A Guide to French Cinema

tricky D · 04-01-2012 12:59PM

Denerick wrote: »

Can anyone offer opinions on good historical/political films?

The Battle of Algiers

Ellian · 04-01-2012 04:01PM

Denerick wrote: »

Thanks for all the recommendations. I downloaded Delicatessen last night and will look for a couple more over the week. Planning a grand French movie marathon this weekend (I live dangerously) This is a nice thread I've got to say, might make enquiries about German films in a month or so, broaden my cinematic horizons a bit

Can anyone offer opinions on good historical/political films? Perhaps based on French literature? (I'm still a sucker for Les Miserables with Liam Neeson) Preferably in French with a French director, but even if its inspired by French politics or history I'd be content. Something along the vein of those Tony Blair biopics with Michael Sheen (The Special Relationship etc.) or the biopics on Churchill (The Gathering Storm, Into the Storm) Basically those films but about French political figures.

There is a really great version of Les Miserables updated to WWII vintage with Jean Paul Belmondo. Basic set up is Belmondo is illiterate truck driver who gives people lifts to read the book to him and starts to see parallels between the characters and his own life.

Ellian · 04-01-2012 04:02PM

Days of Glory about French Algerian soldiers is very good too.

Nolanger · 04-01-2012 05:39PM

Denerick wrote: »

Also I'm only really interested in films written in the modern era (1970 onwards) I find a lot of films before that period in any culture are un-necessarily hard work, its like acting methods and plot development are greviously undeveloped and tend to deliberately confuse profundity for boredom. Generally speaking there are some great exceptions (Off the top of my head: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Waterfront, Twelve Angry Men) but even at that I liked the film in spite of the directorial epoch, which I generally find derisory.

To quote; 'To each man his own'.

If you're only interested in French cinema after 1970 then it's pointless.

johnny_ultimate · 04-01-2012 05:42PM

Nolanger wrote: »

If you're only interested in French cinema after 1970 then it's pointless.

Like the vast majority of your posts, then.

Renn · 04-01-2012 05:50PM

Ha, it's not even trolling at this stage - this guy is actually the genuine article. Fascinating.

peckerhead · 04-01-2012 06:02PM

Denerick wrote: »

Can anyone offer opinions on good historical/political films? Perhaps based on French literature?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O9x-M_iPHdA

paulosham · 04-01-2012 08:05PM

Here are a couple of great films

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YWEIxzlKCgA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZs2vL2my7o

sillo · 04-01-2012 09:16PM

Bloody heck, just when I thought I had gotten over my french cinema habit, now i have about a dozen new bloody movies to track down. Thanks a lot guys!

kraggy · 04-01-2012 11:58PM

AaronEnnis wrote: »

Unmissable stuff.

I'm a big fan of Vincent Cassel but I thought Mesrine was awful. Not his fault, but just didn't like the film. I thought it was messy. And it tried to hard.

Was hugely disappointed.

Sad Professor · 05-01-2012 03:43AM

I liked Mesrine, but I agree that it was messy and far from the classic that it could have been. The story is all over the place and contributes nothing of any substance to the genre. But very entertaining all the same and probably worth seeing just for Cassel's performance.

As for French cinema in general, I like some of the early New Wave stuff, 400 Blows especially. I also love many of Truffait's later films such as Stolen Kisses. Some of Melville's work is fantastic as well, particularly Le Samourai, Army of Shadows and Le Cercle Rouge. Melville was a big influence on Michael Mann and his inspiration can also be felt in Drive, which is basically a modern take on Le Samourai.

However, my favourite French film by far is Amélie. I adore that film.

Denerick · 05-01-2012 09:36PM

Renn wrote: »

Ha, it's not even trolling at this stage - this guy is actually the genuine article. Fascinating.

I hope you weren't referring to me. I actually regret the harshness of my words earlier, though I do feel I'm expressing an opinion commonly held, though rarely uttered.

Renn · 05-01-2012 09:43PM

Ha no not at all, referring to the other guy!

Technocentral · 05-01-2012 11:12PM

Denerick wrote: »

Also I'm only really interested in films written in the modern era (1970 onwards) I find a lot of films before that period in any culture are un-necessarily hard work, its like acting methods and plot development are greviously undeveloped and tend to deliberately confuse profundity for boredom. Generally speaking there are some great exceptions (Off the top of my head: To Kill a Mockingbird, The Waterfront, Twelve Angry Men) but even at that I liked the film in spite of the directorial epoch, which I generally find derisory.

To quote; 'To each man his own'.

Your missing out on some of the best and totally accessible films ever including the Film Noir ones of the 40s and 50s like The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity and The Big Sleep and the Likes of Casablanca, Sunset Boulevard, The Treasure Of The Sierra Nevada, Night Of The Hunter, The Third Man, Dr. Strangelove, Lawrence Of Arabia and hundreds more amazing ones and directors like Hitchcock who has never been bettered. It seems a pity to set a time limit on brilliance but if thats what your into fair enough.

