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More movies set in Paris, film titles M-Z.

Here’s the second set of films set in Paris, with films listed by title M-Z. (See former post for the film title list from A through L.)

Marie Antoinette. Choose the 1938 version with Norma Schearer and Tyrone Power, or the 2006 film with Kirsten Durst and Jason Schwartzman.

Marie Antoinette DVD: Standard Edition    

Le Million. 1931. One of the first musical comedies to be shot in sound.

Les Miserables. A wealth of choices here. The 1935 version with Frederic March and Charles Laughton; the 1978 movie with Anthony Perkins, Richard Jordan, and John Gielgud; the 1995 film with Jean-Paul Belmondo; the 1998 movie with Liam Neeson and Geoffrey Rush.; or the  2001 version with Gerard Depardieu and John Malkovich.

The Moderns. 1988. Ex-pats in post WWI Paris starring John Lone and Keith Carradine.

Modigliani. 2005. Andy Garcia as the tragic artist. Though Rotten Tomatoes gave this a scathing 5%, I loved Garcia’s performance and the movie’s treatment of the encouragement and rivalries between the artists. The movie’s last shots of Amedeo and Jeanne’s joint grave are of  their real tomb in Pere Lachaise Cemetery in Paris.

Moliere. 2007. Several reviewers compared it to Shakespeare in Love. A drama with comedy and tragedy.

Moulin Rouge. 2001. Nicole Kidman and Ian MacGregor in a tragic drama with lots of modern music. Wild!

Ma femme est une actrice (My Wife Is an Actress). 2002. Comedy-drama about a marriage.

Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud (Nelly and Mr. Arnaud). 1995. A May-December romance.

Ni pour ni countre (Not for or Against). 2007. The downfall of a camerawoman.

Night of the Generals (also La Nuit de Généraux). 1967. Political murder mystery starring Peter O’Toole, Omar Sharif, and Donald Pleasance.

Paris, Je T’aime (Paris, I Love You). 2007. Eighteen short films where various men and women grapple with love, meaning, and loss in different Parisian neighborhoods. Be aware there’s also a 1962 educational documentary of the same name.

The Phantom of the Opera. There are many film versions of this 1811 story, so I’ll list them from the earliest to the latest. The 1925 film with Lon Chaney and Mary Philbin. The 1943 version with Claude Rains and Nelson Eddy. The 1962 film with Herbert Lom and Edward DeSouza. The 1989 version with Robert Englund and Jill Shoelen. The musical comedy done in 1990 with David Staller, Elizabeth Walsh, and Beth McVey, was filmed in front of a live audience. The same year–1990–brought the dramatic film with Burt Lancaster and Teri Polo. Dario Argento directs the 1998 film version with Julian Sands and Asia Argento. And the 2004 Andrew Lloyd Webber treatment stars Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum.

Les Poupees Russes (The Russian Dolls). 2006. Comedy-drama with Audrey Tatou.

Quai des Orfevres (also known as Jenny Lamour). 1945. A noir-ish mystery starring Suzy Delair and Louis Jouvet.

Les Quatre Cents Coups (The 400 Blows). 1957. An autobiographical drama by director Francois Truffault of his difficult Parisian childhood. Truffault’s character is played by Jean-Pierre Leaud.

The Razor’s Edge. There are two film versions of Somerset Maugham’s between-the-wars novel. The 1946 film stars Tyrone Power, Anne Baster, Edmund Goulding, and Gene Tierney. Bill Murray stars in the 1984 version with Catherine Hicks (from 7th Heaven), Theresa Russell, and the elegant Denholm Elliot.

The Red Balloon. 1955. A lonely boy’s life is changed as he chases a balloon through Paris. There is also a 2007 remake with Juliette Binoche called A la recherche du ballon rouge (“Flight of the Red Balloon”).

Rendezvous. Eight minutes of insane driving through Paris in a Ferrari. I couldn’t find this in Rotten Tomatoes, but it sounds like a little film worth investigating.

Rendezvous in Paris. 1996. Three vignettes about relationships.

Ridicule. 1996. A costume drama set six years before the French revolution.

Ronin. 1998. Robert de Niro and Jean Reno in a gritty, low-tech thriller.

‘Round Midnight. 1986. Dexter Gordon in a tribute to jazz and friendship.

Rugrats in Paris. 2000. Animated movie based on the TV series.

Rush Hour 3 (known in France as Rush Hour Trois). 2007. Chris Tucker and Jackie Chan. I’ve only seen the trailers for this in dubbed French, but it looks like the same goofiness and fight choreography as 1 and 2.

Sabrina. You can get the 1954 film with Humphrey Bogart, William Holden, and Audrey Hepburn or the 1995 remake with Harrison Ford, Greg Kinnear, and Julia Ormond.

Shoot the Piano Player (also known as Tirez Sur Le Pianiste). 1960. Truffault directs Charles Aznavour and Marie DuBois in this low-budget crime movie.

Silk Stockings. 1957. Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in musical remake of the 1939 Ninotchka.

Small Change (also known as L’Argent De Poche). 1976. Francois Truffault directs this documentary-feeling film of childhood.

Something’s Gotta Give. 2003. Too-long romantic comedy starring Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson. The wrap-up scenes are in Paris.

Sous les Touts du Paris (Under the Rooftops of Paris). 1930. Pioneering French musical.

Start the Revolution without Me. 1970. Gene Wilder and Donald Sutherland play twins mixed up at birth with the another set of twins: one set is artistocratic and the other set is lower-class. This comedy is set during French Revolution.

Subway. 1985. A seedy look at Parisian subway culture starring Christopher Lambert and Isabelle Adjani.

The Sun Also Rises. 1957. Hemingway’s classic stars Tyrone Power, Ava Gardner, Mel Ferrer, Errol Flynn as friends who travel to Spain for the bullfighting season. There is also a 2007 Mandarin Chinese version directed by Jiang Wen with the same title, but I don’t know the storyline.

Team America (also known as Team America: World Police). 2004. A comedy with puppets from South Park creators Trey Parker and Matt Stone.

Touchez pas au grisbi (also known as Grisbi). 1953. Film noir set in 1950s Montmartre with Jeanne Moreau and Jean Gabin.

The Triplets of Belleville (also known as Les Triplettes de Belleville and Belleville Rendez-vous). 2003. An out-there piece of comic animation.

Two Days in Paris. 2007. Juliette Delpy and Adam Goldberg in a romantic comedy.

The Valet (also known as La Doubloure). 2007. An offbeat romantic comedy.

Vivre sa Vie (also known as My Life to Live). 1962. Jean-Luc Goddard directs Anna Karena and Sabby Rebot in a tragedy of contemporary life.

Zazie dans le Metro. 1962. A girl visits her transvestite uncle and goes on raucous sightseeing tour. Louis Malle directs.

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