Discover Movies

The Kerguelen Islands, nicknamed the "Islands of Desolation," are a French archipelago of subantarctic islands in the southernmost part of the Indian Ocean. They constitute one of the five districts of the French Southern and Antarctic Lands (TAAF). Uninhabited, the archipelago was discovered in the southern Indian Ocean on February 12, 1772, by the French navigator Yves Joseph de Kerguelen de Trémarec. This scientific film by Gilbert Dassonville, intended for the general public and for educational purposes, presents the scientific missions underway in 1963 on the Kerguelen Islands. The permanent station at Port-aux-Français, founded in 1950, the archipelago, and the surrounding wildlife are documented by following the multidisciplinary teams (biology, geophysics, geology, meteorology).

This spectacular opera film was taped in 1967 and is based on the 1966 Salzburg Festival production directed by Herbert von Karajan himself, who also conducts the fabulous Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra. The production features the three greatest exponents of their respective roles at the time: Grace Bumbry’s magnificently seductive-toned Carmen, Mirella Freni’s ineffably lovely, touching Micaëla and Jon Vickers’s thrillingly manic-depressive Don José. On its release the film was hailed by Die Presse, (Vienna) as a “unique artistic event”, while Le Monde felt that Karajan’s production brought “a whole new dimension” to the opera, “combined with a magisterial interpretation”. A classical and utterly dramatic approach to probably the world's most beloved opera – Karajan’s Carmen is as much a delicacy for opera fans as it is a perfect starter for newcomers.

In the Roman ruins, a French woman and an Italian, who do not speak each other's language, fall in love in a few minutes. But as soon as they understand each other, they quarrel. Capito?, sometimes known as La Fille de Paname et le gars de Padua, invents a love dialogue from Italian to French between two young people who meet in Rome. Built around speech and how it can be a source of connivance or misunderstanding, it tells the story of the difficulties in understanding the other. By finding Françoise Vatel in front of her camera, Luc Moullet films the nascent affection and probes this singular moment where differences end up bringing us together before gradually separating us.

Augustin and Augustine meet in a café. They will wander around the city talking about everything and nothing and ultimately about themselves.

Adapted from Pierre Decourcelle's version of the William Gillette play. Jacques François plays a very mannered Holmes, almost effeminate, who is in love with the young Alice Brent. The story is a mix of A Scandal in Bohemia and The Adventure of the Empty House.

Five girls spend their holidays in an old mansion in the middle of a farm in southern France, near Soledor. The lady of the house has a secret that the five wild girls will try to discover. They assume it is a hidden treasure somewhere, but it is only a way to hide a dramatic fact that concerns one of the girls.

In 16th-century France, the Chevalier de Pardaillan rescues the beautiful gypsy "Violetta", in reality Isabelle, daughter of the Comte d'Entraigues and prey of his sworn enemy, the Duke Henri de Guise. Pardaillan and Isabelle fall in love, and the valiant chevalier will not rest until the advent of King Henri IV.

The eccentric Comtesse de Saint-Plâs sells a black Citroën DS to car dealer Paul Souflé. He sells it to the young mathematics teacher Jacques Denzac who is about to marry.

A hustler of humble origins steals $200,000 from a gangster and heads to Monte Carlo.

Four Parisian women navigate the world of romance and daily life looking to fulfill their dreams.

On a sun-kissed beach, six people linger lazily, each confident of fulfilling his or her desires before the day is out. A wealthy heiress, Emmanuelle, has designs on a handsome adolescent, Ivan, but his interests lie elsewhere. Having gratified Emmanuelle’s womanly needs, Ivan immediately sets out to make his next conquest, the mistress of a well-known writer...

Jean Lerat begins his military service at an army camp. Despite his aunt’s attempts to pull a few strings to his advantage, the unfortunate Lerat manages to get on the wrong side of his bullying colonel…

Tibere is a small-time hood who tries to get one of three airline hostesses to help him in his gold-smuggling operation in this light comedy. One woman is a snob, the second is adventurous, and Melanie is sentimental about love.

An arms smuggler organization uses a pirate television station to spread dissention among representatives in an international conference in Portugal. A French diplomat travels to Macao, hoping to locate a sexy spy who had stayed in Lisbon.

Originally commissioned by Truffaut as part of a series of short films based on Edgar Allen Poe's Tales of the Grotesque and Arabesque, it would be a way for New Wave directors to sponsor younger directors. This was the only film in the series completed.

A subtitle warns, "beware of dark sunglasses." Anna and her lover, whose looks in bowler and bow tie are reminiscent of a young Buster Keaton, kiss chastely on a bridge overlooking the Seine. He dons sunglasses and waves as she runs down a stairway to the river's edge, then watches in horror as she's knocked flat and loaded into the back of a hearse. In vain, he gives chase. Disconsolate, he buys a large funeral wreath and a handkerchief from sympathetic vendors. He removes the glasses to wipe his eyes and realizes they are the cause of all his woe. He replays the farewell without the glasses.

