French Films  Tags: french_films films movies french france foreign_language_films  

Bienvenue!  Check out these new arrivals! Click on a title to check its availability.

 Il y a longtemps que je t'aime

Ne le dis à personne

Persepolis

Paris, je t'aime

Did you know you can borrow DVDs from the UTSA Library for FREE for 7 days!  Good deal!  Here's how to search:

To find films/videos owned by the UTSA Library start with the Library's online catalog, UCAT on the BASIC search screen. For all of your film/video searches set the Limit to box to DVD/VHS. If you know the title of the film, enter it in the Search box and in the Within box select Title. Run your search. 

If you are looking for films/videos on a particular topic, but do not know a title, put your topic in the Search box and in the Within box select Keyword Anywhere. Remember to brainstorm different terms for your topic as you might not find exactly what you're looking for with the first keyword you think of. You may also look for films by the name of a director, producer, or actor in the same manner. Remember to limit by DVD/VHS.

If you are looking for a film in FRENCH, switch to the ADVANCED search screen in UCAT to select the language of the film from the Language drop down menu. From the Medium drop down menu select Videorecording (DVD/VHS). Enter your search terms in the Search box.

To find a list of all the films the Library owns that are in French select French from the Language menu and in the Search box enter the word videorecording.

What if we don't own the film you're looking for? Request the film via our handy online Interlibrary Loan form. Très facile!

Who won at this year's César Awards or the Cannes International Film Festival? Check out their archives for previous award winners. 

Recommend a French film that you'd like to see considered for addition to the UTSA Library collection. Submit the film's link from the IMDB, Amazon, or some other source below.  I'm always looking for another good French film!

  

Submit a Link

Check out these web sites:

uniFrance: Promoting French Cinema Worldwide: Comprehensive information about French feature length and short films.

ecran noir: A cinézine (in French) with film reviews, celebrity spotlight, news on Cannes, and much more.

ÉCU, The European Independent Film Festival: A highly esteemed competitive festival intended to bring attention to European filmmakers whose films demonstrate quality, innovation, and independence in form and content.

European Films: European film news and reviews.

TV5MONDE/USA: The only global French language network broadcasting 24 hours/day to more than 183 million households worldwide. Watch French films on TV.

So many great films, and so little time! This list is only a
sample of the many classic and contemporary French films
available at the UTSA Library. Search UCAT to find more
films - limit your search by DVD/VHS.
Click on a title in this list to check its availability.

36 Fillette
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .T48 1999
Written and directed by Catherine Breillat, this is the story of fourteen-year-old Lili's journey toward sexual awakening with a middle-aged man. An insightful drama about sexual politics and male hypocrisy. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

À Bout de Souffle = Breathless
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .B741 2001
In this film by director Jean-Luc Godard, based on a story by François Truffaut, a playful car thief accidentally shoots a policeman, then hides out in Paris with a hip American girl, trying to hustle enough cash for a getaway. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

À Nous la Liberté = Liberty for Us
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9.F67 A6687 2002
Originally released as a motion picture in 1931, this highly stylized comedy by director René Clair, satirizes the mechanization of modern life and is considered to be the possible inspiration to Chaplin's "Modern times." DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Les Amants = The Lovers
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9 .F67 L68477 2008
Written and directed by Louis Malle, this landmark film of both modern French cinema and screen eroticism portrays a provincial wife whose shallow life changes overnight when she meets an unpretentious young man. Newly restored digital transfer of the 1958 motion picture. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Au Revoir les Enfants = Goodbye, Children
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .F67 A85 2006
Based on the director's life, this film chronicles Malle's experiences during the German occupation of France during World War II. Julien (Malle) is 12 years old, and the smartest boy in his class at boarding school when a new student appears. The two form a friendship even though Julien senses that his new friend is hiding something. Winner of seven Césars in 1987, including Best Picture. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Le Ballon Rouge = The Red Balloon
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .F7 B35566 2008
A classic childhood fantasy, this is the story of Pascal, a French boy who befriends a red balloon that follows him everywhere; a touching allegory of the magic powers of love and friendship. Written and directed by Albert Lamorisse. Academy Award, Best original screenplay (1956); Cannes Film Festival, Palme d'Or (1956); New York Film Critics Award (1956); American Film Festival, Best Film of the Decade (1968); DVD. No dialog.

