All French films listed, including joint country projects. 176 total films mentioned, with 148 in the top 1000. Just France alone had 117, with 94 in the top 1000. These are the highest totals after the U.S.© 2009, William L. Sinclair
1. Rules of the Game, The [Renoir, Jean; 1939] #44 - France
2. L'Atalante [Vigo, Jean; 1934] #49 - France
3. Passion of Joan of Arc, The [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1928] #51 - France
4. Jules et Jim [Truffaut, François; 1961] #59 - France
5. 400 Blows, The [Truffaut, François; 1959] #60 - France
6. Contempt [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1963] #74 - France-Italy
7. Ran [Kurosawa, Akira; 1985] #86 - France-Japan
8. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The [Buñuel, Luis; 1972] #88 - France
9. Au Hasard Balthazar [Bresson, Robert; 1966] #93 - France
10. Gospel According to St. Matthew, The [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1964] #103 - France-Italy
11. Shoah [Lanzmann, Claude; 1985] #119 - France
12. Pickpocket [Bresson, Robert; 1959] #125 - France
13. Pierrot le fou [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1965] #129 - France-Italy
14. Wages of Fear, The [Clouzot, Henri-Georges; 1952] #134 - France-Italy
15. Celine and Julie Go Boating [Rivette, Jacques; 1974] #141 - France
16. Man Escaped, A [Bresson, Robert; 1956] #151 - France
17. My Life to Live (Vivre sa vie) [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1962] #160 - France
18. Diaboliques, Les [Clouzot, Henri-Georges; 1955] #164 - France
19. Breathless [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1959] #179 - France
20. Les Enfants du paradis [Carné, Marcel; 1945] #184 - France
21. La Jetee [Marker, Chris; 1961] #185 - France
22. La Grande Illusion [Renoir, Jean; 1937] #199 - France
23. Pianist, The [Polanski, Roman; 2002] #200 - Fr-Gy-UK-Poland
24. Playtime [Tati, Jacques; 1967] #210 - France
25. Belle de jour [Buñuel, Luis; 1967] #214 - France-Italy
26. Two or Three Things I Know About Her [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1966] #215 - France
27. Last Year at Marienbad [Resnais, Alain; 1961] #216 - France-Italy
28. L'Âge d'or [Buñuel, Luis; 1930] #217 - France
29. Masculine-Feminine [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1966] #221 - France-Sweden
30. Napoléon [Gance, Abel; 1927] #232 - France
31. La Belle et la bête (Beauty/Beast) [Cocteau, Jean; 1946] #242 - France
32. Wings of Desire [Wenders, Wim; 1987] #247 - France-West Germany
33. Diary of a Country Priest [Bresson, Robert; 1950] #250 - France
34. Le Jour se lève [Carné, Marcel; 1939] #255 - France
35. Un Chien Andalou [Buñuel, Luis; 1928] #256 - France
36. Zero for Conduct [Vigo, Jean; 1933] #262 - France
37. Les Vampires [Feuillade, Louis; 1916] #266 - France
38. Earrings of Madame de..., The [Ophuls, Max; 1953] #268 - France
39. Week-End [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1967] #277 - France-Italy
40. Rise to Power of Louis XIV, The [Rossellini, Roberto; 1966] #279 - France
41. Hiroshima mon amour [Resnais, Alain; 1959] #284 - France-Japan
42. Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The [Demy, Jacques; 1964] #289 - France-Germany
43. Day for Night [Truffaut, François; 1973] #291 - France
44. Army of Shadows [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1969] #296 - France-Italy
45. L'Eclisse [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1962] #305 - France-Italy
46. Forbidden Games [Clément, René; 1951] #307 - France
47. Lola Montès [Ophüls, Max; 1955] #309 - France
48. Tristana [Buñuel, Luis; 1970] #315 - France-Spain
49. Vampyr [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1932] #316 - France-Germany
50. Le Million [Clair, René; 1931] #318 - France
51. Mr. Hulot's Holiday [Tati, Jacques; 1953] #330 - France
52. Voyage dans la lune, Le (Trip to the Moon) [Méliès, Georges; 1902] #335 - France
53. Last Tango in Paris [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1973] #337 - France-Italy
54. Amélie [Jeunet, Jean-Pierre; 2001] #345 - France
55. Le Samouraï [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1967] #358 - France
56. La Notte [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1961] #364 - France-Italy
57. Orpheus [Cocteau, Jean; 1950] #365 - France
58. 1900 [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1976] #368 - France-Germany-Italy
59. Band of Outsiders [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1964] #375 - France
60. À nous la liberté [Clair, René; 1931] #383 - France
61. Red Desert [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1964] #388 - France-Italy
