French Research Guide: Films & Streaming Videos

This engaging five-part series studies a language often called the most cultured and colorful in the world. Topics include reading and writing, speaking and spelling, a bit of French history, and a journey around the globe to see and appreciate the universality and vitality of the language. French, 5-part series, 26-28 minutes each.

This program spotlights the language of leisure. Topics of discussion include favorite athletic activities, such as hiking and the immensely popular pétanque; landscape painting around Mount St. Victoire, immortalized by Cézanne; recreational shopping; and nightlife in Marseille, where outdoor restaurants and discotheques are always in vogue. Original BBC broadcast title: Talk French, Program 6. (French and English, 16 minutes)

This lavishly produced program traces the architectural evolution of the world’s most famous art museum, from its use as a fortress by Philippe Auguste to the construction of its controversial glass pyramid by American architect I. M. Pei. Lithographs and superb photography trace the Louvre’s development from both an architectural and historical perspective. This is an important learning tool for students of architecture, French culture, language, and history.

From its beginnings as a small fishing village inhabited by the Parisii during the third century B.C. through Caesar's conquest of Gaul and its acquisition of the name Lutetia, from its consecration as the capital of Capetian France in the 10th century through Villon to the student rebellion of 1968, Paris has been synonymous with France as no other national capital is. This program tells the story of Paris and its people: kings and councilors, poets and painters, architects and gardeners...rich and poor, aristocrats of ancient lineage and new immigrants, people of exquisite and those of execrable taste—Parisians all.

The waters of the Loire, the longest and most dangerous river in France, reflect the history of France—of St. Martin and Gregory of Tours, of the great kings from Louis XI to Francois I, of the great châteaux and the women who ruled them, of Rabelais, Ronsard, Du Bellay, and Balzac.

This program looks at fashion and food through the eyes of the French. In a question and answer format, a rich array of information about these significant cultural elements are discussed in an informal and conversational way—in French, and without English subtitles—making an ideal learning resource for middle to senior level students.

This program travels from Lyon and its surrounding region to Belgium, Switzerland, Senegal, and Quebec to savor some of the various flavors of French that have flourished on the Continent and abroad. Native speakers sing the language’s praises and in doing so offer interesting insights into the cultures they represent—places where French must compete with other languages for prominence.