A discussion between Jean Hyppolite, Georges Canguilhem, Paul Ricoeur, Michel Foucault and Alain Badiou on the subject of philosophy and truth. Curated by Dina Dreyfus.

Rear Window meets Estate violenta. The middle-aged Constance watches a young couple that lives across the courtyard; the girl plays loud pop music and goes out of her way to be unpleasant to the classically educated and piano-playing Constance. Then one day Constance sees the boyfriend strangle the little tart in a fit of jealousy. He sees her, too, and has nobody else to turn to for help. Constance keeps silent about the murder and offers the young Hugo a place in her bed. Then the blackmail notes start to arrive...

A brilliant documentary about the growth of Israel into the Jewish homeland. Seventy-three years of struggle for religious freedom is vividly recorded using rare archive film footage and photographs of historic events in the development of 20th century Israel. Beginning with the Dreyfus Affair in 1894, the film covers Theodor Herzl, founder of modern Zionism; the earliest immigration and settlements; the formation of kibbutzim; the Balfour Declaration; the rise of European anti-Semitism; the British occupation of Palestine; Arab confrontations; the United Nations resolution; the "Exodus" incident, and the Six Day War.

Interspersed with jokes, visual puns, and philosophical discussions, the story follows the attempts of a girl who has spent the last year living outside her native Switzerland to rekindle a former love affair. When her immature young friend fails to demonstrate the requisite interest, she takes up with someone the boy disapproves of. When the boy kicks the man, the man leaves both the boy and his erstwhile ex-girlfriend to their own devices.

Animated short. Abstract forms in a setting evocative of a concentration camp created by the universe. Based on a series of paintings by the Polish artists and filmmaker Walerian Borowczyk, Les Jeux des Anges takes the viewer into a nightmarish and sinister labyrinth world. With images reminiscent of Bosch and Ernst and an abstract soundtrack the film evoke unspeakable horrors lurking at the heart Borowczyk's masterpiece. Borowczyk described the film himself as "A report on the city of angels."

After an American Navy base is annihilated by a secret weapon, Agent OSS 117 is sent to Japan to investigate the organization that's claiming responsibility, and threatening the US with another attack, if they don't pay.

Juliette is a young woman who just can't help lying. She lies to her sister, Sophie, to Sophie's fiancé Martin, and to all the men she attracts with her womanly charms. But when she falls for an older man, a 40-year old lawyer, her reputation as a liar precedes her and she cannot convince him that she really does love him…

Seven old pals live inseparable lives, dividing their time between hilarious pranks and memorable drinking bouts. Bénin is the mastermind, Broudier the enforcer and Lesueur the prankster. One evening, a grandiose plan was hatched: to wreak havoc in two peaceful sub-prefectures: Ambert and Issoire. Broudier begins: in the middle of the night, disguised as a minister, he wakes up a barracks in Ambert and sets in motion a thunderous maneuver. The next day, disguised as a Dominican, Bénin climbed to the pulpit of the cathedral and delivered a sermon insulting Christian doctrine. The same day, in Issoire, the local authorities were preparing to unveil a statue of Vercingetorix. But the statue came to life, pelting the crowd with tomatoes: it was Lesueur. With their minds at rest, the friends headed off to the Côte-d'Or for a vacation. But already, one of them begins to perform a new prank.

Malcom, a young student, is temporarily housed in the "Judge's House". The latter, according to the inhabitants of the village, is haunted by the spirit of one of its occupants, the former executioner. But is this story really just a myth ?

An American secret agent is tasked with recovering a nuclear bomb stolen by spies.

Before music videos, there were scopitones (a popular music jukebox/viewing machine). This is a strangely homoerotic scopitone featuring the French singer Line Renaud and many, many shirtless men.

The leader of a youth movement is suspected of the murder of his best friend and supporter. A television broadcast intended to help find witnesses reveals the organisation's troubled interior life as well as a far more personal tragedy.

For his directorial debut, Raymond Depardon traveled to Prague to document the funeral of Czechoslovak student Jan Palach, who died after setting himself on fire in protest against the Soviet occupation and the suppression of the Prague Spring. Filmed on 25 January 1969, the documentary records the massive public procession that followed, as hundreds of thousands of mourners gathered despite official efforts to discourage public participation. (Note: This film is distinct from the anonymous short "The Funeral of Jan Palach" (1969), which circulated separately as an uncredited protest document.)

Episode of the French television series about the work of American film director Samuel Fuller. (A 23-minute edited version of this show appears on the Criterion Collection release of "The Naked Kiss."

A report celebrating Lyon, a young and vibrant city that has managed to preserve the vestiges of its ancient past.

