By James V. Ruocco
French cinema.
The French language.
Nothing quite like it.
Artistic.
Romantic
Creative.
Unexpected.
Masterful.
So much to see and choose from.
Listed below are some of my French favorites.
Laissez les Francais nous dire ce dont nous avons besoin.
The Films:
(1960) director: Rene Clement
Cast: Alain Delon, Marie Laforet, Maurice Ronet
Any Number Can Win (Melodie en sous-sol)
(1963) director: Henri Verneuvil
Cast: Alain Delon, Jean Gabin, Viviane Romance, Claude Cerval, Maurice Biraud
Day for Night (La Nuit americaine)
(1973) director: Francois Truffaut
Cast: Jacqueline Bisset, Jean-Pierre Leaud, Valentine Cortese, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Francious Truffaut
And Now My Love (Toute une vie)
(1974) director: Claude Lelouch
Cast: Marthe Keller, Andre Dussollier, Charles Denner, Carla Gravina
Jules and Jim (Jules e Jim)
(1962) director: Francois Truffaut
Cast: Jeanne Moreau, Oskar Werner, Henri Serre
Elle
(2016) director: Paul Verhoeven
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Anne Consigny, Laurent Lafitte, Christian Berkel
Au revior les enfants (Goodbye, Children)
(1987) director: Louis Malle
Cast: Gaspard Manesse, Raphael Fejto, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Irene Jacob
Lacombe, Lucien
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(1974) director: Louis Malle
Cast: Pierre Blaise, Aurore Clement, Therese Giehse, Holger Lowenadler
The Last Metro (Le Dernier Metro)
(1980) director: Francois Truffaut
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Gerard Depardieu, Heinz Bennent
La Piscine (The Swimming Pool)
(1969) director: Jacques Deray
Cast: Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Jane Birkin, Maurice Ronet
Les violons du bal (Violins at the Ball)
(1974) director: Michel Drach
Cast: David Drach, Marie-Jose Nat, Jean Louis Trintignat, Christian Rist, Nathalie Roussel
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg)
(1964) director: Jacques Demy
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel
The Young Girls of Rochefort (Le Demoiselles de Rochefort)
(1967) director: Jacques Demy
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Francoise Dorleac, Gene Kelly, George Chakiris, Danielle Darrieux, Grover Dale
With a Friend Like Harry... (Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien)
(2000) director: Dominik Moll
Cast: Laurent Lucas, Sergi Lopez, Mathilde Seugner, Sophie Guillemin
The 400 Blows (Les Quatre cents coups)
(1959) director: Francois Truffaut
Cast: Jean-Pierre Leaud, Albert Remy, Patrick Auffay, Claire Maurier
Borsalino
(1970) director: Jacques Deray
Cast: Alain Delon, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Catherine Rouvel
Le Samourai
(1967) director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Cast: Alain Delon, Francois Perier, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier
Manon of the Spring (Manon des Sources)
(1986) director: Claude Berri
Cast: Emmanuelle Beart, Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil
A Christmas Tale (Un conte de Noel)
(2008) director: Arnaud Desplechin
Cast: Catherine Denueve, Mathieu Amalric, Chiara Mastroianni, Anne Consigny
8 Women (8 femmes)
(2002) director: Francois Ozon
Cast: Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Beart, Ludvine Sagnier
This column is dedicated to my mother Frances Capizzi Ruocco who adored Alain Delon. He was her favorite French film star. "He is very beautiful," she would often say. "But he can also act which makes him even more beautiful."
