Five French Films with the Best Scores

#1 - Breathless (À bout de souffle), 1960

A crime drama film written and directed by Jean-Luc Godard, Breathless is still considered one of the best films ever made. With thrilling music by Martial Solal, the film will be sure to have you on the edge of your seat!

#2 - Diabolique (Les Diaboliques), 1955

A psychological horror thriller film directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot, Diabolique is based on the novel 'She Who Was No More' (Celle qui n'était plus) by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac. The film has a haunting score by Georges Van Parys. Fun fact: the film helped inspire 'Psycho' as Robert Bloch, the author of the novel stated in an interview that his all-time favorite horror film was Les Diaboliques!

#3 - A Man And A Woman (Un homme et une femme), 1966

Written and directed by Claude Lelouch and co-written by Pierre Uytterhoeven, A Man And A Woman, won several awards. The soundtrack, written by Francis Lai, received "Best Original Score" nominations at both the BAFTA Awards

and Golden Globe Awards in 1967. The film's theme song, with music by Francis Lai and lyrics by Pierre Barouh, was also nominated for "Best Original Song in a Motion Picture" at the Golden Globe Awards. Barouh even makes an appearance in the film, singing "Samba Saravah", a French version (with lyrics by Barouh himself) of the Brazilian song "Samba da Benção".

#4 - The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg), 1964

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg is a musical romantic drama film written and directed by Jacques Demy, with music and lyrics by Michel Legrand. The film's dialogue is entirely sung-through, like some operas and stage musicals. Nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Original Score and Best Original Song for the its main theme, "I Will Wait for You", the film was later adapted into an English-language stage musical.

#5 - Amélie (Le Fabuleux Destin d'Amélie Poulain), 2001

A romantic comedy film directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet and written by Jeunet with Guillaume Laurant, Amélie was also adapted into a stage musical. The film was nominated for a number of Academy Awards including Best Sound (Vincent Arnardi, Guillaume Leriche, Jean Umansky) and won Best Film Music (Yann Tiersen) at the British Academy Awards and César Awards.

Which film is your favorite!?