French Cinema
The influence of France on the world screen is undeniable. From early inventors and pioneers such as the Lumiere Brothers, George Melies and Alice Guy Blache, the birth of cinema can virtually be traced back to French shores. Cinematic innovators such as Jean Renoir and Michael Carne followed. By the 1960s New Wave directors like Truffaut, Godard and Chabrol had an indelible impact on fledgling American film makers such as Scorsese, Coppola and Bogdanovich who revolutionised the way films were made in the US; studios fell, auteurs ruled. With the advent of television, French film budgets shrank but thanks to government intervention and a good deal of imagination, French cinema is still going strong with contemporary talents like Jean-Jaques Beineix, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Luc Besson and the controversial Gaspar Noe.
At Alice we're very proud of our extensive French collection, covering all genres from French farce to period drama, magical realism to mystery and suspense. Viva la France!
Beauty and the Beast ( La Belle et la Bete ) (Blu-ray) (1946)
8/10
Director: Jean Cocteau
Starring: Josette Day, Jean Marais
Once upon a time, in a world of magic and wonder, the true love of a beautiful girl finally dispelled the torment of a feral but gentle-hearted beast.... Read more
Bed and Board ( Domicile Conjugal ) (1970)
4.8/10
Director: Francois Truffaut
Starring: Claude Jade, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Hiroko Berghauer
This warm and affectionate film, the penultimate in the Antoine Doinel series, depicts French middle-class life with ironic and wry humour. Jean-Pierr... Read more
Beginning (2020)
6.6/10
Director: Dea Kulumbegashvili
In a sleepy provincial town, a Jehovah's Witness community is attacked by an extremist group. In the midst of this conflict, the familiar world of Yan... Read more
Belle and Sebastian ( Belle et Sebastien ) (2013)
7.6/10
Director: Nicolas Vanier
Starring: Tcheky Karyo, Felix Bossuet
Belle and Sebastian is set high in the snowy Alps during the Second World War. The resourceful Sebastian (an adorable Félix Bossuet) is a lonely boy w... Read more
Belle and Sebastian: Friends for Life (Belle et Sebastien 3 Le Dernier Chapitre) (2017)
7.6/10
Director: Clovis Cornillac
Starring: Tcheky Karyo, Clovis Cornillac, Thierry Neuvic, Felix Bossuet
Two years after the events of Belle & Sebastian, the Adventure Continues, Sebastian, now 12 years old, does not want to follow his father and Angelina... Read more
Belle De Jour (1967)
7.8/10
Director: Luis Bunuel
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Genevieve Page
This classic French drama from Luis Buñuel, based on the 1928 novel of the same name, stars Catherine Deneuve as the bourgeois wife of a surgeon. Feel... Read more
Belle De Jour (Blu-ray) (1967)
7.7/10
Director: Luis Bunuel
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Genevieve Page
This classic French drama from Luis Buñuel, based on the 1928 novel of the same name, stars Catherine Deneuve as the bourgeois wife of a surgeon. Feel... Read more
Belle et Sebastien: Series 1 ( Belle and Sebastian ) (1967)
7.6/10
Director: Jean Guillaume
Starring: Edmond Beauchamp, Jean-Michel Audin, Medhi , Dominique Blondeau
The French Alps provides the setting for this enduring and beloved thirteen part serial in which the friendship between Sebastien, an eight year old b... Read more
Beloved (2011)
6.2/10
Director: Christophe Honore
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Paul Schneider, Ludivine Sagnier, Louis Garrel, Milos Forman,...
In 1964 Paris, Madeleine (Ludivine Sagnier), a shoe salesgirl and part-time prostitute, falls in love with Jaromil, a Czech doctor she has picked up.... Read more
Best French Crime Flicks ( The Professional / The Gypsy / Choice of Arms ) (1981)
Director: Alain Corneau, Georges Lautner, Jose Giovanni
Starring: Alain Delon, Annie Girardot, Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Jean Desailly,...
A collection of three rough and tough French crime dramas. "The Professional" ("Le Professionel") (1981) - French secret agent Joss Beaumont (Jean-Pau... Read more