The French not only coined the term Film Noir (a play on Série Noire, a popular line of pulp crime novels) to define a certain kind of Hollywood thriller, but also had their own Golden Age of Noir, and a tradition of crime movies that continues to this day. This festival of 39 prime examples opens with the late ex-pat Jules Dassin's classic heist picture Rififi, which kick-started a whole new cycle of French Noir, and includes both classics and rarities by such masters of the genre as Jean-Pierre Melville (Bob le flambeur, Le Cercle rouge, Un flic), Jacques Becker (Touchez pas au grisbi), Henri-Georges Clouzot (Diabolique, Wages of Fear), Georges Franju (Eyes Without a Face), René Clément (Purple Noon), Louis Malle (Elevator to the Gallows), Claude Chabrol (La Cérémonie), and François Truffaut (Mississippi Mermaid, The Bride Wore Black). Among the many stars showcased are the five great hommes durs (tough guys) of the genre-Jean Gabin, Lino Ventura, Yves Montand, Jean-Paul Belmondo, and Alain Delon-and such femmes fatales as Simone Signoret, Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, and Brigitte Bardot. The festival concludes with a one-week run of Truffaut's Shoot the Piano Player.

Featured Works:

Pépé Le Moko (Julien Duvivier, 1937); Goupi Mains Rouges (Jacques Becker, 1943); Quai Des Orfèvres (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1947); Riptide (Yves Allégre, 1949); Casque D'Or (Jacques Becker, 1952); The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1952); We Are All Murderers (André Cayatte, 1952); Touchez Pas Au Grisbi (Jacques Becker, 1954); Bob Le Flambeur (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1955); Diabolique (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1955); Rififi (Jules Dassin, 1955); A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, 1956); Elevator to the Gallows (Louis Malle, 1957); Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959); Eyes Without a Face (Georges Franju, 1959); Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959); Classe Tous Risques (Claude Sautet, 1960, pictured); Purple Noon (René Clément, 1960); La Vérité (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1960); Le Doulos (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1962); Le Tontons Flingueurs (Georges Lautner, 1963); Band of Outsiders (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964); Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965); The Thief of Paris (Louis Malle, 1967); Mississippi Mermaid (François Truffaut, 1969); La Piscine (Jacques Deray, 1969); The Sicilian Clan (Henri Verneuil, 1969); Borsalino (Jacques Deray, 1970); Le Cercle Rouge (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970); Un Flic (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1972); The Clockmaker (Bertrand Tavernier, 1974); Police Python 357 (Alain Corneau, 1976); Coup De Torchon (Bertrand Tavernier, 1981); Garde à Vue (Claude Miller, 1981); Le Cérémonie (Claude Chabrol, 1995); Murderous Maids (Jean-Pierre Denis, 2000) 

Program information:

The French Crime Wave Series

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