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!
Le Jour Se Leve ( Daybreak ) (1939)
7.8/10
Director: Marcel Carne
Starring: Jules Berry, Jean Gabin, Jacqueline Laurent
AKA 'Daybreak'. Icon of French fatalism, Jean Gabin, plays Francois, who sits locked in his room, a gun in his hand, having just committed the murder... Read more
The Rules of the Game (La Regle du Jeu) (1939)
8.1/10
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Jean Renoir, Mila Parely
AKA 'La Regle du Jeu'. One of the greatest films of all time, a satirical anatomy of polite bourgeois society, with a mixture of farce and black comed... Read more
La Marseillaise (1938)
7.2/10
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Jean Gabin, Erich Von Stroheim
An incredible spectacle that lavishly documents the French Revolution from the summer of 1789 to the final collapse of Louis XVI's monarchy. This vivi... Read more
Le Quai Des Brumes ( Port of Shadows ) (1938)
7.7/10
Director: Marcel Carne
Starring: Jean Gabin, Michel Simon, Michele Morgan
Deserter Jean arrives in Le Havre and looks for a shelter before leaving the French territory. Housed in a shed on the docks, he meets the mysterious... Read more
La Bete Humaine (1938)
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Jean Gabin, Simone Simon, Julien Carette
Based on the classic Emile Zola novel, Jean Renoir's "La Bete Humaine" was one of the legendary director's greatest popular successes - and earned sta... Read more
La Grande Illusion (1937)
8.1/10
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Jean Gabin, Erich Von Stroheim, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay
One of the very first prison escape movies, 'Grand Illusion' is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. Jean Renoir's antiwar masterpiece stars... Read more
Pepe le Moko (1937)
7.7/10
Director: Julien Duvivier
Starring: Jean Gabin, Mireille Balin, Lucas Gridoux
The notorious Pepe le Moko (Jean Gabin, in a truly iconic performance) is a wanted man: women long for him, rivals hope to destroy him, and the law is... Read more
Une Partie de Campagne ( A Day in the Country ) (1936)
7.8/10
Director: Jean Renoir
Starring: Sylvia Bataille, Georges D'Arnoux
A short and semisweet romantic vignette based on a story by Guy de Maupassant. A group of family members spend a day away from the city in the French... Read more
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
The Films of Jean Vigo (1934)
Director: Jean Vigo
Starring: Dita Parlo, Jean Daste, Michel Simon
The life of masterful French auteur Jean Vigo was cut tragically short at the age of 29, leaving him with a filmography of only four films, all of whi... Read more