Denerick · 06-01-2012 01:39AM

Technocentral wrote: »

Your missing out on some of the best and totally accessible films ever including the Film Noir ones of the 40s and 50s like The Maltese Falcon, Double Indemnity and The Big Sleep and the Likes of Casablanca, Sunset Boulevard, The Treasure Of The Sierra Nevada, Night Of The Hunter, The Third Man, Dr. Strangelove, Lawrence Of Arabia and hundreds more amazing ones and directors like Hitchcock who has never been bettered. It seems a pity to set a time limit on brilliance but if thats what your into fair enough.

I did mention the exceptions - Dr. Strangelove is of course excellent, as are (some) of the Hitchcock films - some of them are incredibly exaggerated. What you say is all well and good but on balance, given all the old films I've forced myself to watch over the years, I've come to the conclusion that that was a less sophisticated age in many ways and that cinema was in an elemental or primitive stage of development.

There are some great novels written before the 18th century. But not many. The novel was in an early period of development and with a few grand exceptions, many of them are utterly unreadable today (Or more simply put, just not that good) They were devised mainly for the idle wives and daughters of aristocrats, and it was only later that they became the beacons of social commentary and reflections on life which now make them so enjoyable.

Similarily you could go on a rampage about how I'm excluding Swift, Cervantes etc... Which is why I'm careful to talk up the exceptions...

Technocentral · 06-01-2012 11:28AM

Denerick wrote: »

I did mention the exceptions - Dr. Strangelove is of course excellent, as are (some) of the Hitchcock films - some of them are incredibly exaggerated. What you say is all well and good but on balance, given all the old films I've forced myself to watch over the years, I've come to the conclusion that that was a less sophisticated age in many ways and that cinema was in an elemental or primitive stage of development.

There are some great novels written before the 18th century. But not many. The novel was in an early period of development and with a few grand exceptions, many of them are utterly unreadable today (Or more simply put, just not that good) They were devised mainly for the idle wives and daughters of aristocrats, and it was only later that they became the beacons of social commentary and reflections on life which now make them so enjoyable.

Similarily you could go on a rampage about how I'm excluding Swift, Cervantes etc... Which is why I'm careful to talk up the exceptions...

I think the total opposite is the case! The 40s to early 70s were the height of the craft (In Lawrence Of Arabia Lean built a whole town for the assault on Aqaba!) and invention in cinema, (think of how post modern Citizen Kane is) nowadays cinema is pretty much just the less glamourous sister of TV and like the 50s they are trying gimmicks like 3D to entice people away from TV (which is 3D for some people now too!). Nothing apart from over reliance on computers has really changed in the structure of cinema since 1970, most of the narrative and visual invention was there already plus lots of those older films are documents of there time that you can't capture 50 years or whatever later, think of the scene in my favourite film ever Casablanca where they sing La Marseillaise in Ricks, lots of the extras are crying because in reality they had been forced to leave Nazi occupied europe for America shortly before appearing in the film, it lends it an incredible poignancy that you can't recreate in a film made now about WW2, I love loads of post 70 films too, maybe more than pre 70 but no real movie fan can dismiss the previous 50 or 60 years of brilliant cinema from around the world because in essence people and their motivations which drive the best stories haven't changed at all really in that time.

Denerick · 06-01-2012 02:07PM

Technocentral wrote: »

I think the total opposite is the case! The 40s to early 70s were the height of the craft (In Lawrence Of Arabia Lean built a whole town for the assault on Aqaba!) and invention in cinema, (think of how post modern Citizen Kane is) nowadays cinema is pretty much just the less glamourous sister of TV and like the 50s they are trying gimmicks like 3D to entice people away from TV (which is 3D for some people now too!). Nothing apart from over reliance on computers has really changed in the structure of cinema since 1970, most of the narrative and visual invention was there already plus lots of those older films are documents of there time that you can't capture 50 years or whatever later, think of the scene in my favourite film ever Casablanca where they sing La Marseillaise in Ricks, lots of the extras are crying because in reality they had been forced to leave Nazi occupied europe for America shortly before appearing in the film, it lends it an incredible poignancy that you can't recreate in a film made now about WW2, I love loads of post 70 films too, maybe more than pre 70 but no real movie fan can dismiss the previous 50 or 60 years of brilliant cinema from around the world because in essence people and their motivations which drive the best stories haven't changed at all really in that time.

Your passion is inspiring. And there is much merit to what you say. However I cannot help but feel that those films that do deserve accolade in that earlier epoch where good in spite of the era they were written in.

Denerick · 06-01-2012 02:10PM

Of Gods and Men looks brilliant! Will definately watch that tomorrow. I'm going to be riotously hungover tomorrow and so far I've the following lined up:

La Haine (Meaning to rewatch it for years)

Of Gods and Men.

