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.
- DirectorClaude LelouchStarsMichèle MorganSerge ReggianiPhilippe LéotardA very unorthodox police inspector is assigned to investigate a millionaire's mysterious death.
- DirectorJacques BeckerStarsAndré BervilJean KeraudyMichel ConstantinDistrust and uncertainty arise when four long-term inmates cautiously induct a new prisoner into their elaborate prison-break scheme.
- DirectorHenri DecoinStarsJean GabinMarcel DalioLino VenturaHenri, the Man from Nantes, comes back to his country after a successful stay in the United States, where he was working for Liski, the drug dealer. With the fame of being a tough guy preceding him, he sets himself to the task of knowing why the French operations were not so profitable - and soon he is master of all links of the organization. He can now get it honed to perfection - or destroy it. Only... the Police is following his every step! Is Henri what he says he is, or an undercover detective from the French police?
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsPatrick DewaereMyriam BoyerMarie TrintignantFranck Poupart is a slightly neurotic door-to-door salesman in a sinister part of Paris' suburbs. He meets Mona, a teenager, who's been made a prostitute by her own aunt. Franck would like to change his life and also save Mona from her aunt. Murder is the only solution he finds to achieve his goal... A very gloomy movie, exuding despair and uneasiness, with pathetic characters.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean GabinAlain DelonClaude CervalA career con artist reunites with his wife but has already planned his next move: one daring last heist that will set him up for life. However, there is no such thing as a foolproof plan.
- DirectorClaude LelouchStarsJean-Louis TrintignantDanièle DelormeCharles GérardStory about an incurable thief, his success and his failures.
- DirectorPierre MorelStarsCyril RaffaelliDavid BelleTony D'AmarioIn the ghettos of Paris in 2010, an undercover cop and an ex-thug try to infiltrate a gang in order to defuse a neutron bomb.
- DirectorHenri-Georges ClouzotStarsPierre FresnaySuzy DelairJean TissierInspector Wens moves into a Paris boarding house to catch a serial killer.
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsMichel DuchaussoyCaroline CellierJean YanneA man asserts himself within the life of an actress he believes is somehow responsible for his son's death.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean GabinAlain DelonLino VenturaAn ambitious young mobster plans an elaborate diamond heist while seducing the daughter of a ruthless mob patriarch as a determined police commissioner closes in on all of them.
- DirectorLouis MalleStarsJean-Paul BelmondoGeneviève BujoldMarie DuboisIn Paris around 1900, Georges Randal is brought up by his wealthy uncle, who steals his inheritance. Georges hopes to marry his cousin Charlotte, but his uncle arranges for her to marry a rich neighbour. As an act of revenge, Georges steals the fiance's family jewels, and enjoys the experience so much that he embarks upon a life-time of burglary.
- DirectorPierre Granier-DeferreStarsLino VenturaPatrick DewaereVictor LanouxTwo policemen risk of interfering with a corrupt politician.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MockyStarsBourvilFrancis BlancheJean PoiretBad financial conditions compel an aristocratic family named Lachesnaye to do strange work.
- DirectorJean-Jacques BeineixStarsWilhelmenia FernandezFrédéric AndréiRoland BertinTwo tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.
- DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsLaurent TerzieffAurelle DoazanJean-Pierre LéaudAt a Paris hotel, a hotel detective fired after a murder took place there continues to investigate, helped by his inspector nephew and girlfriend. A boxing manager, owing money to a couple and the mafia, rides on a match next day.
- DirectorMathieu KassovitzStarsJean RenoVincent CasselNadia FarèsA murder detective must follow the footsteps of a brutal killer within the secrets of a classist college.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsAlain DelonAnn-MargretVan HeflinSan Francisco ex-con Eddie Pedak wants to go straight, but local cop Mike Vido, motivated by a personal vendetta, keeps harassing him while Eddie's brother Walter wants Eddie for one last major heist.
- DirectorJosé GiovanniStarsAlain DelonJean GabinMimsy FarmerA former bank robber is released after 10 years in prison. He gets help from a social-worker, but gets harassed by an old cop from his past.
- DirectorFrancis VeberStarsPierre RichardGérard DepardieuPedro Armendáriz Jr.A daughter of a millionaire, distinguished by incredible bad luck, goes missing. The idea how to find her is either insane or brilliant - to send after her an equally unlucky person.
