essential French
by Eriko_Tsogo | created - 12 Nov 2012 | updated - 16 Feb 2014 | Publicgeneral overview of the most notable and essential films from France through the years.
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101. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Not Rated | 83 min | Comedy
Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation and accidentally, but good-naturedly, causes havoc.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla, Valentine Camax
Votes: 20,277
102. The Crimson Curtain (1952)
44 min | Short, Drama
Albertine is a young woman full of grace. She pursues a forbidden relationship.
Director: Alexandre Astruc | Stars: Anouk Aimée, Jean-Claude Pascal, Marguerite Garcya, Jim Gérald
Votes: 209
103. The Wages of Fear (1953)
Not Rated | 131 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli
Votes: 66,598
104. Statues also Die (1953)
30 min | Documentary, Short
A documentary of black art.
Directors: Ghislain Cloquet, Chris Marker, Alain Resnais | Stars: Jean Négroni, François Mitterrand, Pope Pius XII, Sugar Ray Robinson
Votes: 1,374
105. Touchez pas au grisbi (1954)
Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Drama
An aging, world-weary gangster is double-crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of eight stolen gold bars demanded as ransom.
Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: Jean Gabin, René Dary, Dora Doll, Vittorio Sanipoli
Votes: 8,547 | Gross: $0.13M
106. Lola Montès (1955)
Not Rated | 116 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
When she is reduced to appearing in a circus, a notorious beauty thinks back on her past loves.
Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: Martine Carol, Peter Ustinov, Anton Walbrook, Henri Guisol
Votes: 6,052 | Gross: $0.11M
107. Diabolique (1955)
Not Rated | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Horror
The wife and mistress of a loathed school principal plan to murder him with what they believe is the perfect alibi.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel
Votes: 69,419 | Gross: $1.09M
108. Rififi (1955)
Not Rated | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Four men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes...
Director: Jules Dassin | Stars: Jean Servais, Carl Möhner, Robert Manuel, Janine Darcey
Votes: 36,849 | Gross: $0.06M
109. Night and Fog (1956)
TV-14 | 32 min | Documentary, Short, History
The history of Nazi Germany's death camps of the Final Solution and the hellish world of dehumanization and death contained inside.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Michel Bouquet, Reinhard Heydrich, Heinrich Himmler, Adolf Hitler
Votes: 21,474
110. The Red Balloon (1956)
Not Rated | 34 min | Short, Comedy, Drama
A red balloon with a mind of its own follows a little boy around the streets of Paris.
Director: Albert Lamorisse | Stars: Pascal Lamorisse, Sabine Lamorisse, Georges Sellier, Vladimir Popov
Votes: 20,129
111. Bob the Gambler (1956)
PG | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After losing big, an aging gambler decides to assemble a team to rob a casino.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Roger Duchesne, Isabelle Corey, Daniel Cauchy, Guy Decomble
Votes: 13,362 | Gross: $0.02M
112. La Pointe Courte (1955)
Not Rated | 80 min | Drama, Romance
Follow the story of a couple who goes to a small French fishing village to try to solve the problems of their deteriorating marriage.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Silvia Monfort, Marcel Jouet, Albert Lubrano
Votes: 4,301
113. All the Memory in the World (1956)
21 min | Documentary, Short
This documentary explores the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris, its priceless treasures, and how humanity remembers itself.
