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Classic And Modern French Cinema: A History

The classic French film industry in the 19th and early 20th centuries was arguably the world’s most important, certainly among the most influential. Despite suffering a lack of capital after World War I, French film continued to remain prolific and became known for such styles as poetic realism and French Impressionist Cinema. Some of the greatest films to come from this era include Marcel Pagnol’s famous trilogy Marius, Fanny and Cesar, Under the Roofs of Paris by Rene Clair, Carnival in Flanders by Jacques Feyder, Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion and La Regle du Jeu. Another great film was Les Enfants du Paradis by Marcel Carne. Released in 1945, it was eventually voted the best French film of the century in the 90′s.

Modern French cinema still has a strong influence on the world as seen in films such as 1979′s La Cage aux Folles, which won numerous awards and has still had the most successful run of any foreign film in the United States. More recently, Luc Besson’s Nikita and Cyrano de Bergerac by Jean-Paul Rappeneau were very successful and the latter made Grard Depardieu a recognized name in the international industry.