The best French films of all time
The top 3 according to 19 votes from people: Army of Shadows · Breathless · Anatomy of a Fall. (Updated Jul 6, 2024.)
The films that come up most in SensCritique's top 100, AlloCiné's ranking and critics' lists: great classics, the New Wave and popular hits.
Automatically translated (original in Français). See the original
Top 25
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1
Army of Shadows
Jean-Pierre Melville, 1969. Lino Ventura and the Resistance, based on Joseph Kessel.
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2
Breathless
Jean-Luc Godard, 1960. Belmondo, Jean Seberg and the jump cuts that changed film editing.
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3
Anatomy of a Fall
Justine Triet, 2023. Sandra Hüller on trial for her husband's death; Palme d'Or and Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
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4
Amélie
Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001. Audrey Tautou in Montmartre; one of French cinema's biggest hits abroad.
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5
The Rules of the Game
Jean Renoir, 1939. A hunting party in the Sologne that turns to tragedy; top of many critics' rankings.
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6
The Wages of Fear
Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953. Yves Montand drives a truck of nitroglycerine; Grand Prix at Cannes and Golden Bear.
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7
A Prophet
Jacques Audiard, 2009. Tahar Rahim, from petty inmate to crime boss; Grand Prix at Cannes and nine Césars.
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8
Don't Look Now... We're Being Shot At!
Gérard Oury, 1966. Bourvil and Louis de Funès under the Occupation; the French box-office record for 30 years.
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9
Contempt
Jean-Luc Godard, 1963. Brigitte Bardot, Michel Piccoli and Fritz Lang in Capri, scored by Georges Delerue.
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10
Jules and Jim
François Truffaut, 1962. Jeanne Moreau between two friends, from the Belle Époque to the inter-war years.
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11
Beauty and the Beast
Jean Cocteau, 1946. Jean Marais and Josette Day in a fairy tale of unique visual poetry.
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12
La Haine (Hate)
Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995. Twenty-four hours in the banlieue with Vinz, Saïd and Hubert; Best Director at Cannes.
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13
Children of Paradise
Marcel Carné, 1945. Arletty and Jean-Louis Barrault on the Boulevard du Crime, written by Jacques Prévert.
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14
The 400 Blows
François Truffaut, 1959. Antoine Doinel, the first great film of the French New Wave.
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15
The Intouchables
Olivier Nakache and Éric Toledano, 2011. Omar Sy and François Cluzet; over 19 million admissions in France.
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16
The Dinner Game
Francis Veber, 1998. Jacques Villeret as François Pignon in the cult comedy.
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17
Monsieur Gangster
Georges Lautner, 1963. Lino Ventura and Michel Audiard's dialogue, quoted all over France.
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18
Le Cercle rouge
Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970. Alain Delon, Bourvil and Yves Montand in a heist on Place Vendôme.
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19
Diabolique
Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955. Simone Signoret and Véra Clouzot, a murder at a boarding school and a famous twist.
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20
The Hole
Jacques Becker, 1960. Five inmates dig their way out of La Santé prison, with non-professional actors.
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21
Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Céline Sciamma, 2019. A painter and her subject in 18th-century Brittany; Best Screenplay at Cannes.
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22
Pierrot le Fou
Jean-Luc Godard, 1965. Belmondo and Anna Karina on the run to the Mediterranean.
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23
The Visitors
Jean-Marie Poiré, 1993. Jean Reno and Christian Clavier as medieval knights thrown into 1992.
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24
Le Bonheur
Agnès Varda, 1965. A happy husband, two women and the colours of summer; Silver Bear in Berlin.
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25
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
Musical comedy by Jacques Demy (1964), entirely sung to music by Michel Legrand, Palme d'Or at Cannes.
Candidates
They don't make it into the top 25… yet. Vote for them to move them up.
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26
Léon: The Professional
Luc Besson, 1994. Jean Reno as a hitman and 12-year-old Natalie Portman in New York.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
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Comments (10)
Anatomie d'une chute déjà dans le top 25, mérité, Palme d'or et Oscar du scénario.
Le Dîner de cons dans une liste des meilleurs films de tous les temps ? Bon...
C'est une des comédies les plus parfaites jamais écrites, je vois pas le problème.
La Haine numéro un, je m'y attendais pas mais c'est mérité. Jusqu'ici tout va bien...
Léon est un film français ? Tourné à New York en anglais mais réalisé par Besson, d'accord...
Portrait de la jeune fille en feu, chef-d'œuvre. Le plan final avec Vivaldi 😭
Les Enfants du paradis devrait être premier, c'est le plus grand film français.
Amélie Poulain deuxième, c'est le film qui a fait aimer Paris à toute la planète.
Il manque Les Parapluies de Cherbourg !
Les Tontons flingueurs, les dialogues d'Audiard, on ne s'en lasse jamais