- DirectorGeorges LautnerStarsJean-Paul BelmondoJean DesaillyCyrielle ClairVictim of a plot which has resulted in his imprisonment in a Central African jail for two years, a French secret agent arrives in Paris to settle accounts.
- DirectorOlivier MarchalStarsGérard LanvinTchéky KaryoDaniel DuvalAfter growing up in a poor gypsy camp, Edmond Vidal, aka Momon, has retained a sense of family, unfailing loyalty and pride in his origins. Most of all, he has remained friends with Serge Suttel, with whom he first discovered prison life - for stealing cherries. The two of them inevitably got involved in organized crime. The team they formed, the Gang Des Lyonnais, made them the most notorious armed robbers of the early 1970s. Their irresistible rise ended in 1974 with a spectacular arrest. Today, as he nears 60, Momon would like to forget that part of his life. He has found peace by retiring from the "business". He tends to his wife Janou, who suffered so in the past, and to his children and grandchildren, all of whom have great respect for this man of simple and universal values, so clear-headed and full of kindness. But then Serge Suttel, who has disowned nothing of his past, comes back into the picture.
- DirectorJosé GiovanniStarsJean-Paul BelmondoClaudia CardinaleMichel ConstantinFor more than 15 years, two Marseille friends and criminals battle the law, rival gangs, prison authorities and even mined beaches in order to survive.
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsJean-Paul BelmondoCharles VanelMichèle MercierBroke French ex-paratrooper turned amateur boxer Michel Maudet becomes bodyguard for the fugitive corrupt banker Ferchaux.
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsFanny ArdantJean-Louis TrintignantJean-Pierre KalfonAfter he's implicated in several murders, a real estate agent hides out from the cops while his intrepid secretary does some private investigating of her own to locate the killer.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsJean GabinDanièle DelormeRobert ArnouxAndré Chatelin is a restaurant owner in Les Halles in Paris. One morning, a girl named Catherine asks to see him. She happens to be the daughter of his estranged wife, Gabrielle, that André left more than twenty years before. As Gabrielle has just died, André accepts to accommodate Catherine first, then gives her a job in his restaurant before finally marrying her. But the angel-faced young lady might well be a devil in disguise.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean-Paul BelmondoBernard BlierMarie-France PisierFrancois always despised the textile barons who ruled his local town. But he fell in love with the family heiress Gilberte. Ten years ago, he would have married her. Now only hatred holds them together. Francois is accused of murder. A hooker and a football star lie slaughtered. He thinks he has been framed by the mob. Going underground, he finds that the trail leads all the way to the top - to Gilberte's family. He needs friends. And friends are hard to come by in his town.
- DirectorChristian-JaqueStarsMarina VladyBourvilVirna LisiGina is the dedicated nurse of Paul Dupré, a wealthy industrialist who has been treated for heart problems. Dupré dies brutally during an injection made by Gina, and immediately his wife Catherine accuses Gina.
- DirectorÉdouard MolinaroStarsLino VenturaJacques BrelCaroline CellierMilan must kill Louis Randoni before he testifies in a court of law. He is disturbed by his depressed roommate François Pignon who commits suicide by hanging himself from the toilet pipe flooding Milan's room. Here he is stuck in problems.
- DirectorFrancis VeberStarsGérard DepardieuJean RenoRichard BerryA tough criminal is arrested after hiding the loot from a Paris armored truck robbery. A talkative dimwit befriends him in prison and escapes with him - chased by police and his evil crime boss.
- DirectorJacques DerayStarsAlain DelonJean-Louis TrintignantRenato SalvatoriThe hunt for a seasoned killer becomes a matter of life for a policeman. Action-packed drama based on real events.
- DirectorAlain CorneauStarsYves MontandFrançois PérierSimone SignoretAn inspector is having a secret relationship with a woman. When she is murdered by his boss, all proof is against him.
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsStéphane AudranJean YanneAntonio PassaliaAn unlikely friendship between a dour, working class butcher and a repressed schoolteacher coincides with a grisly series of Ripper-type murders in a provincial French town.
- DirectorPhilippe de BrocaStarsJean-Paul BelmondoGeneviève BujoldJulien GuiomarVictor Vautier is incorrigible: he's in constant motion, working several cons at once, using different names and changing disguises. He's charming and outrageous, incapable of uttering a sentence that isn't embellished or an outright lie. His life goal is to make enough money to build a sea wall to protect Mont-Saint-Michel. Charlotte, a parole officer, shows up: she's young and seems taken in by Victor. He discovers she lives above the Senlus Museum, where her parents are the curators. With two pals he decides to steal a priceless El Greco triptych and then ransom it back to the cultural ministry. What will Charlotte do when she realizes he's used her to make a fortune?
