1980s French Movies

544 movies found (page 1/19):

Women's Prison Massacre(1983)

2.2/5 (with 22 votes)

Emanuelle, a reporter, comes just a little too close to exposing a corrupt official, and is sent to prison on trumped-up charges. In the prison, the inmates are constantly humiliated and tortured by the prison staff. Overly affectionate prisoners are forced underwater, while others are obliged to look on. Emanuelle finds an enemy in the deranged Albina, who "runs the prison." For the pleasure of the warden, Emanuelle and Albina are forced to fight each other with knives. Bad becomes worse when four men awaiting execution escape and take over the prison. Gore flows like water.

Directed by Bruno Mattei, Claudio Fragasso - With Laura Gemser, Gabriele Tinti, Carlo De Mejo, Lorraine De Selle, Franca Stoppi

Emmanuelle 6(1988)

1h 20min | Drama, Romance / Love

2.1/5 (with 10 votes)

Journey with Emmanuelle and the world's most excuisite models deep into the Amazon jungle to the heart of paradise. Beauty can be dangerous and the women soon find themselves captive to a powerful drug lord. Now they must escape from a land of darkness.

Directed by Jean Rollin, Bruno Zincone - With Antonio Rodriguez, Natalie Uher, Santiago Pérez Fernández

Emmanuelle 4(1984)

1h 29min | Drama, Romance / Love

2.5/5 (with 18 votes)

In order to escape from her former lover Marc, Sylvia goes to Brazil where Dr. Santamo transforms her into the beautiful Emmanuelle...

Directed by Francis Leroi - With Sylvia Kristel, Marilyn Jess, Patrick Bauchau, Christian Marquand, Fabrice Luchini, Brinke Stevens, ...

Exploits of a Young Don Juan(1986)

1h 35min | Comedy, Drama

2.9/5 (with 63 votes)

Roger is a 16-year-old who seeks to lose his virginity in this erotic drama. His initial efforts are unsuccessful, but World War I breaks out and men are seen marching off to battle. Roger goes overboard when he is presented with several amorous opportunities.

Directed by Gianfranco Mingozzi - With Serena Grandi, Claudine Auger, Marina Vlady, Aurélien Recoing, Rosette, Alexandra Vandernoot, ...

Cinema Paradiso(1988)

| 2h 4min | Drama, Romance / Love

4.2/5 (with 1,845 votes)

A filmmaker recalls his childhood, when he fell in love with the movies at his village's theater and formed a deep friendship with the theater's projectionist.

Directed by Giuseppe Tornatore - With Jacques Perrin, Marco Leonardi, Salvatore Cascio, Philippe Noiret, Agnese Nano, Brigitte Fossey, ...

Paris, Texas(1984)

2h 26min | Drama

4.1/5 (with 732 votes)

A man wanders out of the desert not knowing who he is. His brother finds him, and helps to pull his memory back of the life he led before he walked out on his family and disappeared four years earlier.

Directed by Wim Wenders - With Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Aurore Clément, Bernhard Wicki, John Lurie, ...

Possession(1981)

2h 3min | Horror

3.7/5 (with 468 votes)

A young woman left her family for an unspecified reason. The husband determines to find out the truth and starts following his wife. At first, he suspects that a man is involved. But gradually, he finds out more and more strange behaviors and bizarre incidents that indicate something more than a possessed love affair.

Directed by Andrzej Żuławski - With Isabelle Adjani, Sam Neill, Margit Carstensen, Heinz Bennent, Johanna Hofer, Shaun Lawton, ...

Ran(1985)

K12

| 2h 40min | Action, Drama, History

4.1/5 (with 642 votes)

With Ran, legendary director Akira Kurosawa reimagines Shakespeare's King Lear as a singular historical epic set in sixteenth-century Japan. Majestic in scope, the film is Kurosawa's late-life masterpiece, a profound examination of the folly of war and the crumbling of one family under the weight of betrayal, greed, and the insatiable thirst for power.

