75 Best French Crime Films
Earlier, I made a list about offbeat crime films. As I am quite fond of French crime films, I decided to make an extra list, with the best (in my view) crime films/TV-series from France. They are in all kinds of genres, from all ages, but my preference obviously lies in the period 1950 until 1980. As there were so many rather equal in quality, I made a list with 75 films, instead of the usual 50.
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- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonFrançois PérierNathalie DelonAfter professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonBourvilGian Maria VolontèAfter leaving prison, master thief Corey crosses paths with a notorious escapee and an alcoholic former policeman. The trio proceed to plot an elaborate heist.
- DirectorGeorges LautnerStarsLino VenturaBernard BlierFrancis BlancheA dying mob boss hands over his business to an old friend, Fernand. The boss' assistants want to get rid of the latter. But are the Volfoni brothers and Théo real threats? Ensuing fights and shootouts are more comical than deadly.
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsVincent CasselHubert KoundéSaïd Taghmaoui24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsAlain DelonRichard CrennaCatherine DeneuveAfter a shaky first heist, a group of thieves plan an even more elaborate and risky second heist.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsLino VenturaPaul MeurisseRaymond PellegrinA gangster escapes jail and quickly makes plans to continue his criminal ways elsewhere, but a determined inspector is closing in.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsLouis JouvetSimone RenantBernard BlierA flirtatious wife runs off to meet an older man and the husband closes in with intend to murder him, but finds the deed already done.
- DirectorJules DassinStarsJean ServaisCarl MöhnerRobert ManuelFour men plan a technically perfect crime, but the human element intervenes...
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsPierre FresnayGinette LeclercMicheline FranceyA French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.
- DirectorClaude SautetStarsLino VenturaSandra MiloJean-Paul BelmondoA ruthless criminal flees from the pursuit, involving more and more casualties.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsAnna KarinaClaude BrasseurDanièle GirardTwo crooks with a fondness for old Hollywood B-movies convince a languages student to help them commit a robbery.
- DirectorMarcel CarnéStarsFrançoise RosayMichel SimonJean-Pierre AumontIn Victorian London, a crime novelist and his wife fake their disappearance in order to hide from an uptight Anglican bishop who is leading a campaign against the "evils" of crime fiction.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsRoger DuchesneIsabelle CoreyDaniel CauchyAfter losing big, an aging gambler decides to assemble a team to rob a casino.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsJean-Paul BelmondoSerge ReggianiJean DesaillyA burglar betraying other criminals prepares for a big heist with a trusted friend who might be as untrustworthy as he.
- DirectorJan KounenStarsVincent CasselTchéky KaryoMonica BellucciDobermann is the world's most ruthless bank robber and with his gang rob bank after bank, now in Paris. What can the police do but to let the mad, morally bankrupt police commissioner loose on him?
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsCharles AznavourMarie DuboisNicole BergerA pianist helps his brother escape from two gangsters, who retaliate by abducting their kid brother.
- DirectorBertrand TavernierStarsDidier BezaceJean-Paul ComartCharlotte KadyRelentless struggle of the Parisian police against the drug trade.
- CreatorAlexandra ClertGuy-Patrick SainderichinStarsCaroline ProustAudrey FleurotThierry GodardFollows criminal investigations in Paris from all the different points of view of those involved.
- DirectorClaude MillerStarsLino VenturaMichel SerraultRomy SchneiderA police inspector, suspecting an attorney of two child sex murders, has him held for a questioning session that goes on for hours.
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsJean GabinRené DaryDora DollAn aging, world-weary gangster is double-crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of eight stolen gold bars demanded as ransom.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinGabriel GabrioSaturnin FabreA wanted gangster is both king and prisoner of the Casbah. He is protected from arrest by his friends, but is torn by his desire for freedom outside. A visiting Parisian beauty may just tempt his fate.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean-Paul BelmondoLino VenturaReginald KernanA rough trucker assigns his new truck and its mysterious cargo to his newest employee, only to see it hijacked by one of his experienced drivers. Now, his friends are after him to retrieve the goods. Are 100,000 dollars worth dying for?
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsRené LefèvreFlorelleJules BerryThe boss of a publishing company is a womanizer and a jerk, but what would happen if he suddenly disappeared?
- DirectorGérard OuryStarsJean-Paul BelmondoBourvilDavid NivenWhen NATO transfers some of its funds from Paris to Brussels by train, a criminal mastermind posing as a British colonel plans to steal it but two petty French thieves also have the same intent.