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!
Elles (2011)
5.7/10
Director: Malgorzata Szumowska
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Anais Demoustier, Joanna Kulig
The most provocative film of the year, "Elles" stars Juliette Binoche as Anne, a well-off Parisian journalist investigating the lives of two student p... Read more
Emmanuelle (1974)
5.3/10
Director: Just Jaeckin
Starring: Alain Cuny, Sylvia Kristel, Marika Green
When Emmanuelle was released in 1974 it caused uproar in France. President Pompidou tried to ban it, effectively catapulting it into the year's "must... Read more
Empire of the Wolves (2005)
5.9/10
Director: Chris Nahon
Starring: Jean Reno, Jocelyn Quivrin, Arly Jover, Laura Morante, Philippe Bas
Jean Reno is a retired detective of questionable motive, called in to investigate the murder of three Turkish immigrants in Paris. Meanwhile the wife... Read more
Ernest and Celestine (2012)
Director: Stephane Aubier, Vincent Patar, Benjamin Renner
Starring: Forest Whitaker, Lauren Bacall, William H Macy, Jeffrey Wright, Paul Giamatti, M...
Normally speaking, bears live above ground and mice live below, and they don't get along at all. Brought together by chance, young Célestine, a plucky... Read more
Exils (2004)
Director: Tony Gatlif
Starring: Romain Duris, Lubna Azabal, Leila Makhlouf
Tony Gatlif's 'Exils', is an exuberant, free-wheeling, heartfelt journey swimming like a salmon against the traditional migrant tide of the Franco-Alg... Read more
Eyes Without A Face (1960)
7.8/10
Director: Georges Franju
Starring: Alida Valli, Pierre Brasseur, Edith Scob, Juliette Mayniel, Francois Guerin
A macabre French horror classic with Peirre Brasseur as the disturbed Dr Genessier, a brilliant plastic surgeon whose daughter has been disfigured in... Read more
Faces Places (Visages villages) (2017)
7.9/10
Director: Agnes Varda, JR
Starring: Agnes Varda, JR
Agnes Varda, one of the leading lights of France's honored French New Wave cinema era, and professional photographer and muralist, J.R., partake on a... Read more
Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)
7.3/10
Director: Christian-Jaque
Starring: Genevieve Page, Gerard Philipe, Gina Lollobrigida
Set in 18th-century France, this romantic farce stars Gerard Philipe as the charming peasant Fanfan. After joining King Louis XV's army in order to av... Read more
Fantastic Planet (1973)
7.8/10
Director: Rene Laloux
Starring: Oms, Draags
A winner at the Cannes Film Festival 1973, 'Fantastic Planet' is a full length animated fantasy set on the planet of the Draags in a far-off solar sys... Read more
Farewell (2009)
7/10
Director: Christian Carion
Starring: David Soul, Fred Ward, Ingeborga Dapkunaite, Niels Arestrup, Willem Dafoe, Guill...
Based on an incredible true story, 'Farewell' is an espionage film about events that changed world history. In Moscow 1981, Colonel Sergei Gregoriev (... Read more