French cinema: 1920s
La Galerie des monstres (1924)
Jaque Catelain
Castile, Spain. Idealistic youngsters, Riquett's and Ralda are deeply in love but their union is opposed by the latter's over-proud aristrocratic grandfather, who has higher hopes for his orphaned ward than marriage to a mere itinerant gypsy boy...
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Jaque Catelain
Gardiens de phare (1929)
Jean Grémillon
Off the coast of Finistère, an old lighthouse keeper Brehan and his son Yvon commence their month-long stint in a lighthouse...
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Jean Grémillon
La Glace à trois faces (1927)
Jean Epstein
Three women from three different social spheres each awaits the return of her lover, and as they do so they reflect on the happy times they have spent together...
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Jean Epstein
La Glu (1927)
Henri Fescourt
Not long after her arrival in a small Breton fishing village, a young woman from Paris soon draws attention to herself. Attached to the Count of Ribiers, a wealthy landowner several years her senior, the woman is looked on with suspicion by the locals, who see her as a dangerous temptress...
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Henri Fescourt
Gribiche (1926)
Jacques Feyder
12-year-old Antoine Belot, nicknamed Gribiche, lives with his mother, a war widow, in modest but comfortable lodgings in Paris...
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Jacques Feyder
L'Hirondelle et la mésange (1920)
André Antoine
Assisted by his wife Griet and sister-in-law Marthe, Pierre van Groot earns a modest wage shipping coal and building materials between northern France and Belgium on his two barges, L'Hirondelle and La Mésange... [More...]
André Antoine
Assisted by his wife Griet and sister-in-law Marthe, Pierre van Groot earns a modest wage shipping coal and building materials between northern France and Belgium on his two barges, L'Hirondelle and La Mésange... [More...]
L'Homme du large (1920)
Marcel L'Herbier
On a rugged stretch of Brittany coastline a wild-looking old man stands motionless, gazing out to sea in silent contemplation... [More...]
Marcel L'Herbier
On a rugged stretch of Brittany coastline a wild-looking old man stands motionless, gazing out to sea in silent contemplation... [More...]
L'Inhumaine (1924)
Marcel L'Herbier
Claire Lescot is a world famous opera singer who revels in the power she exerts over men. To her grand residence on the outskirts of Paris, she invites her many admirers, all of whom are determined to make her their own... [More...]
Marcel L'Herbier
Claire Lescot is a world famous opera singer who revels in the power she exerts over men. To her grand residence on the outskirts of Paris, she invites her many admirers, all of whom are determined to make her their own... [More...]
L'Inondation (1924)
Louis Delluc
In the Vaucluse region of southern France there is a peaceful little town situated on the banks of the mighty Rhône... [More...]
Louis Delluc
In the Vaucluse region of southern France there is a peaceful little town situated on the banks of the mighty Rhône... [More...]
L'Invitation au voyage (1927)
Germaine Dulac
Tired of being ignored by her husband, a young woman heads off one evening to a nautical-themed nightclub that is frequented by rowdy sailors... [More...]
Germaine Dulac
Tired of being ignored by her husband, a young woman heads off one evening to a nautical-themed nightclub that is frequented by rowdy sailors... [More...]
Le Joueur d'échecs (1927)
Raymond Bernard
The year is 1776. Under Catherine the Great, Russia has annexed Poland, Lithuania and Prussia. Polish nobleman Boleslas Vorowski is the leader of a secret resistance movement that intends to free Poland from the yoke of imperialist Russia... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
The year is 1776. Under Catherine the Great, Russia has annexed Poland, Lithuania and Prussia. Polish nobleman Boleslas Vorowski is the leader of a secret resistance movement that intends to free Poland from the yoke of imperialist Russia... [More...]
Le Lion des Mogols (1924)
Jean Epstein
For the past fifteen years, a holy city in Tibet has lived under the tyrannous rule of the Great Khan. A palace guard, Roundgito-Singh, is told by a fortune teller that he will become the city's beloved ruler, providing he is not diverted from his destiny by an untrue woman... [More...]
