# French movies, anyone?
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [August 11, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339 "2003-08-11T06:56:09Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@HanoNymus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HanoNymus)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 6:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/1 "2003-08-11T06:56:09Z")
But not just any movies! Here’s the catch: I’m trying to put together a list of must-have _and hard to find_ French films. In other words, DVD’s worth shipping over the pond. Most of the titles I could think of are available either at Amazon or Barnes&Noble. Can anyone recommend me some “hidden gems” that are _not_ available in the US?
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### Author:  [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/2 "2003-08-11T07:25:10Z")
I assume you’re fluent in French? Because DVDs of French movies tend to come without English subtitles.
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### Author:  [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 7:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/3 "2003-08-11T07:42:05Z")
Ainsi finit la nuit (1949) _a.k.a._ L’affaire
Amants, Les (1958) _a.k.a._ The Lovers
Ape regina, L’ (1963) _a.k.a._ The Conjugal Bed
L’argent (1929)
Au hasard Balthazar (1966)
Au-delà des grilles (1948)
Aveu, L’ (1970) _a.k.a._ The Confession
Belle noiseuse, La (1991)
Cage aux rossignols, La (1945) _a.k.a._ A Cage of Nightingales
Cas du docteur Laurent, Le (1957) _a.k.a._ The Case of Dr. Laurent
Casque d’or (1952) _a.k.a._ Golden Marie
Celui qui doit mourir (1957) _a.k.a._ He Who Must Die
Chinoise, La (1967)
Compartiment tueurs (1965) _a.k.a._ The Sleeping Car Murders
Crèvecoeur (1955) _a.k.a._ Heartbreak Ridge
Deuxième souffle, Le (1966) _a.k.a._ Second Breath
Dieu a besoin des hommes (1950) _a.k.a._ Isle of Sinners
Enfance nue, L’ (1970) _a.k.a._ Me
Enfant secret, L’ (1982)
Fantôme de la liberté, Le (1974) _a.k.a._ The Phantom of Liberty
Farrebique (1946)
Fin du jour, La (1939) _a.k.a._ The End of a Day
Fruit défendu, Le (1952) _a.k.a._ Forbidden Fruit
Fête à Henriette, La (1952) _a.k.a._ Holiday for Henrietta
Garçon sauvage, Le (1951) _a.k.a._ Savage Triangle
Golgotha (1935)
Goupi mains rouges (1943) _a.k.a._ It Happened at the Inn
Guerre des gosses, La (1936) _a.k.a._ Generals Without Buttons
Hoa-Binh (1970)
Homme sur les quais, L’ (1993) _a.k.a._ The Man on the Shore
Hôtel du Nord (1938)
Il est charmant (1932)
Ingénue libertine, L’ (1950) _a.k.a._ Minne
Jean de la Lune (1932)
Jour de fête (1948)
Justice est faite (1950) _a.k.a._ Justice Is Done
Lacombe Lucien (1974)
- . . . more later\*
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### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 10:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/4 "2003-08-11T22:18:22Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Dragon Phoenix \*
> \*\*I assume you’re fluent in French? Because DVDs of French movies tend to come without English subtitles. \*\*
Is that generally true? With the EU and cross europe sales don’t most european DVDs come with four or five subtitle languages? I don’t know of many films (as opposed to TV programmes) you can get in UK without french subtitles.
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### Author:  [@Zazie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zazie)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/5 "2003-08-11T22:34:17Z")
You got to get the classics… “Jean de Florette” and the follow up “Manon des sources”. Great movies.
If you are not scared of violence, try “doberman”, weird one. Hard to find I think.
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### Author:  [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/6 "2003-08-11T22:55:19Z")
It is never easy following **Walloon** in these threads, so I apologise in advance for any duplicates. Also, not living in the US, I have no idea whether or not these films are easily available. Regardless, here are some French films which are definitely worth seeing:
_La Grande Illusion_ ( Jean Renoir, 1937)
_La Règle du Jeu_ ( Jean Renoir, 1939)
_La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc_ ( Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)
_Les Enfants du Paradis_ ( Marcel Carné, 1945)
_Les Jeux Interdits_ ( René Clément, 1952)
_L’Argent_ ( Robert Bresson, 1983)
_Pickpocket_ ( Robert Bresson, 1959)
_Un condamné à mort s’est échappé_ ( Robert Bresson, 1956)
- Le Procès de Jeanne d’Arc\* ( Robert Bresson, 1962) ( as you may be able to guess, I’m a Bresson fan).
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### Author:  [@Jabba](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jabba)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/7 "2003-08-11T23:03:13Z")
I knew I’d remember some more as soon as I pressed submit. I think you can lose your film buff card for forgetting Max Ophüls
_La Ronde_ ( Max Ophüls, 1950)
_Madame De…_ ( Max Opüls, 1953)
_La Belle et La Bête_ ( Jean Cocteau, 1946)
_Orphée_ ( Jean Cocteau, 1949)
_Au Revoir Les Enfants_ ( Louis Malle, 1987)
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### Author:  [@wolf\_meister](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wolf_meister)
#### Post date: [August 11, 2003, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/8 "2003-08-11T23:56:18Z")
I’ve heard and read great things about _“La Jetée”_. More of a movie “short” - about 30 minutes I think. Also, it is a series of movie “stills”. Here’s the IMDB link for it:
[http://us.imdb.com/Title?0056119](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0056119)
Maybe it can be obtained in the USA but just thought I’d throw my 2¢ in.
