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Best
French Films of the
1970s
Jean-Pierre
Melville (1970) |
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Luis
Buñuel (1972) |
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This
stylish mix of film noir and western became one of the definitive policiers
of the 1970s, crafted by perhaps the only French film director to truly
master the genre.
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The
most celebrated and outlandish of Buñuel's
no holds barred assaults on the French middle-classes is a masterpiece
of surrealist comedy.
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Jean
Eustache (1973) |
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François Truffaut
(1973) |
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The
one truly great film from the last of the New Wave directors is this intellectual
yet profoundly spiritual film about one man's search to find an absolute
love, free from all social constraints.
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Perhaps
the best film about film making, this sophisticated and highly entertaining
bitter-sweet comedy earned François Truffaut his Oscar.
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Robert Bresson (1974) |
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Bertrand Tavernier (1975) |
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Bresson's
minimalist telling of the Arthurian legend is in stark contrast to the
traditional film reprersentations of the story, but by showing far less,
the director says a great deal more.
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Fine
performances from Philippe Noiret and Michel Galabru, plus some beautiful
conematography, make this a memorable and original period drama.
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Joseph
Losey (1976) |
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Luis
Buñuel (1977) |
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A
war-time drama in which an unscrupulous art dealer is drawn into a Kafkaesque
nightmare. Made as a stylish policier, with a fine performance from
Alain Delon, this is a compelling film.
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In
his final film, Buñuel has lost none of his daring and creativity.
A bizarre mix of romantic comedy and anti-bourgeois satire, in which two
beautiful actresses take turns to play the same lead character.
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Claude Goretta (1977) |
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Edouard Molinaro (1978) |
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A
poignant and closely observed study of a tragically doomed romance.
A young Isabelle Huppert portrays the vulnerability and despair of a naive
adolescent with shocking believability.
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Based
on Jean Poiret's hit stage play, this was one of the funniest French films
of the 1970s. With outrageously camp performances, it became a cult
film in both France and the United States.
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Bertrand Blier (1979) |
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Alain Corneau (1979) |
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This
extremely bizarre black comedy is one of the most popular films from Bertrand
Blier, a true maverick of French cinema. Some great acting makes
this a compelling surreal masterpiece.
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No
other film captured the mood of France in its social and economic decline
of the late 1970s than this superb black comedy, in which Patrick Dewaere
gives probably his best performance.
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