French Film History

If you want to discover the captivating history of France, then get this audiobook. It includes three books: History of France, Charlemagne, and Notre-Dame de Paris.

It is often claimed that the French invented cinema. Dominating the production and distribution of cinema until WWI, when they were supplanted by Hollywood, the French cinema industry encompassed all genres, from popular entertainment to avant-garde practice. This Very Short Introduction opens up French cinema through focusing on some of its most notable works, using the lens of the New Wave decade (1958-1968) that changed cinema worldwide.

Jean-Paul Belmondo was more than a movie star. He was a movement. From the revolutionary streets of the French New Wave to the grand adventure blockbusters that defined European cinema for decades, Belmondo’s career was a masterclass in charisma, courage, and joy. He laughed. He ran. He jumped across rooftops and hung from helicopters. He lived every moment on screen — and off — with fearless delight. This richly told biography traces Belmondo’s remarkable journey from mischievous boxer to world-famous icon. It explores his legendary collaborations with Jean-Luc Godard, his ...

The lethal beauty. The ice-cold gaze. The myth that defined French cinema. Alain Delon was more than an actor—he was a phenomenon. From the golden sunlight of Purple Noon to the shadowed streets of Le Samouraï, he created some of the most unforgettable images in film history. Admired by Visconti, Melville, and Antonioni, feared and adored in equal measure, Delon embodied the contradictions of France itself: elegance and danger, glamour and scandal, silence and provocation. In The Samurai of Cinema, Julien Peltier traces Delon’s extraordinary journey from a troubled childhood to ...

Juliette Binoche is more than an actress—she is a force of nature. From her breakout role in The Unbearable Lightness of Being to her Oscar-winning turn in The English Patient, from the raw grief of Blue to the daring intensity of Certified Copy and Clouds of Sils Maria, Binoche has built a career defined by bold choices, fearless performances, and a refusal to be categorized. In The Enigma of Juliette Binoche, acclaimed biographer Julien Peltier takes readers on a sweeping journey through the life and career of one of France’s greatest cinematic treasures. With a narrative blending ...

Gérard Depardieu: Larger Than Life – From Châteauroux Streets to the World Stage is a captivating biography that unveils the extraordinary journey of one of France’s most legendary and controversial actors. From a poor, restless boy in provincial France who could barely read, to an international superstar commanding Hollywood screens, Gérard Depardieu’s story is one of raw talent, resilience, and reinvention. He conquered audiences with unforgettable roles in Cyrano de Bergerac, Jean de Florette, Green Card, and The Man in the Iron Mask. But beyond his genius on screen, Depardieu ...

Discover the dazzling mind and magnetic voice of one of France’s greatest living actors. From the working-class streets of Montmartre to the grand stages of Paris, Fabrice Luchini has lived a life shaped by language, literature, and laughter. Known for his electrifying performances in the films of Éric Rohmer, François Ozon, and Philippe Le Guay, Luchini has become far more than an actor — he is a philosopher of performance, a guardian of words, and a national treasure of France. In this richly cinematic biography, Julien Peltier traces the extraordinary transformation of a ...

He kills without motive. He vanishes without trace. And he wears a tuxedo to every crime. In 1911, the world met a new kind of villain: Fantômas. Master of disguise. Genius of terror. A phantom whose crimes made Sherlock Holmes look like an amateur—and whose shadow still darkens every masked killer, supervillain, and antihero today. In Fantômas: The Phantom Lord of Crime and the Birth of the Modern Villain, explore how this pulp fiction menace became the template for an entire century of evil. From his origin in French penny dreadfuls to his resurrection by Surrealist poets, from silent...

Step into the extraordinary life of Isabelle Huppert, the actress who redefined what it means to be fearless on screen. From her quiet beginnings in Paris to international acclaim across Europe, Hollywood, and Asia, Huppert’s story is one of relentless daring. She has built a career not on safe choices, but on risks that pushed cinema itself forward—playing characters that disturb, provoke, and captivate in equal measure. In The Enigma of Isabelle Huppert, part of the acclaimed series The Stars of French Cinema, biographer Julien Peltier traces Huppert’s journey through decades of ...

Raconter une histoire ne s'improvise pas. La narration est un artisanat qui, avant de pouvoir prétendre à l'art, exige le respect de règles que John Truby a rassemblées dans cette Anatomie du scénario. Sa méthode unique nous fait entrer dans les secrets de fabrication de ce qui constitue la condition première de la réussite d'un film - une bonne histoire - et nous guide pas à pas dans la construction des personnages, de l'intrigue, de l'univers du récit, des dialogues, en détaillant les vingt-deux étapes incontournables dans l'écriture d'un scénario réussi.

Défier les lois de la physique avec "Ant-Man", et celles de l'anatomie avec "Godzilla". S'aventurer aux abords d'un trou noir... et y plonger avec "Interstellar". Communiquer avec les aliens comme dans "Premier Contact". Se retrouver seul sur Mars et tenter d'y survivre. Étudier Prometheus et s'interroger sur l'origine et l'évolution des espèces extraterrestres.

From the streets of Casablanca to the bright lights of Hollywood, Jean Reno has built one of the most unique and enduring careers in modern cinema. Beloved in France for his comedy in Les Visiteurs and revered worldwide for his haunting performance in Léon: The Professional, Reno has mastered the rare art of crossing borders—linguistic, cultural, and cinematic. With his quiet intensity, commanding presence, and unexpected vulnerability, he has become a global icon whose work spans thrillers, comedies, dramas, and international blockbusters like Mission: Impossible and The Da Vinci Code. ...

Julia Childs's TV show, The French Chef, was extraordinarily popular during its broadcast from 1963 until 1973. Child became a cultural icon in the 1960s, and, in the years since, she and her show have remained enduring influences on American cooking, American television, and American culture. In this concise book, Dana Polan considers what made Childs program such a success. It was not the first televised cooking show, but it did define and popularize the genre. Polan examines the development of the show, its day-to-day production, and its critical and fan reception.

Even as actresses become increasingly marginalized by Hollywood, French cinema is witnessing an explosion of female talent - a Golden Age unlike anything the world has seen since the days of Stanwyck, Hepburn, Davis, and Garbo. In France, the joy of acting is alive and well. Scores of French actresses are doing the best work of their lives in movies tailored to their star images and unique personalities. Yet virtually no one this side of the Atlantic even knows about them. Viewers who feel shortchanged by Hollywood will be thrilled to discover The Beauty of the Real.

Jewel thievery, car chases, and romance on the French Riviera. Alfred Hitchcock's Oscar-winning film To Catch a Thief brought together Hollywood's two most glamorous stars, Grace Kelly and Cary Grant, in the most glamorous place on Earth, the French Riviera. It is a tale of jewel thievery, intrigue, false identity, covert investigation, and, most of all, romance.

Quels sont les éléments du langage cinématographique (mouvements de caméra, plans, montage, etc.) ? Comment les cinéastes les ont-ils utilisés et comment ont-ils évolués depuis le début du XXe siècle ? En répondant à ces questions, Jean-Claude Carrière, scénariste de Luis Bunuel et de Louis Malle, nous permet de décrypter les images et le son, d'en prendre une conscience nouvelle et de changer à jamais notre regard sur le cinéma.

L'amour du cinéma italien, Jean-Claude Carrière, scénariste de Luis Buñuel et de Louis Malle, nous parle avec passion de son amour du cinéma italien, des films et des metteurs en scène et des acteurs qu'il a connus et qui l'ont marqués : Roberto Rossellini, Federico Fellini, Michelangelo Antonioni, Monica Vitti, Marcello Mastroianni... Élégance, tendresse, humour et gravité.