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!
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
Adapted from three short stories by Guy de Maupassant, each segment revels in the ecstasy of pleasure: an old man regains his youth with the aid of a... Read more
Adapted from three short stories by Guy de Maupassant, each segment revels in the ecstasy of pleasure: an old man regains his youth with the aid of a... Read more
Jean Renoir explores the complex relationship between theatre and life in this highly stylised account of the travels of a commedia dell'arte troupe i... Read more
A timeless evocation of childhood innocence corrupted, Rene Clement's ("Purple Noon") undisputed masterpiece tells the story of a young girl orphaned... Read more
Jacques Becker lovingly evokes the belle epoque Parisian demimonde in this classic tale of doomed romance. When gangster's moll Marie (Simone Signoret... Read more
AKA "The Girl in the Bikini". Manina (Brigitte Bardot) is a beautiful young woman who lives with her father, who tends a lighthouse near the ocean. On... Read more
This wonderfully comic plotless movie about Monsieur Hulot's vacation trip to the seashore features hilarious situations and a brilliant performance b... Read more
Louis de Funes was one of France's original funnymen, with the rubber-faced prankster hitting his stride in French slapstick comedies of the 50s, 60s... Read more
A priest (Claude Laydu) arrives in the French country village of Ambricourt to attend to his first parish. The apathetic and hostile rural congregatio... Read more