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'Amélie' (2001) -

Audrey Tautou plays Amélie Poulain, a shy waitress with a big heart who works at a café in the Montmartre district of Paris. The Café des 2 Moulins served as a principal location, and the film is still referred to by the thousands of tourists that visit the historic bar every year.

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'The Bourne Identity' (2002) -

Paris provided an exciting backdrop for a good deal of Doug Liman's action-thriller starring Matt Damon. The film's acclaimed car chase sequence was shot in various city-center locations. Later, the French countryside was used for the farmhouse segment.

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'The Da Vinci Code' (2006) -

Cinema audiences are treated to an historic Paris landmark in 'The Da Vinci Code'—the Louvre. The famous museum gave permission to film relevant scenes at their premises, which included the finale, shot in and around the Louvre Pyramid.

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'À bout de souffle' (1960) -

Released in the US as 'Breathless,' this crime drama set in the French capital and directed by Jean-Luc Godard represented Jean-Paul Belmondo's breakthrough performance. Jean Seberg plays his girlfriend.

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'French Connection II' (1975) -

New York detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle (Gene Hackman) travels to Marseille in an attempt to track down French drug dealer Alain Charnier (Fernando Rey) in this acclaimed sequel to the classic crime thriller 'The French Connection' (1971).

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'To Catch a Thief' (1955) -

The resorts of Cannes, Nice, Villefranche-sur-Mer, and Saint-Jeannet on France's warm and vibrant Mediterranean coast helped set the scenes in Alfred Hitchcock's romantic thriller starring Cary Grant and Grace Kelly. The film was released in 1955. Later that year while promoting the picture, Kelly met Prince Rainier III at the Prince's Palace in Monaco—and the fairy-tale began!

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'Le jour se lève' (1939) -

Jean Gabin remains one of France's most cherished actors, and is regarded as a key figure in French cinema. In this film, also known as 'Daybreak,' he plays a remorseful murderer who locks himself away in his Paris apartment and recollects the events leading up the killing.

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'Before Sunset' (2004) -

'Before Sunset' is the second installment of the hugely successful 'Before' trilogy and again stars Ethan Hawke and Julie Delpy as Jesse and Céline, who reunite in Paris nine years on from the first film and where the entire picture is shot.

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'Last Tango in Paris' (1972) -

Hugely controversial for one particular scene involving a handful of butter, Bernardo Bertolucci's 'Last Tango in Paris' stars Marlon Brando and Maria Schneider. Locations used include the Pont de Bir-Hakeim, where numerous scenes were shot.

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'Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot' (1953) -

'Monsieur Hulot's Holiday,' to give the movie its English name, was the picture that introduced the clumsy but well-meaning character Monsieur Hulot to cinema audiences, played by French comic Jacques Tati. The film was shot in and around the town of Saint-Marc-sur-Mer, a beach resort near Saint-Nazaire.

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'An American in Paris' (1951) -

Starring Gene Kelly and Leslie Caron (in her film debut), 'An American in Paris' is especially celebrated for the song and dance number staged along the banks of the Seine.

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'Julie & Julia' (2009) -

The life and career of American cooking teacher Julie Child (1912–2004), recognized for bringing French cuisine to the American public through her cookbooks and television shows, is depicted by Meryl Streep and Amy Adams, with Streep portraying the chef in her early years in 1950's Paris. The film was written and directed by Nora Ephron, her last before succumbing to cancer in 2012.

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'Jean de Florette' (1986) -

Set in rural Provence, 'Jean de Florette' remains one of the most universally acclaimed films to come out of France in recent cinema history. It stars Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, and Yves Montand. It was shot back to back with the equally acclaimed sequel 'Manon des Sources,' which again starred Montand in one of his final film appearances.

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'Marie Antoinette' (2006) -

Sofia Coppola's lavish historical costume drama based on the life of Queen Marie Antoinette, played by Kirsten Dunst, was partly filmed on location at the Palace of Versailles, affording the production a truly authentic period setting.

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'Le Samouraï' (1967) -

Alain Delon's performance in this noir-crime drama, released in the United States as 'The Samurai,' brought further international kudos to the French actor. The film is set entirely in Paris.