Director: Alain Resnais | Star: Jacques Dumesnil
Votes: 1,584
114. A Man Escaped (1956)
Not Rated | 101 min | Drama, Thriller, War
A captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from a German prison in France.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: François Leterrier, Charles Le Clainche, Maurice Beerblock, Roland Monod
Votes: 25,016
115. Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
Not Rated | 91 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A self-assured businessman murders his employer, the husband of his mistress, which unintentionally provokes an ill-fated chain of events.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Georges Poujouly, Yori Bertin
Votes: 28,657 | Gross: $0.11M
116. The Lovers (1958)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
Saddled with a dull husband and a foolish lover, a woman has an affair with a stranger.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Jeanne Moreau, Alain Cuny, Jean-Marc Bory, Judith Magre
Votes: 5,924
117. Head Against the Wall (1959)
95 min | Drama
In order to get rid of his troublesome son François, Maître Gérane manages to have him committed to a mental hospital owned by Dr. Varmont, a supporter of traditional treatments, in ... See full summary »
Director: Georges Franju | Stars: Pierre Brasseur, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Mocky, Anouk Aimée
Votes: 749
118. The 400 Blows (1959)
Not Rated | 99 min | Crime, Drama
A young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier, Guy Decomble
Votes: 128,108
119. Pickpocket (1959)
Not Rated | 76 min | Crime, Drama
Michel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police. His friend Jacques may suspect, while both men may have their eyes on Jeanne, the pretty neighbor of Michel's ailing mother.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Martin LaSalle, Marika Green, Jean Pélégri, Dolly Scal
Votes: 25,370
120. Une simple histoire (1959)
68 min | Drama
A woman arrives in Paris with her little girl to look for work. With limited funds and no luck, they end up penniless, homeless and dependent on the rare kindness of strangers.
Director: Marcel Hanoun | Stars: Raymond Jourdan, Gilette Barbier, Madeleine Marion, Maria Meriko
Votes: 230
121. Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud
Votes: 35,904 | Gross: $0.09M
122. Eyes Without a Face (1960)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Horror
A surgeon causes an accident which leaves his daughter disfigured and goes to extreme lengths to give her a new face.
Director: Georges Franju | Stars: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Juliette Mayniel, Alexandre Rignault
Votes: 35,165 | Gross: $0.05M
123. Les astronautes (1959)
14 min | Animation, Short, Sci-Fi
Concerns a scientist's flight into outer space.
Directors: Walerian Borowczyk, Chris Marker | Stars: Michel Boschet, Ligia Branice, Anatole Dauman, Philippe Lifchitz
Votes: 970
124. Breathless (1960)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama
A small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Van Doude, Jean-Luc Godard
Votes: 87,965 | Gross: $0.34M
125. The Good Time Girls (1960)
Not Rated | 100 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Four Parisian women navigate the world of romance and daily life looking to fulfill their dreams but often find real-life to be inescapable.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Bernadette Lafont, Clotilde Joano, Stéphane Audran, Lucile Saint-Simon
Votes: 3,183 | Gross: $0.01M
126. Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A pianist helps his brother escape from two gangsters, who retaliate by abducting their kid brother.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Charles Aznavour, Marie Dubois, Nicole Berger, Michèle Mercier
Votes: 20,637
127. Love Exists (1961)
21 min | Documentary, Short
A social commentary on post-war France's urban developments.
Director: Maurice Pialat | Star: Jean-Loup Reynold
Votes: 698
128. The Hole (1960)
Not Rated | 131 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Distrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: André Bervil, Jean Keraudy, Michel Constantin, Philippe Leroy
Votes: 20,385 | Gross: $0.03M
129. Paris Belongs to Us (1961)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
Anne Goupil is a literature student in Paris in 1957. Her elder brother, Pierre, takes her to a friend's party where the guests include Philip Kaufman, an expatriate American escaping ... See full summary »
Director: Jacques Rivette | Stars: Betty Schneider, Giani Esposito, Françoise Prévost, Daniel Crohem
Votes: 2,716
130. Chronicle of a Summer (1961)
Not Rated | 85 min | Documentary, History
A documentary about the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians, done in the style of cinéma vérité.
Directors: Edgar Morin, Jean Rouch | Stars: Angelo, Nadine Ballot, Catherine, Céline
Votes: 3,585
131. The Long Absence (1961)
94 min | Drama, Mystery
A Parisian café owner believes her long lost husband has returned but the man suffers from amnesia.
Director: Henri Colpi | Stars: Alida Valli, Georges Wilson, Charles Blavette, Amédée
Votes: 1,017
132. Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
In a strange and isolated chateau, a man becomes acquainted with a woman and insists that they have met before.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Delphine Seyrig, Giorgio Albertazzi, Sacha Pitoëff, Françoise Bertin
Votes: 24,890 | Gross: $0.06M
133. Lola (1961)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Anouk Aimée, Marc Michel, Jacques Harden, Alan Scott
Votes: 7,533
134. La Jetée (1962)
Not Rated | 28 min | Short, Drama, Romance
The story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III's devastation, told through still images.