Directed by Akira Kurosawa - With Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryū, Mieko Harada, Peter, ...

The Name of the Rose(1986)

| 2h 10min | Drama, Thriller, Mystery

3.7/5 (with 1,372 votes)

14th-century Franciscan monk William of Baskerville and his young novice arrive at a conference to find that several monks have been murdered under mysterious circumstances. To solve the crimes, William must rise up against the Church's authority and fight the shadowy conspiracy of monastery monks using only his intelligence – which is considerable.

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud - With Sean Connery, F. Murray Abraham, Christian Slater, Feodor Chaliapin Jr., Michael Lonsdale, Elya Baskin, ...

Tender Cousins(1980)

1h 32min | Drama, Romance / Love

2.8/5 (with 20 votes)

Teenage Julien loves his teenage cousin Julia among flowers in summer of '39 France.

Directed by David Hamilton - With Anja Schüte, Macha Méril, Pierre Vernier, Anne Fontaine, Catherine Rouvel, Élisa Servier, ...

Wings of Desire(1987)

2h 8min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance / Love

3.9/5 (with 582 votes)

Two angels, Damiel and Cassiel, glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to the distressed but never interacting with them. When Damiel falls in love with lonely trapeze artist Marion, the angel longs to experience life in the physical world, and finds -- with some words of wisdom from actor Peter Falk -- that it might be possible for him to take human form.

Directed by Wim Wenders - With Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois, Peter Falk, Hans-Martin Stier, ...

The Party(1980)

1h 50min | Drama, Romance / Love, Comedy

3.3/5 (with 510 votes)

A thirteen-year-old French girl deals with moving to a new city and school in Paris, while at the same time her parents are getting a divorce.

Directed by Claude Pinoteau - With Sophie Marceau, Claude Brasseur, Brigitte Fossey, Denise Grey, Alexandre Sterling, Sheila O'Connor, ...

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Betty Blue(1986)

3h 5min | Drama, Romance / Love

3.6/5 (with 168 votes)

A lackadaisical handyman and aspiring novelist tries to support his younger girlfriend as she slowly succumbs to madness.

Directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix - With Jean-Hugues Anglade, Béatrice Dalle, Vincent Lindon, Dominique Pinon, Gérard Darmon, Consuelo de Haviland, ...

The Bear(1988)

1h 34min | Adventure, Drama, Kids & Family

3.5/5 (with 201 votes)

An orphan bear cub hooks up with an adult male as they try to dodge human hunters.

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud - With Tchéky Karyo, Bart the Bear, André Lacombe

Beau Pere(1981)

2h 3min | Drama, Romance / Love

3.3/5 (with 43 votes)

Rémi is a man trapped in a deteriorating marriage. When his wife is unexpectedly killed in a car accident, Rémi is left with his stepdaughter, Marion, who chooses to stay with him rather than live with her birth father. After the initial shock passes, Rémi is caught off-guard when Marion begins expressing her attraction to him. Initially repulsed, Marion's mature beauty wears him down as he finally caves to her seductions.

Directed by Bertrand Blier - With Patrick Dewaere, Ariel Besse, Maurice Ronet, Macha Méril, Nathalie Baye, Nicole Garcia, ...

Asterix in Britain(1986)

1h 19min | Kids & Family, Animation, Adventure, Comedy

3.4/5 (with 284 votes)

One little ancient British village still holds out against the Roman invaders. Asterix and Obelix are invited to help. They must face fog, rain, warm beer and boiled boar with mint sauce, but they soon have Governor Encyclopaedius Britannicus's Romans declining and falling. Until a wild race for a barrel of magic potion lands them in the drink.

Directed by Pino van Lamsweerde

Subway(1985)

1h 44min | Action, Thriller

3.3/5 (with 183 votes)

Fred, a raffish safe blower, takes refuge in the Paris Metro after being chased by the henchmen of a shady businessman from whom he has just stolen some documents. While hiding out in the back rooms and conduits of the Metro, Fred encounters a subterranean society of eccentric characters and petty criminals.

