I have been watching a lot of French films – part one

I have been watching a lot of French films lately. I started by watching Bertrand Tavernier’s My Journey Through French Cinema. It’s over three hours long and is an outstanding overview by a director who knew many of the people he discusses. I started to watch his follow up Journeys Through French Cinema which is over seven hours long but stopped to watch some actual films.

For the most part, I didn’t watch films by the most famous directors such as Truffaut, Godard, Bresson and Renoir since I had seen many of their films. I concentrated on films by lesser known directors like Claude Sautet and Jacques Deray. I am partial to crime films.

I did watch a few films by my favorite French directors. I saw Robert Bresson’s early
Les Dames du bois de Boulogne (1945). This was made before his mature films featuring non-professional actors and has a great performance by Maria Casares. It’s not one of his best films and is conventional compared to his later work but it’s still worth watching.

Then there is Elena and Her Men (1956) by Jean Renoir. The best part is the performance by Ingrid Bergman. Otherwise, it’s an above average story about Elena and her many suitors. It’s in color too unlike most Renoir films.

I enjoyed La Poison directed by Sascha Guitry (1951). It has an unusual sequence showing Guitry thanking his actors. The film is about a husband and wife who despise each other and both plot murdering their spouse. It doesn’t sound like it but it’s actually a comedy. The husband is played by Michel Simon who does a great job of making a despicable character likeable.

All three are available on the Criterion Collection discs which is how I watched them. They always do an outstanding job.

Son of Godzilla released 58 years ago today

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Happy Godzilla Day -11/3

⚡Happy Godzilla Day⚡In 1954, an enormous beast clawed its way out of the sea, destroying everything in its path—and changing movies forever.

On @criterionchannl, celebrate with all-day marathon of Godzilla films through the decades! Start watching with the link in our bio. pic.twitter.com/eCNuNF6G9K
— Criterion Collection (@Criterion) November 3, 2025

Instagram post on highest-grossing films

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Fairport Convention documentary on YouTube

Fairport Convention – Folk Heroes (2017) is a documentary on the pioneering English band that fused folk and rock music.

a review of the film

Blaxploitation documentary on DVD and YouTube

BaadAsssss Cinema (2002) is a documentary about Blaxploitation films. It’s on YouTube (link below) and DVD. The DVD has extended interviews with some of the people in the documentary including Fred Williamson and a great passionate one with Gloria Hendry.

The film is brief but excellent. It’s a fine overview of Blaxploitation films with lots of clips and interviews.

Two DVDs about Gram Parsons

I recently watched Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel (2004) an outstanding documentary about the late musician. It’s very balanced, showing both points of view about the controversy over his body after his death. It has extensive interviews with musicians who worked with him including Chris Hillman and Parsons’ friend Keith Richards, There are many interviews with his family members who don’t gloss over the problems he and his relatives experienced. There is a fine bonus on the DVD where the director recounts how the film was made over a long period of time.

Also on DVD (which I have but haven’t watched yet) is a film of a tribute concert to Parsons from 2004.

Both films are on YouTube – see the links below.

Two films by Thom Andersen

I watched Thom Andersen’s Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003) several years ago. It’s an excellent film about movies set in LA.

I just watched Eadweard Muybridge, Zoopraxographer (1975) and realized later that both were done by the same director. Muybridge was a 19th-century pioneer in photography of people and animals in motion. The documentary is excellent and has many examples of his work.

Both films are available on discs which is how I watched them.

I haven’t watched it yet but this is Andersen’s 2010 short Get Out of the Car, also about Los Angeles.

The Atomic City

I just watched The Atomic City (1952) which is set in Los Alamos. Kidnappers want a nuclear formula in return for a kidnapped child. It’s an entertaining but minor crime film.

Of course, Oppenheimer (2023) is the most famous film with scenes in Los Alamos.

Above and Beyond (1952) is a film about the first atomic bomb which also shows how the military secrecy affects families which is also part of The Atomic City.