62. Shoot the Piano Player [Truffaut, François; 1960] #393 - France
63. Lola [Demy, Jacques; 1961] #394 - France
64. Eyes Without a Face [Franju, Georges; 1959] #400 - France-Italy
65. Beau Travail [Denis, Claire; 1998] #402 - France
66. Mon oncle [Tati, Jacques; 1958] #413 - France
67. Partie de campagne [Renoir, Jean; 1936] #417 - France
68. Double Life of Veronique, The [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1991] #419 - France
69. Léon [Besson, Luc; 1994] #421 - France
70. Mother and the Whore, The [Eustache, Jean; 1973] #424 - France
71. L'Argent [Bresson, Robert; 1983] #442 - France-Switzerland
72. Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The [Schnabel, Julian; 2008] #443 - France-US
73. Night and Fog [Resnais, Alain; 1955] #457 - France
74. Sans soleil [Marker, Chris; 1983] #465 - France
75. Crime of Monsieur Lange, The [Renoir, Jean; 1936] #469 - France
76. Mulholland Dr. [Lynch, David; 2001] #477 - France-US
77. In the Realm of the Senses [Oshima, Nagisa; 1976] #479 - France-Japan
78. Mouchette [Bresson, Robert; 1966] #492 - France
79. That Obscure Object of Desire [Buñuel, Luis; 1977] #496 - France-Spain
80. My Night at Maud's [Rohmer, Eric; 1969] #498 - France
81. Wind Will Carry Us, The [Kiarostami, Abbas; 1999] #511 - France-Iran
82. Boudu Saved from Drowning [Renoir, Jean; 1932] #513 - France
83. F for Fake [Welles, Orson; 1973] #525 - France-Iran-West Germany
84. Casque d'or [Becker, Jacques; 1952] #543 - France
85. Le Plaisir [Ophüls, Max; 1951] #571 - France
86. Sacrifice, The [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1986] #586 - France-Sweden
87. Class, The [Cantet, Laurent; 2008] #597 - France
88. Le Boucher [Chabrol, Claude; 1970] #609 - France
89. Young Girls of Rochefort, The [Demy, Jacques; 1967] #613 - France
90. Muriel ou Le Temps d'un Retour [Resnais, Alain; 1963] #621 - France-Italy
91. French Cancan [Renoir, Jean; 1954] #623 - France
92. Triplets of Belleville, The [Chomet, Sylvain; 2003] #624 - France-Belg-Can-UK
93. Lancelot du Lac [Bresson, Robert; 1974] #629 - France-Italy
94. India Song [Duras, Marguerite; 1975] #641 - France
95. Claire's Knee [Rohmer, Eric; 1970] #643 - France
96. Three Colours: Blue [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1993] #654 - France-Poland-Switzerland
97. Three Colours: Red [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1994] #656 - France-Switzerland-Poland
98. Wild Child, The [Truffaut, François; 1970] #670 - France
99. Un Chant d'amour [Genet, Jean; 1950] #681 - France
100. Blood of a Poet, The [Cocteau, Jean; 1930] #691 - France
101. Persepolis [Paronnaud, Vincent & Satrapi, Marjane; 2007] #694 - France-US
102. Dames du Bois de Boulogne, Les [Bresson, Robert; 1945] #703 - France
103. Passion [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1982] #704 - France-Switzerland
104. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [Cohen, Sasha Baron; 2006] #713 - France-Italy
105. Sauve qui peut (la vie) [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1980] #716 - France-Switzerland
106. Pépé le Moko [Duvivier, Julien; 1937] #718 - France
107. Alphaville [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1965] #726 - France
108. Ludwig [Visconti, Luchino; 1972] #749 - France-Germany-Italy
109. Maîtres fous, Les [Rouch, Jean; 1955] #750 - France
110. Underground [Kusturica, Emir; 1995] #757 - France-Germany-Hungary
111. Bob le flambeur [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1956] #766 - France
112. Van Gogh [Pialat, Maurice; 1991] #767 - France
113. Time Out [Cantet, Laurent; 2001] #769 - France
114. La Belle Noiseuse [Rivette, Jacques; 1991] #780 - France
115. L'Enfant (The Child) [Dardenne, Jean-Pierre & Luc; 2005] #794 - France
116. Mon oncle d'Amérique [Resnais, Alain; 1980] #814 - France
117. Cleo from 5 to 7 [Varda, Agnès; 1962] #816 - France
118. La Ronde [Ophüls, Max; 1950] #825 - France
119. Phantom of Liberty, The [Buñuel, Luis; 1974] #835 - France
120. Under the Roofs of Paris [Clair, René; 1930] #842 - France
121. Two English Girls [Truffaut, François; 1971] #850 - France
122. Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les [Carax, Lèos; 1991] #851 - France
123. Arabian Nights [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1974] #863 - France-Italy
124. To Be and to Have [Philibert, Nicolas; 2002] #871 - France
125. Indian Tomb, The [Lang, Fritz; 1959] #877 - France-Italy-West Germany
126. Lacombe, Lucien [Malle, Louis; 1974] #879 - France
127. I'm Going Home [de Oliveira, Manoel; 2001] #882 - France-Portugal
128. Vagabond (Santoit ni loi) [Varda, Agnès; 1985] #891 - France
129. Sugar Cane Alley (Rue case negres) [Palcy, Euzhan; 1983] #892 - France
