Films set in Paris?
March 20, 2006 9:49 AM   Subscribe

Good movies set in Paris?

A friend misses, and wants to watch films set in, Paris. Any suggestions? I already found this list, which I think is hit-and-miss in terms of quality.
posted by louigi to Media & Arts (43 answers total) 3 users marked this as a favorite
 
Amelie!
posted by nuclear_soup at 9:55 AM on March 20, 2006


"The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeois" and "The 400 Blows." Also the other 'Antoine Doinel' pictures by Truffaut, "Baisers volés" et "Domicile conjugal."
posted by Rash at 10:01 AM on March 20, 2006


Charade. You get Grant AND Hepburn, and you get to see Paris as it was in the 60s. There's a great shot from when Les Halles was still a bustling market. You can see the metro with the old signs on it and the marché des timbres as well.

Also, I second Truffaut, particularly the 400 blows.
posted by hazyjane at 10:04 AM on March 20, 2006


Far and away: The Day of the Jackal.
posted by milquetoast at 10:04 AM on March 20, 2006


La Haine.
posted by the cuban at 10:08 AM on March 20, 2006


Rendezvous!
posted by bobo123 at 10:14 AM on March 20, 2006


Funny Face (1957), directed by Stanley Donen (director of the already-mentioned Charade). And like Charade, you get Audrey Hepburn, only this time accompanied by Fred Astaire. And it's a musical.
posted by grabbingsand at 10:20 AM on March 20, 2006


The Dreamers.
posted by lhall at 10:20 AM on March 20, 2006


There is actually an exhibition on this very topic at the hotel de ville right now.
posted by jmgorman at 10:21 AM on March 20, 2006


Alice et Martin
posted by fire&wings at 10:21 AM on March 20, 2006


Subway
posted by frogan at 10:22 AM on March 20, 2006


Le Samourai
posted by frogan at 10:22 AM on March 20, 2006


Le Ballon rouge, too. And Moulin Rouge!, now that I think about it.


IMDB keyword search: paris-france
posted by lhall at 10:25 AM on March 20, 2006


Second Amelie!
posted by lilybeane at 10:27 AM on March 20, 2006


Diva. God, I have to see that again now.
posted by CunningLinguist at 10:29 AM on March 20, 2006


Hunchback of Notre Dame
posted by Thorzdad at 10:32 AM on March 20, 2006


Ronin has a few Paris scenes.
posted by chrisch at 10:32 AM on March 20, 2006


My wife's favorite RomCom: French Kiss.
posted by WinnipegDragon at 10:34 AM on March 20, 2006


Breathless. Most of what Godard did in the 60s, really.
posted by desuetude at 10:40 AM on March 20, 2006


A Bout de Souffle aka Breathless not the remake!
The Trial has loads of fascinating footage of the derelict Gare d'Orsay before it was Musee d'Orsay
Le Samurai
posted by Dr.Pill at 10:44 AM on March 20, 2006


Breathless, by Jean-Luc Godard, is THE classic Parisian film.

Also - the Umbrellas of Cherbourg is another French classic. Not sure if it's set in Paris or not.
posted by kdern at 10:46 AM on March 20, 2006


Before Sunset.
posted by rpn at 10:51 AM on March 20, 2006


La Fille sur le pont (Girl on a bridge) at least opens in Paris, but I don't remember how many other scenes were set there.
posted by rpn at 10:54 AM on March 20, 2006


two recent comedies: Ma femme est une actrice and Tanguy.

(And I just found out IMDB can list films by location! I feel so dumb I never noticed that before... from here, has Paris down to single arrondissements and streets)
posted by funambulist at 10:56 AM on March 20, 2006


Trois couleurs: Bleu (Blue) and partly Trzy kolory: Bialy (White).
posted by rpn at 11:01 AM on March 20, 2006


Classic: An American in paris. If you like really well choreographed musicals
posted by Slimemonster at 11:09 AM on March 20, 2006


Also, more recently, Caché.

Umbrellas of Cherbourg was set and filmed in...Cherbourg.
posted by desuetude at 11:23 AM on March 20, 2006


Les Amants du Pont-Neuf
posted by Lanark at 11:52 AM on March 20, 2006


Jacques Tati's Playtime. Also, Louis Malle's Zazie dans le métro.
posted by trip and a half at 12:09 PM on March 20, 2006


Godard's Eloge De L'Amour too, gorgeous black and white footage of Parisian landmarks. But watch A Bout De Souffle first.
posted by jrb223 at 12:53 PM on March 20, 2006


Yuri Mamin's Window To Paris is especially interesting for it's Russian perspective on France.
posted by PinkStainlessTail at 1:02 PM on March 20, 2006


Irma la Douce
posted by kirkaracha at 1:19 PM on March 20, 2006


Chacun cherche son chat (When the Cat's Away), lovely.
posted by featherboa at 2:33 PM on March 20, 2006


La Balance is a good gritty cop drama, I don't know if it's on DVD.

Same goes for Romuald Et Juliette, from the creator of "Three Men And A Baby", the French one, not the US remake. R&J is one of my favourite ever movies.
posted by AmbroseChapel at 2:39 PM on March 20, 2006


Betty Blue? Maybe not Paris.
posted by docpops at 2:50 PM on March 20, 2006


Breathless. Most of what Godard did in the 60s, really.

What he said, and I'll put in a special vote for Two or Three Things I Know About Her—the "her" of the title is at least as much Paris as it is the heroine.

Christ, I'm sick of Amélie.
posted by languagehat at 3:14 PM on March 20, 2006


The Bourne Identity has nice lingering shots AND car chases.
posted by stevis at 3:24 PM on March 20, 2006


On the lighter side: the Eiffel Tower/parachute set piece in A View to a Kill, with Roger Moore's 007 in creaky pursuit of villainness May Day (the incomparable Grace Jones).
posted by rob511 at 4:08 PM on March 20, 2006


As ever, languagehat is right. Tw oor Three Things is not only the best film about Paris but one of the best films of all time. Let me add Double vie de Véronique and The Lavender Hill Mob. Of course, the best almost film is the Absolutely Fabulous episode in Paris.
posted by TheRaven at 4:09 PM on March 20, 2006


TheRaven, if you're TheRaven from LibraryThing, I still miss exploring your wonderful collection. If you've got it catalogued somewhere else, please drop me a line and let me know; I would have written you when you disappeared from LT but didn't have an address.
posted by languagehat at 5:13 PM on March 20, 2006


Deja Vu (1997) by Henry Jaglom; Is Paris Burning?; The Sun Also Rises; French Kiss; Forget Paris; and a 1,000 other films.
posted by madstop1 at 5:50 PM on March 20, 2006


Third Amelie!
posted by robcorr at 11:17 PM on March 20, 2006


Last Tango in Paris
posted by vespertine at 11:18 PM on March 20, 2006


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