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'Hugo' (2011) -

In a departure from his usual crime genre pictures, Martin Scorsese decided to make an adventure drama about an orphan living in the walls of a Paris train station. Locations included the Sainte-Geneviève Library, the Sorbonne, and the Théâtre de l'Athénée.

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'Amour' (2012) -

Her portrayal as Anne in this romantic drama, also known as 'Love,' garnered veteran French actress Emmanuelle Riva a raft of awards and nominations. Set in Paris, the film also stars Jean-Louis Trintignant and Isabelle Huppert. It was one of Riva's final cinema appearances.

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'The French Dispatch' (2021) -

While set in a fictional French city, Wes Anderson's anthology comedy drama was actually shot in the city of Angoulême in southwestern France. The ensemble cast numbers Owen Wilson, Benicio del Toro, Adrien Brody, Tilda Swinton, Frances McDormand, and Léa Seydoux, among many other French and international actors.

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'Bonjour Tristesse' (1958) -

The film's title translates into English as 'Hello, Sadness.' Director Otto Preminger shot the picture on the French Riviera, with the lustrous Mediterranean Sea providing a sparkling backdrop. Deborah Kerr, David Niven, and Jean Seberg head the cast.

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'Midnight in Paris' (2011) -

Woody Allen also shot his well-received fantasy comedy in Paris. Owen Wilson heads the cast, seen here in a scene with Carla Bruni, the wife of former French president Nicolas Sarkozy, who appears as a museum guide.

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'Pierrot le Fou' (1965) -

Toulon and Hyères served as the sun-soaked locations in southern France for this French New Wave film directed by Jean-Luc Goddard and starring Jean-Paul Belmondo and Anna Karina, both seen here in a scene filmed on Toulon's L'Aygade beach. The movie's title translates into English as "Pierrot the Fool."

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'Stillwater' (2021) -

Set mostly in Marseilles, 'Stillwater' stars Matt Damon as an Oklahoma oil worker who travels to the city to visit his jailed daughter, who is serving a nine-year prison sentence after being convicted of murdering her lover. The movie's plot is loosely based on the notorious case of Amanda Knox.

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'Rififi' (1955) -

Highly acclaimed by modern film critics as one of the greatest works in French film noir, 'Rififi' is a crime drama directed by American blacklisted filmmaker Jules Dassin. Set in Paris, the film stars Jean Servais as an aging gangster who plans a daring jewel heist.

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'The Train' (1964) -

Filmed in several locations including Acquigny, Calvados, Saint-Ouen, Seine-Saint-Denis, and Vaires, with scenes spanning Paris to Metz, John Frankenheimer's war film stars Burt Lancaster as French Resistance member Paul Labiche, who sets out to sabotage a train carrying art looted by the Nazis and commanded by a German colonel (Paul Schofield). The train's interception is based on a real-life event.

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'Funny Face' (1957) -

The Seine again features in key scenes in 'Funny Face,' a musical romantic comedy starring Audrey Hepburn and Fred Astaire.

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'A Good Year' (2006) -

Provence locations used in this Ridley Scott-directed romantic comedy starring Russel Crow and Marion Cotillard include Bonnieux, Cucuron, and Gordes.

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'Chocolat' (2000) -

Production of this delightful comedy-drama directed by Lasse Hallström took place in the medieval village of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain, in Burgundy, and at Beynac-et-Cazenac in Dordogne. It stars Juliette Binoche, Johnny Depp, and Judi Dench.

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'Chéri' (2009) -

Stephen Frears' visually stunning drama begins in Paris but later takes advantage of the most scenic of seaside holiday spots in Biarritz. 'Chéri' stars Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend.

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'La Haine' (1995) -

Released in the United States as 'Hate,' this gritty and unnervingly realistic crime drama takes place in a poor immigrant neighborhood in the suburbs of Paris. Upon its release, 'La Haine' received widespread critical acclaim for its authentic portrayal of the aimless and often violent lives of those caught up in the spiral of poverty and discrimination, and was well received in France and abroad.

Sources: (The New York Times) (Biography) (Vanity Fair)

See also: European cinema's esteemed classic movie stars

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