Belle de Jour
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .B79429 2002
Originally released as a motion picture in 1967, this subtle, erotic film tells the tale of a wealthy young surgeon's wife who indulges her fantasies by working as a part-time prostitute in a Paris brothel. Directed by Luis Buñuel. Based on the novel by Joseph Kessel. DVD. In French with English subtitles

La Belle et la Bête = Beauty and the Beast
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9.F67 E87 2008
Originally released as a motion picture in 1946, this film, written and directed by Jean Cocteau, is an inventive and stylized depiction of erotic obsession, about a young woman's discovery of a ravaged soul beneath a monstrous beast. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie = The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .C443 2000
"This Academy Award winning film from Luis Buñuel is a priceless satire on the absurd lifestyle of the upper class. As six well-to-do Europeans attempt to have a 'civilized' meal, their plans are continuously thwarted by unlikely, if not outrageous, circumstances." Criterion Collection release of the 1972 motion picture. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Un Condamné à Mort s'est Échappé, ou, Le Vent Souffle où Il Vent = A Man Escaped
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, Video Cassette PN1997 .C663 1994
This film by director Robert Bresson is based on the true story of French Resistance fighter André Devigny's escape from a Nazi prison. Cannes Film Festival, Best Director, 1957. Videocassette release of the 1956 motion picture. VHS. In French with English subtitles.

Le Dernier Métro = The Last Metro
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .D456 2002
A poignant, compelling drama, set in Nazi-occupied Paris, unfolds in the Theatre Montmartre, as a group of actors rehearse. Jewish director Lucas Steiner is forced to hide in the basement of his theater during the Nazi occupation while his wife stars in its latest production. At the same time, a pro-Nazi theater critic ensconces himself in the theater, causing stress to the entire cast. Directed by François Truffaut and originally produced as a motion picture in 1980. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Les Diaboliques
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .D521 1999
Originally released as a motion picture in 1955, this film tells the story of the sadistic headmaster of a boys' school who is murdered by his tremulous wife and vengeful mistress. Although they dispose of the body, the deceased appears in a recent photograph. The suspense builds to an explosive climax in this classic thriller by director Henri-Georges Clouzot. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Un Dimanche à la Campagne = A Sunday in the Country
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, Video Cassette PN1997 .D56 1993
Winner of the Best Director Prize, Cannes Film Festival, 1984, this is "Bertrand Tavernier's poetic study of an aging Impressionist painter, emotionally withdrawn from his family and disappointed by their accomplishments, who makes one final attempt at reconciliation." VHS. In French with English subtitles.

Les Enfants du Paradis = Children of Paradise
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .E54 2002
Marcel Carné's masterpiece, set in 1840s Paris on the Boulevard du Crime, home of Parisian popular theater, "relates the vicissitudes of four men whose existences are intertwined through their irresistible passion for the same woman." This DVD release of the 1945 motion picture is a new digital transfer and includes a new and improved English subtitle translation, filmographies for director Marcel Carné and producer Jacques Prévert, as well as commentaries by film scholars. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain = Amélie from Montmartre
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9 .F67 .A445 2002
Jean-Pierre Jeunet creates a world of color, movement, romance, and whimsy in this César Award-winner. Because she was misdiagnosed with an unusual heart condition, Amélie didn't attend school with other children, but spent most of her time in her room, where she developed a keen imagination and an active fantasy life. Despite all this, Amélie has grown into a healthy and beautiful young woman who works in a cafe and has a whimsical, romantic nature. She decides to step into the lives of others around her to help them find love and happiness. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

La Femme Nikita
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .F46645 2003
Originally released as a motion picture in 1990, this film by Luc Besson tells the story of a cop-killer junkie (played by Anne Parillaud) who is forced by the government to become an undercover assassin for the French secret police or face a life in prison. "This suspenseful film is highlighted by Besson's stylishly decorous visual compositions and innate sense of dramatic pacing." Includes interviews and a documentary on the making of the film. DVD. French or English soundtrack with English, French or Spanish subtitles.

Hiroshima Mon Amour
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .H576 2003
This film, written by Marguerite Duras and directed by Alain Resnais, presents the love story of a French anti-war actress and a Japanese architect who engage in a brief intense affair in Hiroshima in 1959. Both deal with their personal memories of World War II - he by articulating his firsthand experience with nuclear disaster, she by remembering her traumatic affair with a German soldier. Cannes Film Festival, International Critics' Award and Film Writers' Award, 1959; New York Film Critics' Award, Best Foreign Film, 1960. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Jean de Florette
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9.F67 J436 2007
A marvelous tale of greed and intolerance, based on the novel by Marcel Pagnol; directed by Claude Berri. This is the story of Jean Cadoret, an accountant who inherits a farm from his mother and hopes to become a gentleman farmer. Before he even arrives, a powerful and villainous neighbor is plotting to steal his land. The result is heartbreak and tragedy for Jean, who is no match for his wily neighbor. The story is continued in Manon des Sources, released the same year. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Jules et Jim
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .J854 2005
This film is the story of the friendship between two artists and their mutual love for the same woman. Considered Truffaut's greatest film. DVD version of the 1962 motion picture, with added special features. In French with English subtitles.