Director: Chris Marker | Stars: Étienne Becker, Jean Négroni, Hélène Chatelain, Davos Hanich
Votes: 37,072
135. Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1961)
Not Rated | 28 min | Short, Adventure, Drama
In 1862, during the American Civil War, a Southern civilian is about to be hanged for attempting to sabotage a railway bridge. When the execution takes place from the bridge, the rope breaks and he begins his escape toward home.
Director: Robert Enrico | Stars: Roger Jacquet, Anne Cornaly, Anker-Spang Larsen, Stéphane Fey
Votes: 4,261
136. Jules and Jim (1962)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Romance
Decades of a love triangle concerning two friends and an impulsive woman.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre, Vanna Urbino
Votes: 44,435
137. Adieu Philippine (1962)
106 min | Drama, Romance
Paris, summer 1960. Michel is about to leave for Algeria for military service. He meets Liliane and Juliette, two inseparable friends. Michel goes on vacation to Corsica, where the two girls decide to join him
Director: Jacques Rozier | Stars: Jean-Claude Aimini, Daniel Descamps, Stefania Sabatini, Yveline Céry
Votes: 1,020
138. Sundays and Cybèle (1962)
Not Rated | 111 min | Drama
Story of a lonely young girl who is befriended by an innocent but emotionally disabled veteran of the French Indochina War.
Director: Serge Bourguignon | Stars: Hardy Krüger, Nicole Courcel, Patricia Gozzi, Daniel Ivernel
Votes: 4,800
139. Vivre sa vie (1962)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama
Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Anna Karina, Sady Rebbot, André S. Labarthe, Guylaine Schlumberger
Votes: 35,010
140. Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Drama, Music
Cleo, a singer and hypochondriac, becomes increasingly worried that she might have cancer while awaiting test results from her doctor.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Corinne Marchand, Antoine Bourseiller, Dominique Davray, Dorothée Blanck
Votes: 27,314
141. Judex (1963)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Favraux, an unscrupulous banker receives a threatening note signed only "Judex", demanding that he pay back the people he has swindled. He refuses, and seemingly faces his fate.
Director: Georges Franju | Stars: Channing Pollock, Francine Bergé, Edith Scob, Théo Sarapo
Votes: 2,843
142. Crooks in Clover (1963)
105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A dying mob boss hands over his business to an old friend, Fernand. The boss' assistants want to get rid of the latter. But are the Volfoni brothers and Théo real threats? Ensuing fights and shootouts are more comical than deadly.
Director: Georges Lautner | Stars: Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche, Claude Rich
Votes: 6,595
143. The Fire Within (1963)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Depressed Alain Leroy leaves the clinic where he was detoxified. He meets friends, acquaintances and women, trying to find a reason to continue living. Will this help him?
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Maurice Ronet, Léna Skerla, Yvonne Clech, Hubert Deschamps
Votes: 10,475
144. Contempt (1963)
Not Rated | 102 min | Drama, Romance
A French writer's marriage deteriorates while working on Fritz Lang's version of "The Odyssey", as his wife accuses him of using her to court favor with the film's brash American producer.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Brigitte Bardot, Jack Palance, Michel Piccoli, Giorgia Moll
Votes: 36,051 | Gross: $0.04M
145. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A young woman separated from her lover by war faces a life-altering decision.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel
Votes: 31,363 | Gross: $0.03M
146. The Mistral (1966)
33 min | Documentary, Short
Scenes of life and landscape in Provence where a chilly wind called the Mistral blows down the valley of the Rhône to the Mediterranean. The Provençal terrain is dry and parched; the ... See full summary »
Director: Joris Ivens | Star: Roger Pigaut
Votes: 166
147. Alphaville (1965)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A U.S. secret agent is sent to the distant space city of Alphaville where he must find a missing person and free the city from its tyrannical ruler.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Eddie Constantine, Anna Karina, Akim Tamiroff, Valérie Boisgel
Votes: 27,627 | Gross: $0.05M
148. Happiness (1965)
Not Rated | 80 min | Drama, Romance
François, a young carpenter, lives a happy, uncomplicated life with his wife Thérèse and their two small children. One day he meets Emilie, a clerk in the local post office.