In the second of Rohmer's moral tales, he examines the relationship between two friends and a girl who at first appears easily exploited. It is a complex tale of feelings and misconceptions, acted out within the head of the main character, as part of Rohmer's attempt to more easily simulate the mindscape quality of literature within a film.

In Haute-Provence, two rival farming clans clash over the four seasons of the year. A young lumberjack, who has gone up to Rebeillard country to fell trees, has not been heard from for several months. Concerned by his long absence, his father sets out to find him. Antonio, known as "Bouche d'or" (Golden Mouth), the man from the river, accompanied him out of friendship; the two of them toiled together for long days, but one night, at the edge of the wood, they discovered a blond woman lying on the ground, giving birth to a child: it was Clara, a young blind woman.

When his wife leaves him, a young French actor, François Combe, moves to New York to work for a television company. One evening, he meets an attractive young woman, Kay Larsi, in a bar.

A tragic spin on the futility of revolution, in cinema and elsewhere.

An episode of the television program Cinéastes de notre temps in which the director gives his first on-camera interview.

A spy is instructed to investigate a case of arms and women trafficking covered behind a funeral services company.

A unique copy of the 16mm experimental masterpiece by Pierre Clémenti, restored in 2003 by the Neyrac Films Laboratories.

A unique black comedy consisting of three episodes on the same theme: death. In a circus, trapeze artist Wilma is going to get rid of a rival during a "magic act" performed by an amateur. A strange widow comes to inquire about the services of a new marriage agency. A peasant woman tormented by a bug in her ear barges into a healer's house.

Agathe Perrin, a wealthy widow in her forties, lives with her ailing father in an estate on the shores of Lac du Bourget, not far from Aix-les-Bains. For the past four years, she has been involved in an affair with a twenty-four-year-old artist, Jackie, that is beginning to weigh heavily on her. The frequent visits of a brilliant Aix doctor to the sick old man's bedside have distracted Agathe from her very young lover. She'd like to send him away, but he clings to her desperately, and we witness the drama of this break-up, both feared and rejected by Agathe. Blinded by jealousy, Jackie decides to leave, but not without behaving like a spoiled, insolent child.

A portmanteau film in which the producer, instead of as usual using already well known directors with a commercial draw, allowed five new young directors to each have a crack at an episode about romance.

Toussaint has stopped his burglaries and lives in Toulon with his wife Assunta who runs a bar called L'île de Beauté. One day, a singer named Gina arrives in the neighboring bar and Toussaint falls in love with her. For her, he decides to leave his wife but wants to leave her some money. So, he starts to rob again.

Stéphane Blanchon lives a quiet life in Switzerland with his wife, Christine, until a young American boarder named Belle, who was living with them, is found murdered. Despite Stéphane's innocence, the evidence points to him, and he learns that Belle harbored romantic feelings for him. Suspicions mount against him; even Christine thinks he is the culprit. Stéphane's sanity begins to crumble, and he lashes out in unprecedented ways.

The son of a French colonialist in Algeria returns to Algeria after learning that his father is ill. Memories from childhood return. He also must deal with some problems involving the Algerian fight for independence.

Tom Proby is a representative from a British engineering firm sent to Sicily to convince the landowners (all in the Mafia) to allow his company to build an oil refinery on some waterfront real estate. Proby talks to the mob bosses about the project, but disagreements between different bosses complicate his efforts.

Two guys facing problems in relationships and wondering about the living on the capitalist society.

What is man? Man makes war, man kills man, man hunts, man is executed. A montage mixing original drawings by Topor, original shots and stock shots that ironically analyze what man is.

This documentary explores the complexities of Los Angeles. Blending a highly structured montage of shots exploring the city with interviews of students, the writer Henry Miller, and residents from all communities, this evocation of Angelenos' city paints a portrait of a living, constantly evolving entity.

Actor Jean-Paul Belmondo is interviewed, along with actor Anna Karina and director Jean-Luc Godard, during the filming of 'Pierrot le Fou'.

Madame Bertini, a newly widowed 70-year-old miser, has lived a sheltered life in squalour. She determines to venture into the modern world and have as much fun as possible, and in doing so finds that she loves it. She blows her life savings, much to the disapproval of the young people around her.

During a plane crash, Professor Sellier, an atomic scientist carrying very important documents, dies and his papers are stolen. Bordy, a sergeant in the Second Bureau, is asked to take Sellier's place in his family's home, in order to make the kidnappers believe that he is not dead.

Secret Agent Francis Coplan, is given the task of finding priceless artwork stolen by the Nazis' in 1943. The trail leads to Mexico, where Coplan challenges a "secret" organization in order to re-gain the paintings.

A group of people visit a weird old man who is a student of the black arts. The man lives in an ancient, cursed castle. Soon people in the group start being killed off.