Best french movies
by jeanfredericb | created - 10 Dec 2012 | updated - 07 Nov 2016 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Going Places (1974)
R | 117 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
Two thugs harass assault, steal, murder, Marie-Ange, a jaded, passive hairdresser, joins them as lover, cook, and mother confessor, on her own search for seemingly unattainable sexual pleasure.
Director: Bertrand Blier | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Miou-Miou, Patrick Dewaere, Christian Alers
Votes: 9,942 | Gross: $0.77M
2. OSS 117: Lost in Rio (2009)
Not Rated | 101 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Another mission of world-known French secret agent leads him to exotic Brazil.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius | Stars: Jean Dujardin, Louise Monot, Rüdiger Vogler, Alex Lutz
Votes: 16,501 | Gross: $0.09M
3. Mesrine: Killer Instinct (2008)
R | 113 min | Action, Biography, Crime
The story of the notorious French gangster Jacques Mesrine, with the focus on his life before the early 1970s and the events that led to him being declared Public Enemy No. 1 in France.
Director: Jean-François Richet | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Cécile de France, Gérard Depardieu, Gilles Lellouche
Votes: 35,279 | Gross: $0.55M
4. OSS 117: Cairo, Nest of Spies (2006)
Not Rated | 99 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
Secret agent OSS 117 foils Nazis, beds local beauties, and brings peace to the Middle East.
Director: Michel Hazanavicius | Stars: François Damiens, Jean Dujardin, Khalid Maadour, Youssef Hamid
Votes: 23,097 | Gross: $0.30M
5. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 793,931 | Gross: $33.23M
6. Queen Margot (1994)
R | 161 min | Biography, Drama, History
Young Queen Margot finds herself trapped in an arranged marriage amidst a religious war between Catholics and Protestants. She hopes to escape with a new lover, but finds herself imprisoned by her powerful and ruthless family.
Director: Patrice Chéreau | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Daniel Auteuil, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Vincent Perez
Votes: 18,988 | Gross: $2.02M
7. Cyrano de Bergerac (1990)
PG | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, History
Famed swordsman and poet Cyrano de Bergerac is in love with his cousin Roxane. He has never expressed his love for her as he his large nose undermines his self-confidence. Then he finds a way to express his love to her, indirectly.
Director: Jean-Paul Rappeneau | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Anne Brochet, Vincent Perez, Jacques Weber
Votes: 25,938 | Gross: $15.14M
8. Bunker palace hôtel (1989)
95 min | Sci-Fi
In an imaginary dictature of a futuristic world, rebellion has broken out. The men in power scramble to the Bunker Palace Hotel, a bunker built long ago for just this kind of contingency. ... See full summary »
Director: Enki Bilal | Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Carole Bouquet, Maria Schneider, Roger Dumas
Votes: 954
9. Camille Claudel (1988)
R | 175 min | Biography, Drama, History
Camille Claude impresses already-famous sculptor Auguste Rodin. He hires her as an assistant, but soon Camille begins to sculpt for herself and she also becomes his mistress. But after a while, she would like to get out of his shadow.
Director: Bruno Nuytten | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Gérard Depardieu, Madeleine Robinson, Laurent Grévill
Votes: 7,394 | Gross: $0.20M
10. Nuit d'ivresse (1986)
87 min | Comedy
Jacques Belin, presenter of a silly TV show, gets drunk after receiving an award and misses the train bringing his TV-soap-star fiancée. He meets up with Frède, just out of prison after a ... See full summary »
Director: Bernard Nauer | Stars: Josiane Balasko, Thierry Lhermitte, Gérard Martin, Jean-Claude Dauphin
Votes: 669
11. Manon of the Spring (1986)
PG | 113 min | Drama
A beautiful but shy shepherdess plots vengeance on the men whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her father's land caused his death years earlier.
Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Yves Montand, Emmanuelle Béart, Daniel Auteuil, Hippolyte Girardot
Votes: 23,943 | Gross: $3.94M
12. Jean de Florette (1986)
PG | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
A greedy landowner and his backward nephew conspire to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell.
Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Elisabeth Depardieu
Votes: 27,537 | Gross: $4.94M
13. One Deadly Summer (1983)
R | 133 min | Drama, Mystery
A young woman who oozes sensuality arrives in a small town and marries the local mechanic. Was it love at first sight? What links her enigmatic presence to the family's piano? Is it curiosity or is it something far more sinister?
Director: Jean Becker | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Alain Souchon, Suzanne Flon, Jenny Clève
Votes: 5,353
14. Les Misérables (1982)
Unrated | 220 min | Drama
The story of Jean Valjean, a Frenchman convicted of minor crimes, who is hounded for years by an unforgiving and unrelenting police inspector, Javert.
Director: Robert Hossein | Stars: Lino Ventura, Jean Carmet, Michel Bouquet, Valentine Bordelet
Votes: 1,063
15. Santa Claus Is a Stinker (1982)
88 min | Comedy
Two neurotics, working for a suicide hotline on the night of Christmas Eve, get caught up in a catastrophe when a pregnant woman, her abusive boyfriend, and a transvestite visit their office.
Director: Jean-Marie Poiré | Stars: Anémone, Josiane Balasko, Marie-Anne Chazel, Christian Clavier
Votes: 10,487
16. Mille milliards de dollars (1982)
132 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young journalist stumbles across something much more sinister than a simple suicide in the death of a politician - the death seems to be an assassination contrived by an American ... See full summary »
Director: Henri Verneuil | Stars: Patrick Dewaere, Mel Ferrer, Michel Auclair, Caroline Cellier
Votes: 968
17. The Cabbage Soup (1981)
102 min | Comedy, Drama, Sci-Fi
2 buddy farmers are visited by aliens who like their domestic cabbage soup.
Director: Jean Girault | Stars: Louis de Funès, Jean Carmet, Jacques Villeret, Claude Gensac
Votes: 9,569
18. La Chèvre (1981)
91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
A daughter of a millionaire, distinguished by incredible bad luck, goes missing. The idea how to find her is either insane or brilliant - to send after her an equally unlucky person.
Director: Francis Veber | Stars: Pierre Richard, Gérard Depardieu, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Corynne Charbit
Votes: 10,624
19. The Miser (1980)
125 min | Comedy
An incredible miser fights against the whole world to multiply his wealth.
Directors: Louis de Funès, Jean Girault | Stars: Louis de Funès, Franck Cabot-David, Hervé Bellon, Georges Audoubert
Votes: 5,173
20. Les sous-doués (1980)
92 min | Comedy
Baptiste 'Bebel' Lavalle and his classmates in Versailles' private high-school Louis XIV enjoy their carefree life enough to deliberately fail the exams, a national record of zero ... See full summary »
Director: Claude Zidi | Stars: Michel Galabru, Maria Pacôme, Daniel Auteuil, Philippe Taccini
Votes: 4,183
21. Serie Noire (1979)
Not Rated | 116 min | Crime, Drama
Franck Poupart is a slightly neurotic door-to-door salesman in a sinister part of Paris' suburbs. He meets Mona, a teenager, who's been made a prostitute by her own aunt. Franck would like ... See full summary »
Director: Alain Corneau | Stars: Patrick Dewaere, Myriam Boyer, Marie Trintignant, Bernard Blier
Votes: 3,506
22. French Fried Vacation 2 (1979)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy
Eight tourists who met in a holiday camp on the Ivory Coast are reunited for a skiing holiday.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Josiane Balasko, Michel Blanc, Marie-Anne Chazel, Christian Clavier
Votes: 9,127
23. Buffet Froid (1979)
Not Rated | 89 min | Comedy, Crime, Thriller
Alphonse lives in an empty building. Empty but for one neighbour, the police captain Morvandieu. When the man who have killed Alphonse's wife appears, the three men will be thrown in a serie of event in a surrealist world.
Director: Bertrand Blier | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Bernard Blier, Jean Carmet, Denise Gence
Votes: 6,500
24. Le sucre (1978)
104 min | Comedy, Drama, Thriller
Civil servant Adrien Courtois comes to Paris in order to make his money bear fruits.
Director: Jacques Rouffio | Stars: Jean Carmet, Gérard Depardieu, Michel Piccoli, Nelly Borgeaud
Votes: 554
25. French Fried Vacation (1978)
105 min | Comedy, Romance
Holidaymakers arriving in a Club Med camp on the Ivory Coast are determined to forget their everyday problems and emotional disappointments. Games, competitions, outings, bathing and sunburn accompany a continual succession of casual affairs.