130. Seraphine [Provost, Martin; 2008] #893 - France-Belg
131. Z [Costa-Gavras, Constantin; 1969] #900 - France
132. Woman Next Door, The [Truffaut, François; 1981] #905 - France
133. Under the Sand [Ozon, Francois; 2000] #911 - France
134. Le Fils (The Son) [Dardenne, Jean-Pierre & Luc; 2002] #924 - France
135. Histoire(s) du cinéma [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1997] #930 - France
136. Port of Shadows [Carné, Marcel; 1938] #933 - France
137. Le Trou [Becker, Jacques; 1960] #934 - France-Italy
138. Murmur of the Heart [Malle, Louis; 1971] #938 - France
139. Une Femme est une femme [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1961] #945 - France
140. Red Circle, The [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1970] #953 - France-Italy
141. Ju Dou [Zhang Yimou; 1990] #955 - France
142. Three Colours: White [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1994] #956 - France-Poland
143. Carnival in Flanders [Feyder, Jacques; 1935] #967 - France
144. Out 1: Spectre [Rivette, Jacques; 1974] #973 - France
145. La Collectionneuse [Rohmer, Eric; 1967] #983 - France
146. La Bête humaine [Renoir, Jean; 1938] #986 - France
147. Tenant, The [Polanski, Roman; 1976] #991 - France-US
148. Coeur en hiver, Un [Sautet, Claude; 1992] #993 - France
149. Cul-de-sac [Polanski, Roman; 1996] #1009 - France
150. Les Enfants Terribles [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1950] #1017 - France
151. Léolo [Lauzon, Jean-Claude; 1992] #1051 - France
152. Trial, The [Welles, Orson; 1962] #1052 - Fr-Gy-Yugo-Italy
153. Chronicle of a Summer [Rouch, Jean & Edgar Morin; 1960] #1057 - France
154. Since Otar Left [Bertucelli, Julie; 2003] #1073 - France-Belgium
155. Marquise of O, The [Rohmer, Eric; 1976] #1082 - France
156. Au Revoir, Les Enfants [Malle, Louis; 1987] #1083 - France
157. Christmas Tale, A [Desplechin, Arnaud; 2008] #1088 - France
158. Green Ray, The [Rohmer, Eric; 1986] #1097 - France
159. Le Feu Follet [Malle, Louis; 1963] #1103 - France
160. Plein soleil (Purple Noon) [Clément, René; 1960] #1116 - France
161. La Femme Infidèle [Chabrol, Claude; 1969] #1119 - France
162. Judex [Franju, Georges; 1963] #1123 - France-Italy
163. Too Early, Too Late [Straub, Jean-Marie & Danièle Huillet; 1982] #1143 - France-Egypt
164. L'Amour Fou [Rivette, Jacques; 1969] #1151 - France
165. Devil in the Flesh [Autant-Lara, Claude; 1947] #1166 - France
166. Second Breath [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1966] #1192 - France
167. Italian Straw Hat, The [Clair, René; 1928] #1197 - France
168. Sign of Leo, The [Rohmer, Eric; 1959] #1203 - France
169. Tout va bien [Godard, Jean-Luc & Jean-Pierre Gorin; 1972] #1215 - France
170. Cyrano de Bergerac [Rappeneau, Jean-Paul; 1990] #1240 - France
171. Toute une nuit [Akerman, Chantal; 1982] #1249 - France-Belgium
172. Rififi [Dassin, Jules; 1955] #1258 - France
173. Chloe in the Afternoon [Rohmer, Eric; 1972] #1269 - France
174. Bay of Angels [Demy, Jacques; 1963] #1272 - France
175. Testament of Orpheus [Cocteau, Jean; 1960] #1274 - France
176. Toni [Renoir, Jean; 1935] #1275 - France
Some of the above don't seem very French (Pasolini, Kurosawa) - that's what makes country lists difficult. Where is Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources? To me, this is the greatest French epic, one novel filmed in two parts, four hours total. Some find them slow, but that didn't keep about 100 of these others off the polls! I found Children of Paradise (#20) painstaking to sit through; and La Jetee is not even a film, its 15 minutes of still photos with a narrator - it has no "moving pictures". The 400 Blows is terrific, shot at 25 by Truffaut, a movie critic, for his first feature film. Louis Malle's first fim, Elevator To the Gallows, belongs on this list.I'll have to admit, that personally, I prefer films from Italy first, then China. I find many French films to be overrated, often painstakingly slow. At one point, I was gonna say that you could tell a French film because (a) someone will either dress up like a woman or two guys will dance together (b) someone will sing something French, either Freres Jacques or La Marseillaise (c) someone will do mime or Pierrot the clown with the frilly collar (d) someone will drink cognac or champagne, or both. I believe ALL of these are in the classic La Grande Illusion (well, not Pierrot), which is a masterpiece anyway. Thankfully, I saw enough French gangster films that the stereotype was finally broken. But I still don't get their spelling - if all those letters are silent, then why use 'em? Rendezvous that..