Director: Agnès Varda | Stars: Jean-Claude Drouot, Marie-France Boyer, Marcelle Faure-Bertin, Manon Lanclos
Votes: 9,534
149. Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
The story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Anne Wiazemsky, Walter Green, François Lafarge, Jean-Claude Guilbert
Votes: 22,837 | Gross: $0.04M
150. The War Is Over (1966)
121 min | Drama, War
A middle-aged political activist tries to dissuade his young followers from taking radical action.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Yves Montand, Ingrid Thulin, Geneviève Bujold, Jean Dasté
Votes: 2,442
151. The Nun (1966)
GP | 140 min | Drama
Suzanne is forced against her will to take vows as a nun and three mothers superior treat her in radically different ways. Suzanne's virtue brings disaster to everyone in this faithful adaptation of a bitter attack on religious abuses.
Director: Jacques Rivette | Stars: Anna Karina, Liselotte Pulver, Micheline Presle, Francine Bergé
Votes: 3,242 | Gross: $0.03M
152. Second Wind (1966)
Not Rated | 150 min | Crime, Drama
A gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Raymond Pellegrin, Christine Fabréga
Votes: 6,639
153. Trans-Europ-Express (1966)
105 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
A movie producer, director and assistant take the Trans-Europ-Express from Paris to Antwerp. They get the idea for a movie about a drug smuggler on their train and visualize it while taping the script.
Director: Alain Robbe-Grillet | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Marie-France Pisier, Christian Barbier, Raoul Guylad
Votes: 2,115
154. Masculine Feminine (1966)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Romance
A romance between young Parisians, shown through a series of vignettes.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Chantal Goya, Marlène Jobert, Michel Debord
Votes: 17,337 | Gross: $0.20M
155. 2 or 3 Things I Know About Her (1967)
Not Rated | 87 min | Comedy, Drama
A day in the life of a Parisian housewife/prostitute, interspersed with musings on the Vietnam War and other contemporary issues.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Jean-Luc Godard, Yves Beneyton, Juliet Berto, Helena Bielicic
Votes: 8,530 | Gross: $0.10M
156. Belle de Jour (1967)
R | 100 min | Drama, Romance
A frigid young housewife decides to spend her midweek afternoons as a prostitute.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Geneviève Page
Votes: 49,079 | Gross: $0.03M
157. Playtime (1967)
Not Rated | 155 min | Comedy
Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden, France Rumilly
Votes: 25,959
158. The Two of Us (1967)
Not Rated | 86 min | Comedy, Drama
In German-occupied France, a Jewish child is sent away from his family and conceals his religious affiliation from the anti-Semitic elderly man that takes care of him.
Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Michel Simon, Roger Carel, Paul Préboist, Luce Fabiole
Votes: 2,513 | Gross: $0.05M
159. Mouchette (1967)
Not Rated | 81 min | Drama
A young girl living in the French countryside suffers constant indignities at the hand of alcoholism and her fellow man.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Nadine Nortier, Jean-Claude Guilbert, Marie Cardinal, Paul Hébert
Votes: 12,992
160. The Samurai (1967)
GP | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier
Votes: 57,198 | Gross: $0.04M
161. Weekend (1967)
Not Rated | 105 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A surreal tale of a married couple going on a road trip to visit the wife's parents with the intention of killing them for the inheritance.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Mireille Darc, Jean Yanne, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Yves Afonso
Votes: 15,792
162. Naked Childhood (1968)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama
An anguished foster child takes to mischief and lies as his foster parents do their best to love and care for him. But it might be too little, too late in this emotionally devastating portrayal of the orphaned child.