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean-Paul BelmondoOmar SharifDyan CannonIn 1970s Athens a group of professional burglars plans an emerald heist from the home of a gem collector, but corrupt Greek police inspector Abel Zacharia is on their trail.
- DirectorMaurice PialatStarsGérard DepardieuSophie MarceauRichard AnconinaA moody, jaded police detective, while investigating a drug ring, falls for a mysterious woman and is drawn into a shady and dangerous scheme.
- DirectorClaude MillerStarsMichel SerraultIsabelle AdjaniGuy MarchandA P.I. is obsessed with a cute woman, who seduces and kills rich men around W. Europe.
- DirectorJean BeckerStarsJean-Paul BelmondoChristine KaufmannBéatrice Altariba(1961) Jean Paul Belmondo, Christine Kaufman. In this fine thriller, JP's friend ends up in prison. JP then tracks down the man responsible.
- DirectorJacques DerayStarsJean-Paul BelmondoAlain DelonCatherine RouvelDuring the 1930s, in Marseilles, France, two small time crooks work for local crime bosses until they decide to go into business for themselves.
- DirectorPierre Granier-DeferreStarsLino VenturaCharles AznavourIrina DemickThree petty criminals get a tip for a great coup with lots of money in it. Unfortunately they lack the starting funds to buy the required welding torch. So they persuade their successful colleague Alphonse to join their team. But the well thought-out coup fails, and Alphonse is the only one of them who ends up in jail for several years. When he's released, he's out for revenge.
- DirectorOlivier MarchalStarsDaniel AuteuilGérard DepardieuAndré Dussollier2 cops are promised by the retiring chief of the Paris police that the one, getting the violent gang robbing armored trucks, will get his job. The 2 will do whatever it takes to get the promotion, even if it means breaking the law.
- DirectorJacques DoillonStarsRichard AnconinaGérald ThomassinClotilde CourauMarc and Nathalie are brother and sister living separately since their parents' separation. Marc decides to visit Nathalie but in order to finance his trip he robs a shop bringing him to the attention of the police.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsJean-Paul BelmondoCharles DennerAdalberto Maria MerliCommissaire Letellier and Inspector Moissac are tracking Minos, a serial killer whose victims are women.
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsPatrick DewaereMel FerrerMichel AuclairA young journalist stumbles across something much more sinister than a simple suicide in the death of a politician - the death seems to be an assassination contrived by an American multinational company intent on taking over several French industries. The journalist's objective is to garner enough evidence to expose the American corporation for what it really is, before French companies start disappearing - and before any more corpses accumulate, including his own.
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsRobert HosseinJean SorelCatherine RouvelA man plans a hold-up with a group of trusted fellows, he gets his hands on the money, and the girl - what could go wrong? Almost everything.
- CreatorOlivier MarchalStarsJean-Hugues AngladeJoseph MalerbaKarole RocherA dark realistic cop series follows a squad of Paris cops who exist in the blurred boundaries at the very edge of the law, often using violence and intimidation to get the job done.
- DirectorÉdouard MolinaroStarsLino VenturaSandra MiloFranco FabriziSeeking vengeance on his wife's former lover and assassin, a man sets in motion a string of killings.
- DirectorCédric JimenezStarsJean DujardinGilles LelloucheCéline SalletteA French police magistrate spends years trying to take down one of the country's most powerful drug rings.
- CreatorAgatha ChristieThierry DebrouxSylvie SimonStarsBlandine BellavoirSamuel LabartheElodie FrenckAgatha Christie's masterful storytelling gets a soupçon of French flair in these attractive, witty mysteries. These French adaptations are a fresh, stylish twist on classic Christie tales.
- DirectorGilles GrangierStarsLino VenturaAndréa ParisyRobert HirschPascal (Lino Ventura) sells newspapers. He is a simple man who one day resting on the banks of the Seine sees a drowning stranger. Pascal saves his life and begins his adventure next to a man who says his wife wants to intern in a madhouse. No good deed goes unpunished.
- DirectorPhilippe LabroStarsJean-Louis TrintignantDominique SandaSacha DistelA strange series of murders are being committed in Nice on the French riviera. The commissionaire Carella is in charge and tries desperately to find a missing link between all of these murders.