Appropos of this weekend's theme: How can you tell the difference between an American movie and a French movie?

[slaytonf]

In the American movie, the woman slaps the man.  In the French movie the man slaps the woman.

[Mr. Gorman]

There's another difference with those French movies . . . the characters don't speak English dammit!   🥴  How is I s'pose to unnerstand dem Frenchy flix when don't nobody speak no damn Englitch?   Really torches my pancakes!    🥞

It's a little tricky to follow  La fille à la sucette (1976-French)   because all the dialogue is in French . . . but I've tried.   👍

Have a French donut everyone:  🍩

 

[slaytonf]

It's a wonder how they understand each other.

[TomJH]

The French ones have subtitles. The American ones don't need them, unless Sylvester Stallone is in them.

See what I mean?

[brianNH]

"The French don't care what they say, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly."  

(Or so I've heard)

[Vautrin]

Different  brands  of cigs.

[slaytonf]

2 hours ago, brianNH said:

"The French don't care what they say, actually, as long as they pronounce it properly."  

(Or so I've heard)

The French only require that other people pronounce their language properly.

[Dargo]

[Mr. Gorman]

SLY was in a state of grace in that clip. 

 He was 'on it', man!  His friend was in peeces (sic) and he was tryin' to put him back together with blood and body parts everywhere.  GAWD! 

A truly great moment in 'Cinema Exposition'!

I don't know what I just said.  Forgive me.  🤪

DEM BONES!  DEM BONES!  DEM DRY BONES!  🦴

(I wonder what parts of dialogue could've been cut from the movie?   Let's see . . .

SLY STALLONE 'emoting' for the Silver Screen in FIRST BLOOD:

"I was in 'Nam early on, you know?  I was in Da Jungle an' I saw dis spongy pink thing comin' at me, you know?  An' I caught it!  IT WAS MY FRIEND'S BRAIN!  🧠  'Oh, jeez', I said to myself.  I just caught my friend's brain!   An' I'm hungry, too, you know?  So I ate it!  I needed protein!"  😜 

Real nice there, SLY . . . munching on your deceased friend's mind!  For Shame.

[cigarjoe]

The easiest way to watch a foreign film with subtitles is when the films are "On Demand" then all ya gotta do is pause the film whenever they pop up. Read the subtitle and then un-pause the film, a no brainer, it's like reading a graphic  novel.  If you go through it that way the first time, you'll be able to watch it again (if you liked it) without pausing it and will know what is going on.

TCM should run a public service piece on this, like the old "letter box" one. 

[ElCid]

I have tried to watch French movies many times, both with subtitles or dubbed.   Just can't get into them, not even mysteries or noirs - my favorite types.  It is not a lack of action, but French movies seem to be boring and everything is more drawn out with lots of talking.  

[slaytonf]

Et puis?

[rosebette]

If it's an American movie made before 1960, if the a male and female character are having a sexual relationship, it can only be hinted at - cohabitation, for example -- unless it's adultery and then people have to get punished in the end.  If it's a French movie, those relationships are open and even celebrated (even adulterous ones).  Ou la la!   Also, there is no requirement that all the leads be handsome or beautiful (Danielle Darrieaux and Brigit Bardot are the exceptions).

[wbogacz]

18 hours ago, slaytonf said:

In the American movie, the woman slaps the man.  In the French movie the man slaps the woman.

Apropos of nothing, this truism was explored today on TV. Well, 60 years ago on TV, syndicated now.

Naked City TV series, based on movie of same name with Barry Fitzgerald.

Episode 3.2, "Dead on the Field of Honor", about a self-appointed guardian of chivalry, shooting (with a dueling pistol of Civil War vintage) men who mistreat women in New York's Central Park. Grandma, the widow or daughter of the Civil War vet whose pistol is misused, got in a few slaps to the grandson before the arrest.

The grandson's name was French: Beau Choiseul, meaning the "Good Chosen One".

Grandma's quote "It's very hard to live up to a name like that."

[Fedya]

18 hours ago, slaytonf said:

In the American movie, the woman slaps the man.  In the French movie the man slaps the woman.

 

[Fedya]

10 hours ago, cigarjoe said:

TCM should run a public service piece on this, like the old "letter box" one. 

I get the heebie-jeebies thinking of The 400 Blows dubbed into English.

[slaytonf]

In the American movie, sometimes the smoking gets in the way of the action.  In the French movie, sometimes the action gets in the way of the smoking. 

[slaytonf]

4 hours ago, wbogacz said:

Apropos of nothing, this truism was explored today on TV. Well, 60 years ago on TV, syndicated now.

Naked City TV series, based on movie of same name with Barry Fitzgerald.

Episode 3.2, "Dead on the Field of Honor", about a self-appointed guardian of chivalry, shooting (with a dueling pistol of Civil War vintage) men who mistreat women in New York's Central Park. Grandma, the widow or daughter of the Civil War vet whose pistol is misused, got in a few slaps to the grandson before the arrest.

The grandson's name was French: Beau Choiseul, meaning the "Good Chosen One".

Grandma's quote "It's very hard to live up to a name like that."

That's television.

3 hours ago, Fedya said:

 

That's not a slap.

[Fedya]

1 hour ago, slaytonf said:

That's not a slap.

 

[karlofffan]

On 4/10/2022 at 6:04 PM, slaytonf said:

In the American movie, the woman slaps the man.  In the French movie the man slaps the woman.

Grapefruit don't count?

[slaytonf]

2 hours ago, Fedya said:

 

That's not between a man and a woman.

[slaytonf]

In the American movie, the villain dies with a sneer.  In the French movie, the villain dies with a shrug.

[BunnyWhit]

American films are filled with characters who yearn to break free of their frustration and pain, while French films are filled with characters who revel in their ennui and fatalism.

[Sepiatone]

In American films there's at least one or two characters who think they are the toughest or coolest people on the planet.

In French films EVERY character thinks they are the coolest people on the planet.

Sepiatone

[Toto]

Some of the French films shown on TCM were part of the "French New Wave".  These directors include Francois Truffaut, Jean-Luc Goddard, Agnes Varda and Jacques Rivet.  Below is a definition of what the "French New Wave".

The New Wave (in French, La Nouvelle Vague) is a film movement that rose to popularity in the late 1950s in Paris, France. The movement aimed to give directors full creative control over their work, allowing them to eschew overwrought narrative in favor of improvisational, existential storytelling.

 

The French New Wave directors were very inventive and broke new ground in film making.  I love the film "The 400 Blows" directed by Francois Truffaut.  It's about the life of a young Parisian boy who faces great difficulties at home and in society.  It is filmed beautifully in black and white and the performances of the children feel so natural.  It is a good example of the French New Wave capturing camera movement, realism and the artistry of the director.  "The 400 Blows" is autobiographical and many shots incorporate real people on the street.  For me, it has a strong emotional impact.