Director: Patrice Leconte | Stars: Josiane Balasko, Luis Rego, Marie-Anne Chazel, Michel Blanc
Votes: 7,705
26. La Cage aux Folles (1978)
R | 97 min | Comedy
The manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and his star attraction, are a gay couple. Madness ensues when his straight son brings home a fiancée and her ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
Director: Édouard Molinaro | Stars: Ugo Tognazzi, Michel Serrault, Claire Maurier, Rémi Laurent
Votes: 11,906 | Gross: $20.42M
27. Pardon Mon Affaire (1976)
PG | 105 min | Comedy, Romance
As loyal as a dove, a family man is about to tell his first lie to his wife when he falls for an enchanting woman in a billowy red dress. With a bit of help, he just might get what he wishes for; however, is love always a bed of roses?
Director: Yves Robert | Stars: Jean Rochefort, Claude Brasseur, Guy Bedos, Victor Lanoux
Votes: 2,354
28. The Wing or The Thigh? (1976)
104 min | Comedy, Family
Charles Duchemin, a well-known gourmet and the publisher of a famous restaurant guide, is waging a war against fast-food entrepreneur Tricatel to save the French art of cooking. After ... See full summary »
Director: Claude Zidi | Stars: Louis de Funès, Coluche, Ann Zacharias, Julien Guiomar
Votes: 12,322
29. The Story of Adele H (1975)
PG | 96 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of Adèle Hugo's unrequited love for a lieutenant.
Director: François Truffaut | Stars: Isabelle Adjani, Bruce Robinson, Sylvia Marriott, Joseph Blatchley
Votes: 8,970
30. The Return of the Tall Blond Man (1974)
84 min | Comedy
With 'little captain' Cambrai raising serious doubts about the reality of the so-called "super spy", Colonel Toulouse kidnaps Christine and forces Francois to play again the character of "... See full summary »
Director: Yves Robert | Stars: Pierre Richard, Jean Carmet, Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc
Votes: 4,071
31. A Pain in the Ass (1973)
PG | 85 min | Comedy
Milan must kill Louis Randoni before he testifies in a court of law. He is disturbed by his depressed roommate François Pignon who commits suicide by hanging himself from the toilet pipe flooding Milan's room. Here he is stuck in problems.
Director: Édouard Molinaro | Stars: Lino Ventura, Jacques Brel, Caroline Cellier, Jean-Pierre Darras
Votes: 3,685
32. The Tall Blond Man with One Black Shoe (1972)
PG | 90 min | Comedy, Mystery
A hapless orchestra player becomes an unwitting pawn of rival factions within the French secret service after he is chosen as a decoy by being identified as a super secret agent.
Director: Yves Robert | Stars: Pierre Richard, Bernard Blier, Jean Rochefort, Mireille Darc
Votes: 9,245 | Gross: $0.40M
33. Donkey Skin (1970)
91 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise and flee the kingdom so she won't have to marry the king who happens to be her father.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Micheline Presle
Votes: 6,349
34. Army of Shadows (1969)
Not Rated | 145 min | Drama, War
An account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France.
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret
Votes: 25,831 | Gross: $0.74M
35. Very Happy Alexander (1968)
G | 100 min | Comedy, Drama
Alexandre, a young and honest farmer under the yoke of an authoritarian wife, works around the clock in the fields. When she dies in a car accident, it's a holiday for Alexandre.
Director: Yves Robert | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Françoise Brion, Marlène Jobert, Paul Le Person
Votes: 2,333
36. Oscar (1967)
G | 85 min | Comedy
Neurotic businessman must find the right man for his pregnant daughter. In fact, it is little bit complicated.
Director: Édouard Molinaro | Stars: Louis de Funès, Claude Rich, Mario David, Germaine Delbat
Votes: 7,530
37. The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
G | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Two sisters leave their small seaside town of Rochefort in search of romance. Hired as carnival singers, one falls for an American musician, while the other must search for her ideal partner.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, George Chakiris, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin
Votes: 12,023 | Gross: $0.09M
38. Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At! (1966)
G | 132 min | Adventure, Comedy, War
Several ordinary Frenchmen go on an epic voyage through the occupied country to the free zone as they help British pilots avoid German captivity.
