Heather’s Recommended Paris Films
Here is a random selection of my favorite French and foreign films set in France — mostly Paris! Click on any title and it will take you directly to the Amazon.com website. For shipping or DVD zoning issues, you might prefer to look for these items in the Amazon France or the Amazon UK sites.
- Paris, Je T’Aime (Two Disc Limited Collector’s Edition)STARRING FANNY ARDANT, JULIETTE BINOCHE, STEVE BUSCEMI, WILLEM DAFOE, MARIANNE FAITHFULLThis is the DVD of the 20-short shorts (one for each arrondissement of Paris). Love the one with Steve Buscemi!
- Moulin Rouge (Two-Disc Collector’s Edition)STARRING NICOLE KIDMAN, EWAN MCGREGOR, JOHN LEGUIZAMO, JIM BROADBENT, RICHARD ROXBURGHI just adore this beautifully-filmed modern version of Moulin Rouge, especially the soundtrack!
- Two Days in ParisSTARRING ALBERT DELPY, JULIE DELPY, ADAM GOLDBERG, ADAN JODOROWSKY, CHICK ORTEGAThis was described in the US press as a “romantic comedy”, but I think that makes it sound a bit cheesy, and this film definitely has an edge to it. Especially fun to watch with people who can’t stand Paris. 😉
- Something’s Gotta GiveSTARRING JACK NICHOLSON, DIANE KEATON, KEANU REEVES, AMANDA PEET, FRANCES MCDORMANDOkay, only the last scene is shot in Paris, but everyone loves that scene! The restaurant is Le Grand Colbert, and the bridge is the one right in front of the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall — you can see it in the background).
- AmelieSTARRING AUDREY TAUTOU, MATHIEU KASSOVITZ, RUFUS, LORELLA CRAVOTTA, SERGE MERLINAn absolute adorable French film with VERY little dialog at all. More of a fantasy Paris (very “cleaned up”), charming and uplifting.
- La Vie en Rose (Extended Version)STARRING MARION COTILLARD, SYLVIE TESTUD, PASCAL GREGGORY, EMMANUELLE SEIGNER, JEAN-PAUL ROUVEThe tragic life story of one of France’s greatest singers of all time, Edith Piaf (aka La Mome).
- RatatouilleSTARRING IAN HOLMA-dor-ab-le! A great film for Francophiles of all ages. And it just might make you look at those metro rats in a new light!(just kidding…there are no rats in the metro…those are just small French dogs)
- Before SunriseSTARRING ETHAN HAWKE, JULIE DELPY, ANDREA ECKERT, HANNO PÖSCHL, KARL BRUCKSCHWAIGERI wasn’t a huge fan of the first film, Before Sunrise, but this one is particularly memorable, especially for its very French way of stretching dialog to the maximum and the ambiguous ending. And how great to see all of the Paris landmarks I know and love! Warning: this will disturb you if you ever wondered if you made a mistake in choosing your spouse…
- Queen Margot (La Reine Margot)STARRING ISABELLE ADJANI, DANIEL AUTEUIL, JEAN-HUGUES ANGLADE, VINCENT PEREZ, VIRNA LISIThe French don’t often do action films very well, but this exciting adaptation of the riveting Alexandre Dumas novel “Reine Margot” will have you on the edge of your seat. Based (loosely) on the real history of the St-Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in the 16th century Wars of Religion, you may need to watch it more than watch to be able to follow the plot, even with the English subtitles! And Vincent Perez is absolutely dreamy, as always.
- Delicatessen (Special Edition)STARRING ERIC AVERLANT, ROBERT BAUD, PASCAL BENEZECH, JEAN-LUC CARON, DOMINIQUE DEFEVERThis was my first favorite French film, a classic black comedy set in a post-Apocalyptic France where there is no meat…so where is this town’s butcher getting his? It’s a visually stunning film with rich colors and memorable characters.