Films to make you laugh
But how wide appeal do French comic films have outside France? Although some of the biting satire may lose its edge, there is a lot we can identify with. Much comedy stems from the simple observation that things always seem to go wrong, that a slice of toast will invariably land on the carpet butter-side down five minutes after an expensive firm of carpet cleaners have washed it. This is something we can all we relate to because, from the moment we are aware of the world around us, we know for sure that it is out to get us. It is this which forms the basis of most French comedy.
There are of course some cultural specific elements to French comedy, and this adds greatly to its charm. For one thing, the French absolutely hate authority - not surprisingly after the humilities they suffered under the Nazi Occupation and the latest Chirac administration. Policemen, soldiers, civil servants, politicians, managers... basically anyone in a uniform or power suit is a legitimate target for the vile wit of screenwriters of French comic films.
The quality of French comedy rests ultimately in the hands of its performers, and here French cinema has been particularly fortunate. The music hall gave French cinema its first comic stars, and this tradition continues with each succeeding generation. Fernandel, Bourvil, Louis de Funès, Jacques Tati and Coluche are comic giants who have acquired a legendary status in France (although Tati alone has achieved international fame). Today's generation of comic actors have a lot to live up to but recent box office hits such as Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre show that French comedy continues to thrive and will remain an essential part of French cinema.
Un chapeau de paille d'Italie (1928)
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Le Million (1931)
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À nous la liberté (1931)
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Drôle de drame (1937)
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Jour de fête (1949)
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L'Auberge rouge (1951)
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Les Vacances de Monsieur Hulot (1953)
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Les Tontons flingueurs (1963)
The best of Georges Lautner's comic parodies of the French crime thriller unites Lino Ventura and Bernard Blier as you have never seen them before, with tongue firmly in cheek.Read full review...
Le Corniaud (1965)
Director Gérard Oury struck the jackpot when he got Louis de Funès and Bourvil to appear in this lavish comic farce. Replete with visual jokes, this has become a classic of French cinema.Read full review...
La Grande vadrouille (1966)
Comic giants Bourvil and Louis de Funès join forces with Terry-Thomas in this extravagant WWII comedy. With 17 million spectators, it remains the most popular film made in France.Read full review...
Fantômas contre Scotland Yard (1967)
The best of the three 1960s Fantômas films sees Louis de Funès pitted against Jean Marais for the last time. In his dual role, as Fandor and the green-skinned Fantômas, Marais became a cult icon.Read full review...
Baisers volés (1968)
For the third installment of his semi- autobiographical Antoine Doinel cycle, François Truffaut offers us this delightful portrait of young love. A tender, witty, ironic and utterly charming film.Read full review...
La Folie des grandeurs (1971)
Yves Montand makes life Hell for Louis de Funès in this spectacular historical comedy. The jokes are good but they don't quite match up to the film's stunning production values.Read full review...
Les Aventures de Rabbi Jacob (1973)
If you are going to poke fun at Jewish culture, do it well. Avoid all clichés, and do not get Louis de Funès to send up orthodox Jews. This film breaks all the rules but still manages to be hugely funny and inoffensive.Read full review...
Le Charme discret de la bourgeoisie (1972)
The most celebrated and outlandish of Buñuel's no holds barred assaults on the French middle-classes is a masterpiece of surrealist comedy.Read full review...
La Cage aux folles (1978)
Based on a hit stage play, this was one of the funniest French films of the 1970s. With outrageously camp performances, it became a cult film in both France and the US.Read full review...
Le Gendarme et les extra-terrestres (1979)
France's response to Spielberg's Close Encounters of the Third Kind? One film had state of the art special effects and a colossal budget, the other had Louis de Funès. Now, which is the funnier film?Read full review...
Buffet froid (1979)
This bizarre black comedy is one of the most popular films from Bertrand Blier, a true maverick of French cinema. Some great acting makes this a compelling surreal masterpiece.Read full review...
La Chèvre (1981)
Pierre Richard and Gérard Depardieu make a stunning comic duo in this delicious laugh-a-minute comic gem. Richard plays the unluckiest man in the world in a familiar Veber farce.Read full review...
Le Père Noël est une ordure (1982)
This aggressive satire of the so-called "caring society" features great comedy from the Equipe du Splendid. Gérard Jugnot plays a hacked off Father Christmas and Christian Clavier a man-hungry transvestite.Read full review...
Les Ripoux (1984)
Philippe Noiret and Thierry Lhermitte play two crooked law enforcers in this outrageous satire on police corruption. Stylish and witty, this cult classic is one of Claude Zidi's best films.Read full review...
Trois hommes et un couffin (1985)
The original "3 Men and a Baby" was this hilarious satire on fatherhood and modern living. It proved to be a staggering box office success in France.Read full review...
Delicatessen (1991)
One of the icons of French cinema in the 1990s, Delicatessen paints a disturbing vision of the future, where people resort to canabalism and the world is policed by frogmen. Brilliantly imaginative.Read full review...
Les Visiteurs (1993)
This hilarious farce featuring a time-travelling knight and his vassal proved to be a huge box office success in France. Jean Reno and Christian Clavier make this a comic tour de force.Read full review...
Sitcom (1998)
All is not quite what it seems in cosy middle class suburbia. Behind the chintz curtains there are murderous dreams and dark fantasies. And all because of a sinister white rat...Read full review...
Le Dîner de cons (1998)
The film version of Francis Veber's long-running stage play proved to be a major box office success in France. The scintillating dialogue and sparkling performances are to be savoured.Read full review...
Conte d'automne (1998)
The final film in Rohmer's "Four Seasons" cycle is both a melancholic and uplifting work, in which a middle-aged woman is subjected to the match-making tendencies of her well-meaning friends.Read full review...
Le Goût des autres (2000)
Jean-Pierre Bacri attempts to breach the cultural divide in this sophisticated comic farce. With great scripting and acting, this was one of the film highlights of the year 2000.Read full review...
Harry, un ami qui vous veut du bien (2000)
This superlative black comedy consists of an extraordinary sequence of comic situations. Sergi López is both enchanting and disturbing as the friend who just can't help doing a good turn.Read full review...
Le Fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain (2001)
This fairytale Parisian romance was a worldwide success, thanks to its surreal comic touches, distinctive photography and, most of all, Audrey Tautou. A magical film.Read full review...
Astérix & Obélix: Mission Cléopâtre (2002)
Asterix and Obelix make a triumphant return to French cinema, only to be outstaged by popular television comedian Jamel Debbouze. 15 million spectators turned out for this high budget romp, so it can't be all bad.Read full review...
8 femmes (2002)
Eight classy women are lodged together in an isolated mansion. One of them is a killer, but can any of them avoid breaking into song? This hugely entertaining comedy thriller is so seductive that you just have to watch it again...Read full review...