Director: Maurice Pialat | Stars: Michel Terrazon, Linda Gutenberg, Raoul Billerey, Pierrette Deplanque
Votes: 2,697
163.
Cinéastes de notre temps (1964–1972)
Episode:
La première vague, Partie I: Delluc et Cie
(1968)
76 min | Documentary
Directors: Noël Burch, Jean-André Fieschi | Stars: Marcel L'Herbier, Jean Mitry, Jean Dréville, Alberto Cavalcanti
Votes: 11
164. Mad Love (1969)
252 min | Drama, Romance
During the rehearsals for the production of the tragedy Andromaque, the leading actress and her director, a couple behind the scenes, can't find a way to leave their personal problems at ... See full summary »
Director: Jacques Rivette | Stars: Bulle Ogier, Jean-Pierre Kalfon, Josée Destoop, Michèle Moretti
Votes: 815
165. Goto: Island of Love (1969)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama
On an isolated island ruled by a dictator, a petty thief rises through the ranks, becoming fly-catcher, dog-keeper, and boot polisher. Temptations arise, putting the islanders' fate in jeopardy and threatening to change the island forever.
Director: Walerian Borowczyk | Stars: Pierre Brasseur, Ligia Branice, Jean-Pierre Andréani, Ginette Leclerc
Votes: 975
166. My Night at Maud's (1969)
GP | 105 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A devout Catholic man's rigid principles are challenged during a one-night stay with Maud, a divorced woman with an outsize personality.
Director: Éric Rohmer | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Françoise Fabian, Marie-Christine Barrault, Antoine Vitez
Votes: 14,556
167. The Unfaithful Wife (1969)
R | 98 min | Drama, Thriller
A man begins to believe his wife is cheating on him.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Stéphane Audran, Michel Bouquet, Maurice Ronet, Michel Duchaussoy
Votes: 4,488
168. Army of Shadows (1969)
Not Rated | 145 min | Drama, War
An account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret
Votes: 25,864 | Gross: $0.74M
169. The Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
PG | 251 min | Documentary, History, War
An in-depth exploration of the various reactions by the French people to the Vichy government's acceptance of the German invasion.
Director: Marcel Ophüls | Stars: Helmut Tausend, Marcel Verdier, Alexis Grave, Louis Grave
Votes: 4,097
170. The Butcher (1970)
Unrated | 93 min | Drama, Thriller
An unlikely friendship between a dour, working class butcher and a repressed schoolteacher coincides with a grisly series of Ripper-type murders in a provincial French town.
Director: Claude Chabrol | Stars: Stéphane Audran, Jean Yanne, Antonio Passalia, Pascal Ferone
Votes: 9,390 | Gross: $0.47M
171. The Red Circle (1970)
Not Rated | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Alain Delon, Bourvil, Gian Maria Volontè, Yves Montand
Votes: 28,173 | Gross: $0.37M
172. Out 1 (1971)
Not Rated | 776 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the May 1968 civil unrest in France, a deaf-mute and a con artist simultaneously stumble upon the remnants of a secret society.
Directors: Jacques Rivette, Suzanne Schiffman | Stars: Michèle Moretti, Hermine Karagheuz, Karen Puig, Pierre Baillot
Votes: 1,554 | Gross: $0.03M
173. The House in the Woods (1957)
62 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A highly strung author suffering from writer's block convinces his wife to move somewhere more peaceful. They find a delightfully remote woodland cottage, but they soon realize that something is not quite right with their landlord.
Director: Maxwell Munden | Stars: Ronald Howard, Patricia Roc, Michael Gough, Andrea Troubridge
Votes: 96
174. Two English Girls (1971)
130 min | Drama, Romance
At the beginning of the 20th century, middle-class young Frenchman Claude Roc meets young Englishwoman Ann Brown in Paris. They become friends and she invites him to spend holidays at the ... See full summary »
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Kika Markham, Stacey Tendeter, Sylvia Marriott
Votes: 5,865
175. Blanche (1971)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, History
Blanche is the young, pure, beautiful wife of the Master of the castle, in a secluded land. Every man is in love with her, including the King and his servant Bartolomeo, visiting the Master.
