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!
Princess Tam Tam (1935)
Director: Edmond T Greville
Starring: Josephine Baker
A young Bedouin girl, Alwina (Josephine Baker), becomes the object of desire and inspiration for an idealistic French writer, Max (Albert Prejean). Ma... Read more
Private Property (2006)
7.1/10
Director: Joachim Roenning
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Yannick Renier, Jeremie Renier
In this shrewd family drama, Isabelle Huppert plays a weary middle-aged divorcee who longs to break away from family life with her two sons, both in t... Read more
Quai Des Orfevres (1947)
7.7/10
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Starring: Louis Jouvet, Simone Renant, Bernard Blier, Suzy Delair
Blacklisted for his daring "anti-French" masterpiece, 'Le Corbeau', Henri-Georges Clouzot returned to cinema with this provocative adaptation of autho... Read more
Queen Margot ( La Reine Margot ) (1994)
7.5/10
Director: Patrice Chereau
Starring: Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Vincent Perez, Jean-Hugues Anglade
An intelligent and moving epic based on a Dumas' novel of the events surrounding the notorious St Bartholemew's Day massacre in 16th Century France. T... Read more
Raw (2015)
7/10
Director: Julia Ducournau
Starring: Ella Rumpf, Garance Marillier
Stringent vegetarian Justine (Garance Marillier) encounters a decadent, merciless and dangerously seductive world during her first week at veterinary... Read more
Read My Lips (2001)
7.4/10
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Vincent Cassel, Emmanuelle Devos, Olivier Gourmet, Olivia Bonamy, Olivier Perrie...
As a secretary, Carla Behm (Emmanuelle Devos, Winner "Best Actress" 2002 Cesar Awards) is overqualified despite a disability that forces her to wear h... Read more
Rebellion (2011)
7/10
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz
Starring: Mathieu Kassovitz, Iabe Lapacas, Malik Zidi, Alexandre Steiger
A man struggles to defuse an explosive situation with tragic results in this riveting drama based on actual events. In 1988, France was wracked with p... Read more
Red Lights (2004)
6.8/10
Director: Cedric Kahn
Starring: Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Carole Bouquet, Vincent Deniard, Charline Paul, Jean-Pie...
Based on the novel by Georges Simenon about a married couple that set out for a quiet holiday in the country. Helene (Carole Bouquet) and Antoine (Pie... Read more
Regular Lovers (2005)
7.1/10
Director: Philippe Garrel
Starring: Eric Rulliat, Clotilde Hesme, Nicolas Bridet, Louis Garrel, Julien Lucas
In the aftermath of the era-defining Paris student riots of May 1968, a group of youngsters involved in the revolt abandon themselves to a bohemian ex... Read more
Renoir (2012)
6.6/10
Director: Gilles Bourdos
Starring: Michel Bouquet, Christa Theret, Vincent Rottiers, Thomas Doret, Romane Bohringer
Set on the French Riviera in the summer of 1915, Jean Renoir, son of the Impressionist painter, Pierre-Auguste, returns home to convalesce after being... Read more