Jean Epstein
For the past fifteen years, a holy city in Tibet has lived under the tyrannous rule of the Great Khan. A palace guard, Roundgito-Singh, is told by a fortune teller that he will become the city's beloved ruler, providing he is not diverted from his destiny by an untrue woman... [More...]
Maldone (1928)
Jean Grémillon
For twenty years, Olivier Maldone has lived the life of an itinerant labourer, content to earn his meagre wage by toiling on the land and the canals... [More...]
Jean Grémillon
For twenty years, Olivier Maldone has lived the life of an itinerant labourer, content to earn his meagre wage by toiling on the land and the canals... [More...]
Maman Colibri (1929)
Julien Duvivier
Married to a wealthy baron, Irène de Rysbergue leads a privileged life but she still sees herself as a carefree ingénue, attending parties and generally have a good time... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
Married to a wealthy baron, Irène de Rysbergue leads a privileged life but she still sees herself as a carefree ingénue, attending parties and generally have a good time... [More...]
Le Mariage de Mademoiselle Beulemans (1927)
Julien Duvivier
In Brussels, Ferdinand Beulemans is the proud owner of one of the city's leading breweries. He has high hopes of being elected Honorary President of the Brewers' Society, his only serious rival being Monsieur Meulemeester whose son Séraphím is promised in marriage to the Beulemans' beautiful daughter Suzanne... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
In Brussels, Ferdinand Beulemans is the proud owner of one of the city's leading breweries. He has high hopes of being elected Honorary President of the Brewers' Society, his only serious rival being Monsieur Meulemeester whose son Séraphím is promised in marriage to the Beulemans' beautiful daughter Suzanne... [More...]
Marquitta (1927)
Jean Renoir
Prince Vlasco becomes so enchanted by the street singer Marquitta that he leaves his present mistress and takes her as his lover... [More...]
Jean Renoir
Prince Vlasco becomes so enchanted by the street singer Marquitta that he leaves his present mistress and takes her as his lover... [More...]
Mauprat (1926)
Jean Epstein
Hubert de Mauprat is an ageing French nobleman who leads a quiet life at his castle of Saint Sévère in the company of his daughter Edmée... [More...]
Jean Epstein
Hubert de Mauprat is an ageing French nobleman who leads a quiet life at his castle of Saint Sévère in the company of his daughter Edmée... [More...]
Ménilmontant (1926)
Dimitri Kirsanoff
The peace of a rural community is shattered when a man and his wife are violently attacked and murdered with an axe by a deranged killer... [More...]
Dimitri Kirsanoff
The peace of a rural community is shattered when a man and his wife are violently attacked and murdered with an axe by a deranged killer... [More...]
Michel Strogoff (1926)
Viktor Tourjansky
As a revolt by the Tartars threatens to tear the Russian Empire in two, the soldier Michel Strogoff is sent to the Siberian town of Irkutsk with a vital message from the Tsar... [More...]
Viktor Tourjansky
As a revolt by the Tartars threatens to tear the Russian Empire in two, the soldier Michel Strogoff is sent to the Siberian town of Irkutsk with a vital message from the Tsar... [More...]
Le Miracle des loups (1924)
Raymond Bernard
In 1461, following the One Hundred Years' War, France is a divided nation. King Louis XI is resolved to bring the country together, but his ambitions are threatened by noblemen who are reluctant to give up their power... [More...]
Raymond Bernard
In 1461, following the One Hundred Years' War, France is a divided nation. King Louis XI is resolved to bring the country together, but his ambitions are threatened by noblemen who are reluctant to give up their power... [More...]
Monte Cristo (1929)
Henri Fescourt
On the day of his marriage to Mercèdes, the navigator Edmond Dantès is arrested, wrongly accused of being a Bonapartist conspirator... [More...]
Henri Fescourt
On the day of his marriage to Mercèdes, the navigator Edmond Dantès is arrested, wrongly accused of being a Bonapartist conspirator... [More...]