Director: Walerian Borowczyk | Stars: Michel Simon, Georges Wilson, Jacques Perrin, Ligia Branice
Votes: 1,010
176. Murmur of the Heart (1971)
R | 118 min | Comedy, Drama
As France is nearing the end of the first Indochina War, an open-minded teenage boy finds himself torn between a rebellious urge to discover love, and the ever-present, almost dominating affection of his beloved mother.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Lea Massari, Benoît Ferreux, Daniel Gélin, Michael Lonsdale
Votes: 10,853 | Gross: $0.35M
177. We Won't Grow Old Together (1972)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
A husband and wife in a loveless marriage struggle to remain ignorant to their failed relationship.
Director: Maurice Pialat | Stars: Marlène Jobert, Jean Yanne, Christine Fabréga, Patricia Pierangeli
Votes: 2,189 | Gross: $0.01M
178. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A surreal, virtually plotless series of dreams centered around six middle-class people and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Fernando Rey, Delphine Seyrig, Paul Frankeur, Bulle Ogier
Votes: 46,852 | Gross: $0.20M
179. Day for Night (1973)
PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A committed film director struggles to complete his movie while coping with a myriad of crises, personal and professional, among the cast and crew.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Léaud, François Truffaut, Valentina Cortese
Votes: 24,793 | Gross: $0.02M
180. The Society of the Spectacle (1974)
91 min | Documentary
Guy Debord's cinematic analysis of consumer society based on his influential book "La société du spectacle" (1967).
Director: Guy Debord | Stars: Guy Debord, Leonid Brezhnev, Fidel Castro, Jacques Duclos
Votes: 663
181. The Mother and the Whore (1973)
210 min | Drama, Romance
The chauvinist Alexandre balances relationships with several women in the post-1968 intellectual scene of Paris.
Director: Jean Eustache | Stars: Bernadette Lafont, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Françoise Lebrun, Isabelle Weingarten
Votes: 6,705
182. The Clockmaker (1974)
105 min | Crime, Drama
A Watchmaker finds out one day that his son has become a murderer. He tries to understand for whom and why.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Jean Rochefort, Jacques Denis, Yves Afonso
Votes: 2,835
183. Going Places (1974)
R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two thugs harass assault, steal, murder, Marie-Ange, a jaded, passive hairdresser, joins them as lover, cook, and mother confessor, on her own search for seemingly unattainable sexual pleasure.
Director: Bertrand Blier | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Patrick Dewaere, Christian Alers
Votes: 9,955 | Gross: $0.77M
184. Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974)
Unrated | 193 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A mysteriously linked pair of young women find their daily lives preempted by a strange boudoir melodrama that plays itself out in a hallucinatory parallel reality.
Director: Jacques Rivette | Stars: Juliet Berto, Dominique Labourier, Bulle Ogier, Marie-France Pisier
Votes: 6,365 | Gross: $0.03M
185. My Little Loves (1974)
123 min | Drama
A boy is left to his own devices when his mother refuses to pay for his schooling.
Director: Jean Eustache | Stars: Martin Loeb, Jacqueline Dufranne, Jacques Romain, Ingrid Caven
Votes: 1,419
186. Lacombe, Lucien (1974)
R | 138 min | Drama, War
In 1944, an 18-year-old boy from small-town France collaborates with the Gestapo and subsequently falls in love with a Jewish girl.
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clément, Holger Löwenadler, Therese Giehse
Votes: 7,714
187. India Song (1975)
Not Rated | 120 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
Anne-Marie Stretter, wife of a French diplomat, lives in 1930s India. She takes many lovers as systems of oppression decay around her.
Director: Marguerite Duras | Stars: Delphine Seyrig, Michael Lonsdale, Mathieu Carrière, Claude Mann
Votes: 2,583
188. The Old Gun (1975)
R | 103 min | Drama, Thriller, War
During World War II, a peaceful French surgeon decides to ruthlessly exterminate an SS squad because of the atrocities they'd just committed in his countryside home and childhood village.
