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The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc (1999) More at IMDbPro »Joan of Arc (original title)

6 items from 2013

26 April 2013 4:39 AM, PDT | Filmofilia | See recent Filmofilia news »

The Avengers‘ star Scarlett Johansson is the latest set to kick some butt for director Luc Besson’s new action flick titled Lucy. The ever-industrious Besson will both write and direct the sci-fi actioner, which centers on a woman who gains super powers after being forced to become a drug mule. When the drug goes into her system, she is transformed into an ass-kicking machine who ‘can absorb knowledge instantaneously, is able to move objects with her mind and can’t feel pain and other discomforts.’ The French director made movies with strong heroines such as La Femme Nikita and Joan of Arc back to his 1990s...

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- Nick Martin

26 April 2013 4:02 AM, PDT | WorstPreviews.com | See recent Worst Previews news »

Luc Besson, who directed "The Fifth Element" and "The Professional," as well as produced "Taken" and "Transporter," has written a script for "Lucy" action thriller with plans of directing. Now comes word that Scarlett Johansson is in final negotiations to star in the film, which centers on a woman forced to become a drug mule. But the drug instead goes into her system, giving her superpowers. She can absorb knowledge instantaneously, is able to move objects with her mind and can't feel pain and other discomforts. "Lucy" is another film for Besson that focuses on strong female characters, like "La Femme Nikita," "Joan of Arc" and "Colombiana." It's also a continuation of action films for Johansson, who starred in "Iron Man 2," "The Avengers," and is now shooting "Captain America: The Winter Soldier." »

25 March 2013 2:00 PM, PDT | NextMovie | See recent NextMovie news »

Ah, France — good wine, great mimes, the best accordion players you could ever find. It's a bastion of culture in an uncultured world; just ask anyone from France and they'll tell you. And as the new international blockbuster "Les Misérables" (now on DVD and Blu-ray) proves, it's also a country filled with amazing history that is perfectly suited for big-screen epics.

Which got us thinking: Is there any place on Earth that has had more historical dramas than France? Sure, there have been plenty of good old-fashioned American period pieces — what with Hollywood being in America and all — but there's just something about France and its complicated history that keeps bringing filmmakers back for more.

So with that in mind, we've put together our ultimate guide to the history of France as told through through the movies. Viva la cinema!

'Henry V' (1989)

Well, this is probably a bit »

- Scott Harris

18 March 2013 6:10 AM, PDT | MUBI | See recent MUBI news »

Like Night of the Hunter, Tod Browning’s Freaks or Leonard Kastle’s The Honeymoon Killers, The Road to Yesterday can be ranked among the UFOs of cinema. It’s place in the heart of Cecil B. DeMille’s work proves to be in itself very distinctive. We know that, during his entire life, DeMille had virtually only one producer—Paramount (the former Famous Players Lasky)—just like Minnelli was MGM’s man and Corman American International’s. Sixty-three of his films (out of seventy) were produced at Paramount. And, oddly enough, it is among the seven outsiders, situated within a brief period from 1925 to 1931, that his best activity is to be found (I’m thinking of Madam Satan, The Godless Girl, and The Road to Yesterday)–his most audacious undertakings. To top it off, for this uncontested king of the box office, his best films were his biggest commercial failures. »

- Luc Moullet

18 February 2013 1:50 AM, PST | Den of Geek | See recent Den of Geek news »

Odd List Aliya Whiteley Feb 19, 2013

Covering 85 years of cinema, Aliya provides her pick of 25 stylish, must-see French movies...

I’m going to kick this off in best New-Wave style by pointing out that we should be praising each great director’s body of work rather than showcasing favourite movies in a list format; after all, France came up with the concept of the auteur filmmaker, stamping their personality on a film, using the camera to portray their version of the world.

Yeah, well, personality is everything. So here’s a highly personal choice, arranged in chronological order, of 25 of the most individualistic French films. They may be long or short, old or new, but they all have one thing in common – they’ve got directorial style. And by that I don’t mean their shoes match their handbags.

The Passion Of Joan Of Arc (1928)

There are no stirring battle scenes, »

- ryanlambie

26 January 2013 10:11 PM, PST | DearCinema.com | See recent DearCinema.com news »

There are numerous ways in which a biopic of a statesman or a politician can be put together in cinema and the chosen approach depends, partly, on the reverence with which the person is regarded by the public likely to watch the film. When a statesman is as well-regarded as a Lincoln or a Gandhi, it is impossible to be ‘truthful’ because a biopic, not being a documentary but an enactment, will be seen as being deliberately scurrilous unless its views agree with the dominant one. Where, in a biopic of a less venerated or more distant historical figure like a Te Lawrence or a Queen Elizabeth I, the director is allowed to become intimate with the subject, this is taboo when dealing with a Gandhi or a Lincoln. We identify with people who might have been as we are but a Gandhi and a Lincoln, at least by consensus, »

- MK Raghavendra

6 items from 2013