
Witness the birth of a new kind of documentary, as legendary diver, conservationist and filmmaker Jacques Cousteau takes you deep beneath the waves to explore a wealth of life that was previously hidden from view. As much of the technology for shooting film underwater was developed by Cousteau’s team, this was the first time such amazing sights could be captured on film. The result, a Technicolor 1950s masterpiece, succeeds both in revealing an untouched world of beauty, life and drama, as well as evoking a sense of adventure, freedom and boundless possibility. Set on board and below the good ship Calypso during an exploratory expedition, this feature-length documentary was co-directed by Cousteau and Louis Malle, whose first film this was (Cousteau selected Malle for this assignment immediately upon the latter’s graduation from film school). Highlights include a shark attack on the carcass of a whale, and the discovery of a wrecked, sunken vessel. A window into the world beneath the sea as well as the colourful and nostalgic world of the 1950s, The Silent World was the start of an entire movement, and is now available on DVD as a vital part of any collection. This classic film is one of few to have won both the Academy Award (Best Documentary Feature) as well as the Palme D’Or in 1956.
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Tag Archives: France
Au Pair II (2001) Mark Griffiths, Gregory Harrison, Heidi Lenhart, Jake Dinwiddie, Comedy, Romance

A father and the former nanny to his children prepare a merger between his company and a European conglomerate.
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All Our Desires / Toutes nos envies (2011) Philippe Lioret, Vincent Lindon, Marie Gillain, Amandine Dewasmes, Drama

Moved by the plight of the mother of her daughter’s school friend, a young judge facing an incurable disease teams up with an older colleague in order to fight against financial companies that exploit the poor.
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One Silver Dollar / Un dollaro bucato (1965) Giorgio Ferroni, Giuliano Gemma, Ida Galli, Pierre Cressoy, Action, Romance, Western

Giuliano Gemma plays a confederate soldier who returns from the war to fight one at home. Unbeknownst to him, his brother has become the infamous gunfighter “Black Jack” to defeat the local bullies. Gemma agrees to ambush and kill Black Jack, only to discover too late who the outlaw really is. With vengeance in his heart he turns on his employers, who then shoot him.
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Supercondriaque / Superchondriac (2014) Dany Boon, Kad Merad, Alice Pol, Comedy

Romain Faubert is a 39 year old, single, medical photographer.. and a raging hypochondriac. His doctor and only friend Dr. Dimitri Zvenka, thinks he knows a cure for Romain: dating. But with the arrival of freedom fighter Anton Miroslav, everyone might get more then they bargained for..
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La française et l’amour / Love and the Frenchwoman (1960) Michel Boisrond, Christian-Jaque, Jacqueline Porel, Pierre-Jean Vaillard, Darry Cowl, Comedy

The seven stages in the life of the modern Frenchwomen are disclosed by seven directors in a witty way: 1 – Childhood, 2 – Adolescence, 3 – Virginity, 4 – Marriage, 5 – Adultery, 6 – Divorce, 7 – The Single Woman.
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Kameradschaft / Comradeship (1931) Georg Wilhelm Pabst, Alexander Granach, Fritz Kampers, Ernst Busch, Drama

An old German mine was split in two after the end of WWI because of where the new border was located. In the French part a fire breaks out; the German miners send a rescue group in, helping their French comrades. Three old German miners, who were not treated friendly at a French inn the night before, start their own private rescue through an old tunnel that separated the two mines. Will the official rescue party realize there are others left behind in time to save them?
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Kidnapped / Secuestrados (2010) Miguel Ángel Vivas, Fernando Cayo, Manuela Vellés, Ana Wagener, Horror, Thriller

Jaime, his wife Marta and their teenage daughter Isa move to a dream house in Madrid and they plan a family dinner to celebrate. Out of the blue, three violent hooded thieves break in their house and hold the Marta and Isa hostage while their leader goes to the bank with Jaime to withdraw money from the family bank accounts in a tragic night of terror.
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Une femme en Afrique / Empty Quarter (1985) Raymond Depardon, Françoise Prenant, Drama, Romance

A man invites a woman to share his room in a hostel in Djibouti because she seems to have some problems. Gradually he falls in love with her. They embark on a trip to the towns in the desert and, on the way, they learn more about each other. The man never appears on screen, so the camera becomes his point of view.
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Une chambre en ville / A Room in Town (1982) Jacques Demy, Dominique Sanda, Danielle Darrieux, Richard Berry, Drama, Musical

A film musical in which every line is sung. The frame is about workers during a strike. They also prepare and perform a demonstration. Two personal relations develop against this background. François abandons his pregnant girlfriend Violette. She feels treated even more unjust when he tries to defend and excuse his behaviour. He had met a very beautiful over-class girl, Edith, and both were immediately overwhelmed by genuine and reciprocal passion. Edith lived in a very unsatisfactory marriage. She was the daughter of the widow from which François rented his room. Nevertheless, he met her in the street, where she just opened her fur coat and was starch naked under it. They will be together in great passion for just one night and day. At the demonstration François is shot by the police and dies in Edith’s arms. – The music is closer to opera than in any other film musical by Jacques Demy. But the greatest difference is that he has devoted much more effort to the task of instructing the…
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