Le Mystère de la tour Eiffel (1928)
Julien Duvivier
With their 'Siamese Twins' dance act, the Mironton Brothers - Achille Saturnin and his exact double - are one of the main attractions at a popular Parisian fairground... [More...]
Julien Duvivier
With their 'Siamese Twins' dance act, the Mironton Brothers - Achille Saturnin and his exact double - are one of the main attractions at a popular Parisian fairground... [More...]
Les Mystères du château de Dé (1929)
Man Ray
The hand of a carved wooden mannequin holds a pair of dice, as if to remind us of Stéphane Mallarmé's words: 'A throw of the dice will never abolish chance'... [More...]
Man Ray
The hand of a carved wooden mannequin holds a pair of dice, as if to remind us of Stéphane Mallarmé's words: 'A throw of the dice will never abolish chance'... [More...]
Nana (1926)
Jean Renoir
A proud but talentless young actress, Nana, dreams of a better life for herself, away from the tawdry slums of Paris. She gets her chance when a government official, Count Muffat, falls under her spell having watched her performance at the theatre... [More...]
Jean Renoir
A proud but talentless young actress, Nana, dreams of a better life for herself, away from the tawdry slums of Paris. She gets her chance when a government official, Count Muffat, falls under her spell having watched her performance at the theatre... [More...]
Napoléon (1927)
Abel Gance
Napoleon Bonaparte is just 14 years old when his potential as a great military commander first becomes apparent. In the winter of 1783, whilst attending an elite military school, Brienne College, he gets into a fierce snowball fight with his enemies and scores a prodigious victory... [More...]
Abel Gance
Napoleon Bonaparte is just 14 years old when his potential as a great military commander first becomes apparent. In the winter of 1783, whilst attending an elite military school, Brienne College, he gets into a fierce snowball fight with his enemies and scores a prodigious victory... [More...]
Les Nouveaux messieurs (1929)
Jacques Feyder
Suzanne Verrier's dreams of becoming a star ballerina with the Paris Opéra ballet company are encouraged by her wealthy patron, Count Montoire-Grandpré... [More...]
Jacques Feyder
Suzanne Verrier's dreams of becoming a star ballerina with the Paris Opéra ballet company are encouraged by her wealthy patron, Count Montoire-Grandpré... [More...]
Paris qui dort (1925)
René Clair
Albert, the young keeper of the Eiffel Tower, awakes one morning and is at once struck by how quiet it is. From his vantage point on the third level of the tower he cannot help noticing that the whole of Paris is at a complete standstill... [More...]
René Clair
Albert, the young keeper of the Eiffel Tower, awakes one morning and is at once struck by how quiet it is. From his vantage point on the third level of the tower he cannot help noticing that the whole of Paris is at a complete standstill... [More...]
La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (1928)
Carl Theodor Dreyer
In 1431, Joan of Arc is arrested and brought before a court of ecclesiastical judges on a charge of treason and heresy. The Church believes that Joan's visions are manifestations of the Devil, but she maintains they are messages from God and his saints... [More...]
Carl Theodor Dreyer
In 1431, Joan of Arc is arrested and brought before a court of ecclesiastical judges on a charge of treason and heresy. The Church believes that Joan's visions are manifestations of the Devil, but she maintains they are messages from God and his saints... [More...]
Pasteur (1923)
Jean Benoît-Lévy
For a man who was destined to change the world more than any other human being Louis Pasteur came from the humblest of origins... [More...]
Jean Benoît-Lévy
For a man who was destined to change the world more than any other human being Louis Pasteur came from the humblest of origins... [More...]
Peau de pêche (1929)
Jean Benoît-Lévy
Peau de pêche is a ten-year-old orphan boy who spends his days living as free as a bird in the streets of Montmartre... [More...]
Jean Benoît-Lévy
Peau de pêche is a ten-year-old orphan boy who spends his days living as free as a bird in the streets of Montmartre... [More...]