse assortment of films, French cinema is a veritable treasure trove that offers something for everyone.

Here you will discover some of the great filmmakers who have had such an impact on French cinema - from the giants of the pre-WWII era such as Jean Renoir and Marcel Carné to the leading lights of the French New Wave, François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard, not forgetting the present generation of world-renowned film directors. Every art form has its great visionaries and French cinema is no exception. Directors across the world continue to take their inspiration from their French cousins.

You will also discover some of the great actors and actresses who have illuminated French cinema and delighted generations of film audiences. These range from incomparable screen giants such as Raimu, Jean Gabin, Arletty, Gérard Philipe, Catherine Deneuve and Gérard Depardieu to iconic stars like Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo and Yves Montand, not forgetting the great comic performers who include Fernandel, Bourvil and Louis de Funès.  Here we pay tribute to the French film legends of the past whilst acknowledging the talent of the present.

And of course we have not overlooked the cinema from other countries than France in our movie and dvd reviews.  From the timeless movie classics of Hollywood to the great film masterpieces of Russia, India and Japan, filmsdefrance.com includes a comprehensive look at world cinema over the past century...