Directed by Luc Besson - With Isabelle Adjani, Christopher Lambert, Michel Galabru, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Richard Bohringer, Jean-Pierre Bacri, ...

Manon of the Spring(1986)

1h 53min | Drama

3.8/5 (with 207 votes)

In this, the sequel to Jean de Florette, Manon (Beart) has grown into a beautiful young shepherdess living in the idyllic Provencal countryside. She plots vengeance on the men who greedily conspired to acquire her father's land years earlier.

Directed by Claude Berri - With Yves Montand, Daniel Auteuil, Emmanuelle Béart, Hippolyte Girardot, Margarita Lozano, Élisabeth Depardieu, ...

The Big Blue(1988)

2h 48min | Adventure, Drama, Romance / Love

3.7/5 (with 633 votes)

Two men answer the call of the ocean in this romantic fantasy-adventure. Jacques and Enzo are a pair of friends who have been close since childhood, and who share a passion for the dangerous sport of free diving. Professional diver Jacques opted to follow in the footsteps of his father, who died at sea when Jacques was a boy; to the bewilderment of scientists, Jacques harbors a remarkable ability to adjust his heart rate and breathing pattern in the water, so that his vital signs more closely resemble that of dolphins than men. As Enzo persuades a reluctant Jacques to compete against him in a free diving contest -- determining who can dive deeper and longer without scuba gear -- Jacques meets Johana, a beautiful insurance investigator from America, and he finds that he must choose between his love for her and his love of the sea.

Directed by Luc Besson - With Jean Reno, Rosanna Arquette, Sergio Castellitto, Marc Duret, Jean Bouise, Jean-Marc Barr, ...

The Last Metro(1980)

2h 11min | Drama, Romance / Love, War

3.6/5 (with 203 votes)

In occupied Paris, an actress married to a Jewish theater owner must keep him hidden from the Nazis while doing both of their jobs.

Directed by François Truffaut - With Catherine Deneuve, Gérard Depardieu, Jean Poiret, Andréa Ferréol, Paulette Dubost, Heinz Bennent, ...

Lady Chatterley's Lover(1981)

1h 44min | Drama, Romance / Love

2.7/5 (with 29 votes)

A film adaptation of D.H. Lawrence's novel. After a crippling injury leaves her husband impotent, Lady Chatterly is torn between her love for her husband and her physical desires. With her husband's consent, she seeks out other means of fulfilling her needs.

Directed by Just Jaeckin - With Sylvia Kristel, Nicholas Clay, Elizabeth Spriggs, Anthony Head, Bessie Love, Pascale Rivault, ...

Au Revoir les Enfants(1987)

1h 45min | Drama, War

3.8/5 (with 271 votes)

Au revoir les enfants tells a heartbreaking story of friendship and devastating loss concerning two boys living in Nazi-occupied France. At a provincial Catholic boarding school, the precocious youths enjoy true camaraderie—until a secret is revealed. Based on events from writer-director Malle’s own childhood, the film is a subtle, precisely observed tale of courage, cowardice, and tragic awakening.

Directed by Louis Malle - With Gaspard Manesse, Raphaël Fejtö, François Berléand, Philippe Morier-Genoud, Francine Racette, Arnaud Henriet, ...

L'Argent(1983)

1h 25min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

3.5/5 (with 99 votes)

A forged 500-franc note is passed from person to person and shop to shop, until it falls into the hands of a genuine innocent who doesn't see it for what it is—which will have devastating consequences on his life.

Directed by Robert Bresson - With Alexandre Pasche, Bernard Lamarche-Vadel, François-Marie Banier, Michel Briguet, Pierre Tessier, Yves Martin, ...

