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!
Diary of a Chambermaid (1964)
7.6/10
Director: Luis Bunuel
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Michel Piccoli, Georges Geret
This wicked adaptation of the Octave Mirbeau novel is classic Luis Bunuel. Jeanne Moreau is Celestine, a beautiful Parisian domestic who, upon arrival... Read more
Diary of a Country Priest (1950)
8/10
Director: Robert Bresson
Starring: Claude Laydu, Antoine Balpetre, Gaston Severin
A priest (Claude Laydu) arrives in the French country village of Ambricourt to attend to his first parish. The apathetic and hostile rural congregatio... Read more
Diplomacy (2014)
7.1/10
Director: Volker Schlondorff
Starring: Niels Arestrup, Andre Dussollier, Robert Stadlober, Burghart Klaussner
As the Allies march toward Paris in the summer of 1944, Hitler gives orders that the French capital should be destroyed rather than fall into enemy ha... Read more
Dirty Money ( Un Flic ) (1972)
8.2/10
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Alain Delon, Richard Crenna, Catherine Deneuve
Jean-Pierre Melville, the acclaimed director of 'Le Samourai', directs what would prove to be his final film, and also his darkest, coldest and most a... Read more
District B13 (2004)
7.2/10
Director: Pierre Morel
Starring: David Belle, Cyril Raffaelli
Produced and co-written by acclaimed filmmaker Luc Besson, this stylized action thriller is set in Paris 2010, where the government has fenced off the... Read more
Diva (1981)
7.3/10
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Starring: Wilhelmenia Wiggins Fernandez, Frederic Andrei
A breathtaking series of visual images in this stylish romantic thriller; at the heart of the film is an opera-intoxicated 18-year old mail carrier wh... Read more
Dogora: Open Your Eyes (2004)
5.9/10
Director: Patrice Leconte
Filmmaker Patrice Leconte takes us on a musical journey through Cambodia. Set to a beautiful score by Etienne Perruchon, there is no dialogue or stor... Read more
Don't Look Now We're Being Shot At (1966)
Director: Gerard Oury
Starring: Andre Bourvil, Claudio Brook, Louis De Funes, Terry-Thomas
During World War II, two French civilians and a downed English Bomber Crew set out from Paris to cross the demarcation line between Nazi-occupied Nort... Read more
Don't Worry, I'm Fine (2006)
7.4/10
Director: Philippe Lioret
Starring: Isabelle Renauld, Kad Merad, Melanie Laurent, Julien Boisselier
On her return from vacation 19-year-old Lili is told by her parents that her twin brother Loic has left home after a violent argument with her father.... Read more
Donkey Skin (1971)
7.1/10
Director: Jacques Demy
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Delphine Seyrig, Jacques Perrin
At once charming, bizarre and eerie, director Jacques Demy's ('The Umbrellas of Cherbourg') colourful adaptation of the fairytale by Perrault (who als... Read more