Delicatessen.

The Battle of Algiers (if I can summon the energy)

Will write reviews as I go.

Technocentral · 06-01-2012 03:51PM

Denerick wrote: »

Your passion is inspiring. And there is much merit to what you say. However I cannot help but feel that those films that do deserve accolade in that earlier epoch where good in spite of the era they were written in.

I won't convince you but I'll just say that I think things are either good or bad irregardless of the era, lots of rubbish in the 1940s, lots of rubbish in the 1980s and today and of course the opposite is true of all eras. Even if you look at the top 100 films of all time in a popular mag like Total Film a huge amount are pre 1970.

Nolanger · 06-01-2012 05:55PM

That's why The Artist will do so well. People who've never watched a silent feature film from the 1920s will be raving about it.

Renn · 06-01-2012 05:57PM

Most of the people who have been raving about it are well educated when it comes to films from the 1920s. I've watched loads from that period and enjoyed it.

Nodin · 07-01-2012 12:01AM

I enjoyed "Time of the Wolf" (nothing to do with Brotherhood of the wolf), though its a bit low key for some people.

"La Reine Margot" is a good one. Period drama. Though various covers and posters might try to imply otherwise, its not a romance.

Denerick · 07-01-2012 07:25PM

Just watched 'Of Gods and Men'. Found it very moving, though I am hungover and possibly a little over-emotional. Liked the many quiet scenes where the camera focused on inconsequential day to day things, like tilling the soil, gazing off to the horizon, that sort of thing.

pedantic.pat · 07-01-2012 11:46PM

+ 1 Bienvenue Chez Les Chtis or 'welcome to the sticks' best laugh out loud comedy I have seen in years.

I would recommend:

Meserine Crime/Biography about gangster Jacques Meserine is a must see not sure if its been mentioned yet.

La hiane with vincent cassell again is good.

Irreverseable with the ridiculously smokin hot Monica Bellucci (if you can get through the start the most messed up 5 minutes of a film I have ever seen)

Edit:

Trois Coleur Trilogy well worth watch

Wcool · 08-01-2012 02:47PM

Guess I must be older than most of ye here

But for me the golden era of French cinema is 60's and 70's!

Just a hand full:

La grande Bouffe 1973
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070130/
What can I say? Marcello Mastroanni, Michel Piccoli (still making movies, in his 80's) eat themselves to death. Suicide by eating. Morbid, but utterly mesmerizing

Themroc 1973
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0069369/
Another gem, there is only grunting in this movie. It's about the failure of capitalism (YES in 1973!) and the triumph of anarchism. Compelling.

Le Magnifique 1973
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0070354/
Light hearted Jean Paul Belmondo movie about a writer who writes pulp romance novels and makes his main character crash when he does in personal life. With Jacqueline Bisset

Breathless 1960
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053472/
Film noire at its best

Le dernier métro 1980
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080610/
Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu in a war movie.

Betty Blue 1988
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090563/
Just for the sensuality, first 'modern' era French movie

Le Grand Blue 1988
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0095250/
Luc Besson movie, always entertaining, with Jean Reno, downright funny

Un Flic 1972
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067900/
Alain Delon, extemely slow movie, but quelle cinematography!
Cop catches baddies

I can go on - any Catherine Deneuve movie anyone?? It's all brill

Ellian · 11-01-2012 11:11AM

Technocentral wrote: »

(think of how post modern Citizen Kane is)

Why do you think Citizen Kane is postmodern? Not saying you are wrong, but I always thought one of the defining features of postmodernism was a knowing eclectic referencing of the past. For example The Untouchables referencing the Battleship Potemptkin.

Technocentral · 11-01-2012 12:14PM

I was referring to the general sense of self awareness and the visual style such as the use of fake Newsreel, postmodernism is a hard concept to define to everyones agreement but I think the essentials of it are there in that film.

Ellian · 11-01-2012 12:46PM

Technocentral wrote: »

I was referring to the general sense of self awareness and the visual style such as the use of fake Newsreel, postmodernism is a hard concept to define to everyones agreement but I think the essentials of it are there in that film.

Must admit I tend to think of postmodernism as occuring in the 80s sometime but have made mental note to go back and look at CK wearing my postmodernist hat.

paperplane93 · 02-04-2012 02:17AM

Hey just wondering if anyone knew where to find some scripts for french movies ? I tried gooling them but no luck. Im looking for Amélie at the moment to help me learn french

Thanks

ambro25 · 02-04-2012 12:04PM

Denerick wrote: »

Can anyone offer opinions on good historical/political films?

La Reine Margot
Indochine
Dien Bien Phu
Au Revoir Les Enfants

4 choice French movies to get you started with

A Guide to French Cinema

Comments