Monday, August 13, 2007

OH YEAH AND THOSE FRENCH FLICS

Another alphabet list, my favorite French films, under their titles in the U. S.:

AND GOD CREATED WOMAN (just for Bridget Bardot to experience the sexiness that made her famous) and AMELIE (some found this a little too sweet, not me)
BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Cocteau’s), BREATHLESS, and BETTY BLUE
CHILDREN OF PARADISE, CYRANO DE BERGERAC (with Depardieu), and CHANGING TIMES
DISCREET CHARM OF THE BOURGEOISIE, LES DIABOLIQUES (with Simon Signoret, one of my all time favorite movie stars) and DIVA
ELEVATOR TO THE GALLOWS (great Miles Davis score)
FOUR HUNDRED BLOWS, THE and LA FEMME NIKITA
GRAND ILLUSION, THE and GOING PLACES (first time I saw Gerard Depardieu and was knocked out by his screen presence, in a movie that some called “Beat” though it’s more like black comedy)
H?
I?
JULES AND JIM
K?
LAST TANGO
MURMUR OF THE HEART
NAPOLEAN (Abel Gance directed what many consider the greatest silent film, with Antonin Artaud, the infamous creator of the” theater of cruelty”) and NIGHT AND FOG (one of the all time great documentaries)
ONE DEADLY SUMMER (Isabelle Adjani gives one of the greatest, sexiest, saddest, most beautiful and most revealing performances ever on film)
PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC, THE (Carl Dreyer silent film with Antonin Artaud)
Q?
RULES OF THE GAME (considered by many critics to be the greatest film ever made) and THE RETURN OF MARTIN GUERRE
SHOOT THE PIANO PLAYER
TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE, THE (one of the best animated films ever)
UMBRELLAS OF CHERBOURG (tour de force musical where every word is sung and with another favorite movie star, Catherine Deneuve)
VIE EN ROSE, LA
WILD CHILD, THE
X?
Y?
ZAZIE DANS LE METRO (this 1960 flick was the first foreign film I saw as an “art film” thinking I was now an “intellectual” by watching it, even though I’d seen Bridget Bardot movies before this, but only for the sensual thrill of her screen presence, and a few Italian films for similar reasons)

6 comments:

RJ Eskow said...

If you ever switch to decaf my world will be a far poorer place ...

Love ya, man.

Anonymous said...

Isabelle Adjani's filmography is full of other masterpieces (Camille Claudel, The Story of Adele H, Adolphe, Deadly Circuit, Possession, Queen Margot etc.):
http://bonvoyage-ia.blogspot.com/
http://isabelleadjani.blogspot.com/
http://teemix.aufeminin.com/world/stars/photos__todo=planche&i=1364.html
I hope these links will give you reasons to see other films in which she plays! ;)

Lally said...

rj, I quit caffiene back in my 20s! Too much of a "natural speed freak" already. And as for those Isabelle Adjani flicks anonymous, I know most of them and do dig them, and probably should have included a few of them on the list, but they just didn't come to mind (except for the Camille Claudel one but thought I already had enough C's).

RJ Eskow said...

I need to quit caffeine now, the doctor says! But I have difficulty stopping things that are bad for me ... funny thing about that ...

Lally said...

Yes, I've heard of this phenomenon (sp.?) (Quid Me Vexare?).

Anonymous said...

One of my favorite directors is Philipphe de Broca, so I would like to suggest some of his work---That Man From Rio, Dear Inspector, Touch and Go---for your list.

Isabelle Adjani. Hmmm, nice!

Doodle