Manon des Sources = Manon of the Spring
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9.F67 J436 2007
Based on the novel by Marcel Pagnol, this perfectly realized drama picks up where Jean de Florette left off. Ten years after her father was destroyed by the greed of his neighbors, Manon (Jean's daughter) seeks revenge against those she holds responsible for her father's death. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Le Moine et la Sorcière = Sorceress
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, Video Cassette PN1997 .M656 2002
Truffault protégé Suzanne Schiffman crafts an intriguing drama, set in the 13th century concerning a Dominican friar, sent by the Pope to seek out heretics, and a forest woman who performs ancient healing rituals. An historically accurate dramatization of the conflict between ancient customs and religious dogma, this film raises timely questions on the role of the church and its oppression of women. VHS. In French with English subtitles.

Orphée = Orpheus
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9 F67 O77444 2000
Originally released as a motion picture in France in 1950, this is Jean Cocteau's modern version of the Orpheus legend, based on his own play. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Les Parapluies de Cherbourg = The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9.F67 P37 2004
This musical masterpiece by Jacques Demy and Michel LeGrand tells the tale of two lovers split up by the Algerian war. The girl marries another when she discovers she is pregnant. He also marries; yet they meet again. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Une Partie de Campagne = A Day in the Country
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, Video Cassette PN1997 .D39 1993
Based on "Une Partie de Campagne" by Guy de Maupassant, an innocent girl comes of age in Jean Renoir's lyrically tragic short film. Videocassette release of the 1936 motion picture. VHS. In French with English subtitles.

Les Quatre Cents Coups = The Four Hundred Blows
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .F7 A383 2003
One of the landmarks of cinema, which introduced the character of Antoine Doinel as the twelve-year-old boy left to his own devices in an indifferent adult world. Originally issued as a motion picture in 1959. Part of The Adventures of Antoine Doinel: Five Films collection. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

Règle du Jeu = The Rules of the Game
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1997 .R4375 2004
Jean Renoir's masterpiece is a comedy drama set on the eve of World War II. It contrasts the affairs of the French aristocracy and the working class at a weekend house party where masters and their servants are involved in an immoral erotic charade that builds to a shattering climax. This special edition includes interviews and behind-the-scenes footage. DVD. In French with optional English subtitles.

Le Retour de Martin Guerre = The Return of Martin Guerre
Location: JPL Multimedia Center, DVD PN1995.9.F67 R486 2004
The plot revolves around the unraveling of the identity of a 16th century peasant who disappeared as a young husband, and the man who returns to resume his marriage nine years later. Is he the real Martin Guerre? Originally produced as a motion picture in 1982. DVD. In French with English subtitles.

You didn't decide you wanted to watch a movie until midnight? That's okay. The John Peace Library is open 24/5 most of the time throughout the academic year. Check out our hours.

For additional resources on general film studies check out the Film Studies Research Guide.

Are you doing research on a particular film?  Check out these resources. 

Are you looking for an online source?

• Search the Internet Movie Database (IMDB) to find film information like: directors,writers, cast, release date, genre, plot summary, awards, and more. 

Would your instructor like you to cite a print source? Click the library titles below for availability.

• Magill's Survey of Cinema, Foreign Language Films is a good print source for information similar to that found in the IMDB, plus it includes analysis and reviews. Eight volumes cover the early 1900s to 1980. 
• For foreign films released from 1980 to the present, use Magill's Cinema Annual.
• Are you looking for information on a silent film? Try Magill's Survey of Cinema -- Silent Films. 

The following are good sources for film in general, not just foreign films. 

International Dictionary of Films and Filmmakers. Four volumes availabe as an e-book. Features thorough coverage of legendary films, actors, actresses, directors, writers, and other production artists through detailed essays and commentary by experts. Entries include biographies, filmographies, comprehensive credits, production information, major awards, and bibliographies.

Schirmer Encyclopedia of Film. Four volumes available as an e-book.

What do you think about this French Film Research Guide?  Is it helpful?