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!
A Pornographic Affair (1999)
Director: Frederic Fonteyne
Starring: Nathalie Baye, Sergi Lopez
Aka 'An Affair of Love'. Nathalie Baye is a Parisian woman who takes out a personal and in a magazine and has a steamy encounter with Spanish-born res... Read more
A Prophet (2009)
7.9/10
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Niels Arestrup, Tahar Rahim
Acclaimed as one of the best films of 2009, 'A Prophet' ('Un prophete') details the gritty prison career of nineteen-year-old French-Arab Malik (Tahar... Read more
A Prophet (Blu ray) (2009)
7.8/10
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Niels Arestrup, Tahar Rahim
Acclaimed as one of the best films of 2009, 'A Prophet' ('Un prophete') details the gritty prison career of nineteen-year-old French-Arab Malik (Tahar... Read more
A Self Made Hero (1996)
7.4/10
Director: Jacques Audiard
Starring: Mathieu Kassovitz, Anouk Grinberg, Albert Dupontel
Mathieu Kassovitz plays a young Frenchman who manages to avoid military service in WWII. His one great talent is his confidence and his ability as a s... Read more
A Slightly Pregnant Man (1973)
5.6/10
Director: Jacques Demy
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Marcello Mastroianni, Micheline Presle, Marisa Pavan, Mireill...
Released originally in France as "L'événement le plus important depuis que l'homme a marché sur la lune" or "The Most Important Event Since Man Walked... Read more
A Summer's Tale (1996)
7.7/10
Director: Eric Rohmer
Starring: Amanda Langlet, Melvil Poupaud, Aurella Nolin
The third part in Eric Rohmer's "Tales of the Four Seasons" tells the sweet tale of a young man torn between three women. With naturalistic settings,... Read more
A Sunday in the Country (1984)
7.8/10
Director: Bertrand Tavernier
Starring: Louis Ducreux, Sabine Azema, Michel Aumont
Bertrand Tavernier's exquisite drama that pays lush and poignant homage to French family life.The venerable Louis Ducreaux plays Monsieur Ladmiral, an... Read more
A Tale of Springtime ( Conte De Printemps ) (1989)
7.4/10
Director: Eric Rohmer
Starring: Anne Teyssedre, Hugues Quester, Florence Darel
The first in Eric Rohmer's acclaimed series "Tales of the Four Seasons". An enchanting comedy of manners about a philosophy teacher who meets and befr... Read more
A Very Long Engagement (2004)
7.7/10
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jean-Pierre Becker, Dominique Bettenfeld, Clovis...
In 1919, Mathilde (Audrey Tautou) was 19 years old. Two years earlier, her fiance Manech (Gaspard Ulliel) left for the front at the Somme. Like millio... Read more
A Woman is a Woman ( Une Femme Est Une Femme ) (1961)
7.6/10
Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Starring: Anna Karina, Jean-Claude Brialy, Jean-Paul Belmondo
'A Woman Is A Woman'. Godard's light-hearted tribute to Hollywood musicals, with Anna Karina as a nightclub stripper who wants a baby and expects eith... Read more