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!
Bob the Gambler ( Bob le Flambeur ) (1955)
7.8/10
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Starring: Isabelle Corey, Roger Duchesne, Daniel Cauchy
Suffused with wry humour, Jean-Pierre Melville's 'Bob le Flambeur' melds the toughness of American gangster films with Gallic sophistication to lay th... Read more
Les Grandes Manoeuvres (1955)
Director: Rene Clair
Starring: Michele Morgan, Gerard Philipe, Jean Desailly, Brigitte Bardot
AKA "Summer Manoeuvres" A rakish army lieutenant takes a bet from his comrades that he can make love to any woman in the town. The bet of course backf... Read more
Rififi (1955)
8.2/10
Director: Jules Dassin
Starring: Carl Mohner, Magali Noel, Jules Dassin, Jean Servais, Marie Sabouret, Robert Man...
After helming such American noir classics as 'The Naked City' and 'Brute Force', blacklisted director Jules Dassin moved to Paris and embarked on his... Read more
Lola Montes (1955)
7.4/10
Director: Max Ophuls
Starring: Peter Ustinov, Martine Carol, Anton Walbrook, Oskar Werner
A lush romantic drama that was filmmaker Max Ophuls' last work and his only film in colour. Martine Carol is mesmerizing as the famous adventurer and... Read more
French Cancan (1954)
7.5/10
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Jean Gabin, Francoise Arnoul, Maria Felix
Nineteenth-century Paris comes vibrantly alive in Jean Renoir's exhilarating tale of the opening of the world-renowned Moulin Rouge. Jean Gabin plays... Read more
Touchez Pas au Grisbi ( Hands Off the Loot ) (1954)
7.9/10
Director: Jacques Becker
Starring: Jean Gabin, Jeanne Moreau, Paul Frankeur, Lino Ventura, Rene Dary
Jean Gabin is at his most wearily romantic as aging gangster Max le Menteur in this gem from director Jacques Becker ('Le trou'). Having pulled off th... Read more
Les Diaboliques (1954)
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Starring: Simone Signoret, Vera Clouzot, Paul Meurisse
An acknowledged influence on "Psycho", Henri-Georges Clouzot's horror classic is the story of a sadistic headmaster who brutalizes his fragile wife an... Read more
Madame de... ( Earrings of Madame de... ) (1953)
8/10
Director: Max Ophuls
Starring: Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica
Aka "The Earrings of Madame De...". Max Ophuls' lavish costume drama traces an 18th-century French countess's doomed affair with a handsome diplomat.... Read more
The Wages of Fear (1953)
8.1/10
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot
Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter Van Eyck
A thriller with surprisingly little violence which is, nevertheless, a hair-raising, hold-onto-the-edge-of-your-seat masterpiece of suspense. A young... Read more
Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot ( Mr Hulot's Holiday ) ( Blu-ray ) (1952)
Director: Jacques Tati
Starring: Nathalie Pascaud, Michelle Rolla, Jacques Tati
Monsieur Hulot, Jacques Tatis endearing clown, takes a holiday at a seaside resort, where his presence provokes one catastrophe after another. Tatis... Read more