Director: Gérard Oury | Stars: Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Claudio Brook, Andréa Parisy
Votes: 20,200
39. The Sucker (1965)
111 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
Criminals have chosen an ordinary man to carry drugs and jewels in his car across the border. The problem is that this man turned out too much ordinary.
Director: Gérard Oury | Stars: Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Venantino Venantini, Henri Génès
Votes: 8,039
40. Fantomas (1964)
Not Rated | 104 min | Adventure, Comedy, Crime
The best men of France - a brave journalist and an extremely energetic commissioner - attack the trail of a mysterious criminal mastermind.
Director: André Hunebelle | Stars: Jean Marais, Louis de Funès, Mylène Demongeot, Jacques Dynam
Votes: 12,022
41. The Gendarme of Saint-Tropez (1964)
90 min | Comedy, Crime
Gendarme Ludovic Cruchot is re-assigned to the French Riviera seaside resort town of Saint-Tropez where petty criminals and his own daughter give him a hard time.
Director: Jean Girault | Stars: Louis de Funès, Geneviève Grad, Michel Galabru, Christian Marin
Votes: 13,830
42. Any Number Can Win (1963)
118 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
A career con artist reunites with his wife but has already planned his next move: one daring last heist that will set him up for life. However, there is no such thing as a foolproof plan.
Director: Henri Verneuil | Stars: Jean Gabin, Alain Delon, Claude Cerval, Viviane Romance
Votes: 4,143 | Gross: $1.00M
43. Crooks in Clover (1963)
105 min | Action, Comedy, Crime
A dying mob boss hands over his business to an old friend, Fernand. The boss' assistants want to get rid of the latter. But are the Volfoni brothers and Théo real threats? Ensuing fights and shootouts are more comical than deadly.
Director: Georges Lautner | Stars: Lino Ventura, Bernard Blier, Francis Blanche, Claude Rich
Votes: 6,588
44. Le président (1961)
110 min | Thriller
At 73, France's ex-president, Emile Beaufort, faces declining health, but he still plays a vigorous role behind the scenes as a philosopher and, potentially, as a power broker. In ... See full summary »
Director: Henri Verneuil | Stars: Jean Gabin, Bernard Blier, Renée Faure, Henri Crémieux
Votes: 1,067
45. Purple Noon (1960)
PG-13 | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Tom Ripley is a talented mimic, moocher, forger and all-around criminal improviser; but there's more to Tom Ripley than even he can guess.
Director: René Clément | Stars: Alain Delon, Maurice Ronet, Marie Laforêt, Erno Crisa
Votes: 19,321
46. The Crossing of Paris (1956)
80 min | Comedy, Drama
Two men carry at night four suitcases of contraband meat across German-occupied Paris during WWII. Their opposite personalities and strange encounters provoke different adventures - until they are arrested by the police.
Director: Claude Autant-Lara | Stars: Jean Gabin, Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Jeannette Batti
Votes: 4,318 | Gross: $0.02M
47. The Wages of Fear (1953)
Not Rated | 131 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli
Votes: 66,529
48. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.
Directors: Jean Cocteau, René Clément | Stars: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parély, Nane Germon
Votes: 28,072 | Gross: $0.30M
49. A Very Long Engagement (2004)
R | 133 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Tells the story of a young woman's relentless search for her fiancé, who has disappeared from the trenches of the Somme during World War One.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Gaspard Ulliel, Jodie Foster, Dominique Pinon
Votes: 75,938 | Gross: $6.17M
50. Joseph Balsamo (1973– )
255 min | Crime
Balsamo, a scoundrel with the gift of mesmerism, seeks to gain power in the French court in the days before the Revolution.
Stars: Jean Marais, Udo Kier, Guy Tréjan, Louise Marleau
Votes: 91
51. The Man Who Planted Trees (1987)
30 min | Animation, Short, Drama
The story of a shepherd's single handed quest to re-forest a barren valley.
Director: Frédéric Back | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Christopher Plummer
Votes: 6,110
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