Quest for Fire(1981)

1h 40min | Adventure, Drama

3.5/5 (with 208 votes)

A colossal adventure odyssey that turns back the hands of time to the very beginning of man's existence. 80,000 years ago, when man roamed the earth, he was exposed to the many harsh elements of nature. Against the perilous atmosphere of rugged terrain, rival tribes and savage beasts, Quest for Fire examines a peaceful tribe's search for that all important element fire, and the knowledge to create it. Focusing on human dream as well as realistic insights into pre-historic man, the constant struggle for survival is vividly recreated in this sensational production.

Directed by Jean-Jacques Annaud - With Everett McGill, Ron Perlman, Rae Dawn Chong, Nicholas Kadi, Franck-Olivier Bonnet, Robert Lavoie, ...

Danton(1983)

2h 16min | Drama, History

3.4/5 (with 70 votes)

Danton and Robespierre were close friends and fought together in the French Revolution, but by 1793 Robespierre was France's ruler, determined to wipe out opposition with a series of mass executions that became known as the Reign of Terror. Danton, well known as a spokesman of the people, had been living in relative solitude in the French countryside, but he returned to Paris to challenge Robespierre's violent rule and call for the people to demand their rights. Robespierre, however, could not accept such a challenge, even from a friend and colleague, and he blocked out a plan for the capture and execution of Danton and his allies.

Directed by Andrzej Wajda - With Gérard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, Anne Alvaro, Patrice Chéreau, Angela Winkler, Serge Merlin, ...

The Vanishing(1988)

1h 46min | Thriller, Mystery

3.8/5 (with 249 votes)

A man embarks on an increasingly obsessive search for his girlfriend after she disappears without a trace during a romantic summer getaway to France.

Directed by George Sluizer - With Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Johanna ter Steege, Bernadette Le Saché, Gene Bervoets, Pierre Forget, Raphaëline Goupilleau, ...

Mad Love(1985)

1h 41min | Romance / Love, Drama, Crime

3.1/5 (with 16 votes)

After a successful bank robbery, Micky hopes to take back his girlfriend Marie who has been taken from him. On the way to Paris he meets Leon, a neurotic dreamer whom he considers an idiot. Leon can hardly understand what Micky is up to but he follows him everywhere and soon falls in love with Marie.

Directed by Andrzej Żuławski - With Sophie Marceau, Tchéky Karyo, Francis Huster, Christiane Jean, Alain Flick, Bernard Freyd, ...

The Professional(1981)

| 1h 48min | Action, Adventure, Thriller

3.6/5 (with 213 votes)

French secret service agent Josselin Beaumont is dispatched to take down African warlord N'Jala. But when his assignment is canceled, he's shocked to learn that his government is surrendering him to local authorities. He is given a mock trial and sentenced to 20 years of hard labor. But Beaumont escapes from prison and vows not only to avenge himself against his betrayers but also to finish his original assignment.

Directed by Georges Lautner - With Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Desailly, Robert Hossein, Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Cyrielle Clair, Élisabeth Margoni, ...

Three Men to Destroy(1980)

1h 33min | Thriller, Action, Crime

3.0/5 (with 24 votes)

A man helps the victim of an auto accident, not realizing that the man has actually been shot. The men who shot him are now after the man who helped him, in order to eliminate him as a potential witness. Soon they are killing everyone he even comes in contact with in order to get him.

Directed by Jacques Deray - With Alain Delon, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Michel Auclair, Simone Renant, Pierre Dux, Jean-Pierre Darras, ...

The Gendarme and the Gendarmettes(1982)

1h 40min | Comedy

3.0/5 (with 237 votes)

Cruchot's police office moves into a new building. They do not only get high tech equipment, but also four young female police officers to educate. All of them scramble to work with them -- and cause pure chaos while being distracted by the fine ladies. Then they get into real trouble when one after the other of their female colleagues is kidnapped.

Directed by Jean Girault, Tony Aboyantz - With Louis de Funès, Michel Galabru, Claude Gensac, Maurice Risch, Guy Grosso, Michel Modo, ...