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### Author:  [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/9 "2003-08-12T00:00:09Z")
**Jabba** , all those titles are available on DVD and/or VHS in the United States. A good way to check is to look the title up in the Internet Movie Database. A table in the upper right of the film’s title page will tell you the availability of the title on home video in the U.S., Britain, and Germany.
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### Author:  [@Wumpus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wumpus)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/10 "2003-08-12T00:27:07Z")
A reminder for the lurkers: don’t forget the difference between NTSC (US) and PAL (Europe) video formats. Trying to play a regular European DVD in a generic US DVD/TV setup will probably not work. You either need a DVD player that converts PAL to NTSC, or a PAL/NTSC converter box.
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### Author:  [@Eats\_Crayons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eats_Crayons)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/11 "2003-08-12T00:33:27Z")
If you can fin dit (and it’s damn hard) there is a collection of French avant-garde films that includes _La Jetée_, the film that inspired _12 Monkeys_. It’s only about 10-15 mintues and is done all in stills (except one very brief shot).
It’s actually quite an amazing little piece. As far as I kow the video (dunno if it’s on DVD but you can look) is only called “French Avant Garde” or some equally helpful title.
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### Author:  [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/12 "2003-08-12T00:38:04Z")
My favourite French film is _Betty Blue_\*. It’s out of print in the U.S. You can get a Director’s Cut DVD in NTSC format from South Korea, but they blur out the naught bits (which is very distracting). There is an uncensored version of the Director’s Cut (I’ve seen it for sale on Australian websites, but I assume it’s available elsewhere), but it’s in PAL format.
_Vagabond_ was hard to find, but it’s now available in the U.S. on NTSC DVD.
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### Author:  [@Hodge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hodge)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 1:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/13 "2003-08-12T01:39:19Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Wumpus \*
> \*\*A reminder for the lurkers: don’t forget the difference between NTSC (US) and PAL (Europe) video formats. Trying to play a regular European DVD in a generic US DVD/TV setup will probably not work. You either need a DVD player that converts PAL to NTSC, or a PAL/NTSC converter box. \*\*
Further to **Wumpus’** comments about the PAL/NTSC difference, you also have to take into account DVD region coding. North America is Region 1 and Europe is Region 2. In order to play a French released DVD you need a multi-region player capable of converting a PAL signal to NTSC. These are few and hard to come by in North America. Another option is to invest in a DVD-ROM for your computer. These can play PAL/NTSC/SECAM with no problem and most of them can be made region-free with a firmware upgrade.
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### Author:  [@Dragon\_Phoenix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dragon_Phoenix)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 5:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/14 "2003-08-12T05:46:48Z")
> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by Bippy the Beardless \*
> \*\*Is that generally true? With the EU and cross europe sales don’t most european DVDs come with four or five subtitle languages? I don’t know of many films (as opposed to TV programmes) you can get in UK without french subtitles. \*\*
Well, all French DVD’s in the comany library here (and they are pretty uptodate) do not have subtitles or English dubbing.
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### Author:  [@Byzantium](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Byzantium)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 7:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/15 "2003-08-12T07:48:54Z")
I like the movie “Horseman on the roof” starring by Juliette Binoche and Olivier Martinez…who knows it?
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### Author:  [@MusicJunkie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MusicJunkie)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 9:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/16 "2003-08-12T09:46:46Z")
How do I get a firmware upgrade?
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### Author:  [@Bippy\_the\_Beardless](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bippy_the_Beardless)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/17 "2003-08-12T15:04:11Z")
Thanks for the info **Dragon Phoenix** , I had been assuming that since nearly all English language films (that I know of) released in Europe have French subtitles, that the French DVDs would be released with similar courtesy to English speakers.
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### Author:  [@Tusculan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tusculan)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/18 "2003-08-12T20:29:11Z")
Actually, I bough two French DVD’s of French movies last month in the Paris FNAC, and both had English subtitles and/or dubbing (as well as subtitels for lots of other languages). I didn’t check all of the zillions of others, but I don’t think it was just a lucky pick. Strange that the DVD’s in a French library would all be exclusively French. OTOH you say it is a company library. What kind of DVD’s would that be, or: what company is that?
Maybe the library copies are rentals (which may be different from the ones for buying)? Or possibly French DVD-producers have wisened up.
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### Author:  [@cleops](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cleops)
#### Post date: [August 12, 2003, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/19 "2003-08-12T23:40:59Z")
I suggest Claire Denis’ _Chocolat_, (NOT the recent fluff piece with Johnny Depp in it), if you want a good movie on the tired (for some reason) theme of little European girl growing up in Africa.
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### Author:  [@Nichol\_storm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nichol_storm)
#### Post date: [August 13, 2003, 12:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/french-movies-anyone/194339/20 "2003-08-13T00:17:05Z")
Is [La Haine](http://us.imdb.com/Title?0113247), starring Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, and Saïd Taghmaoui any good? I’ve heard some positive things and it sounds interesting.
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