Director: Robert Enrico | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Romy Schneider, Jean Bouise, Joachim Hansen
Votes: 4,855
189. Mr. Klein (1976)
PG | 123 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
In German-occupied Paris, an immoral art dealer, Robert Klein, leads a life of luxury, until a copy of a Jewish newspaper brings him to the attention of the police, linking him with a mysterious doppelgänger. Will Mr. Klein clear his name?
Director: Joseph Losey | Stars: Alain Delon, Jeanne Moreau, Francine Bergé, Juliet Berto
Votes: 8,901 | Gross: $0.03M
190. The Lacemaker (1977)
R | 107 min | Drama, Romance
A reserved young woman moves into an apartment with a young student she met while on vacation.
Director: Claude Goretta | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Yves Beneyton, Florence Giorgetti, Annemarie Düringer
Votes: 3,025
191. The Suspended Vocation (1978)
90 min | Drama
Divergent factions within the Catholic Church are plagued by internal ideological quarrels.
Director: Raúl Ruiz | Stars: Didier Flamand, Pascal Bonitzer, Gabriel Gascon, Maurice Bénichou
Votes: 170
192. Providence (1977)
R | 104 min | Drama
A dying writer bases his last book on his own perception of his family.
Director: Alain Resnais | Stars: Dirk Bogarde, Ellen Burstyn, John Gielgud, David Warner
Votes: 3,507
193. Molière (1978)
260 min | Biography, Drama, History
Who was Moliere? He is known everywhere as one of the world's greatest playwrights. But who was he? Born Jean-Baptiste Poquelin in 1622, the son of a prosperous tapestry maker. His mother ... See full summary »
Director: Ariane Mnouchkine | Stars: Philippe Caubère, Marie-Françoise Audollent, Frédéric Ladonne, Odile Cointepas
Votes: 890
194. L'hypothèse du tableau volé (1978)
66 min | Drama, Mystery
Two narrators, one seen and one unseen, discuss possible connections between a series of paintings. The on-screen narrator walks through three-dimensional reproductions of each painting, ... See full summary »
Director: Raúl Ruiz | Stars: Jean Rougeul, Chantal Paley, Jean Raynaud, Daniel Grimm
Votes: 1,205
195. Le navire Night (1979)
90 min | Drama
Each night in Paris, hundreds of men and women anonymously use telephone lines that date from the German Occupation and are no longer listed to talk to each other, to love each other.
Director: Marguerite Duras | Stars: Bulle Ogier, Dominique Sanda, Mathieu Carrière, Benoît Jacquot
Votes: 350
196. Loulou (1980)
TV-14 | 101 min | Drama, Romance
A bored wife leaves her husband for an unemployed, petty criminal.
Director: Maurice Pialat | Stars: Isabelle Huppert, Gérard Depardieu, Guy Marchand, Humbert Balsan
Votes: 3,703
197. Diva (1981)
R | 117 min | Crime, Music, Thriller
Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Frédéric Andréi, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer
Votes: 14,319 | Gross: $0.11M
198. L'enfant secret (1979)
92 min | Drama
Four chapters based on the birth of a 'secret child', or a film, with chapter titles: "La séction Césarienne" (Caesarian section: a descriptive detail introducing the mother); "Le dernier ... See full summary »
Director: Philippe Garrel | Stars: Anne Wiazemsky, Henri de Maublanc, Xuan Lindenmeyer, Cécile Le Bailly
Votes: 702
199. Clean Slate (1981)
Not Rated | 128 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A pathetic police chief, humiliated by everyone around him, suddenly wants a clean slate in life - and resorts to drastic means to do so.
Director: Bertrand Tavernier | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Isabelle Huppert, Stéphane Audran, Jean-Pierre Marielle
Votes: 6,718
200. The Return of Martin Guerre (1982)
Not Rated | 112 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In medieval France, some villagers challenge a man's claim of identity when he (as he says) returns home from some time in the army.
Director: Daniel Vigne | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Nathalie Baye, Maurice Barrier, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu
Votes: 4,826 | Gross: $0.02M
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