Godard's hugely influential debut went on to inspire a new wave of French cinema and this is the film which epitomised the iconoclasm of the early Nouvelle Vague. Belmondo is the hip gangster, modelled on Bogart, whose escapades, including shooting a cop, leave him and his girlfriend on the run from both the cops and his enemies. The insolent casual style and cool moods make this the ultimate film noir.

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As a young pilot returns home in May 1945, a relationship is formed as he desperately contacts a radio operator before bailing out of the sky. He lives, evading his celestial escort, meets the aforementioned operator and falls in love. But he must face a heavenly court to decide if he should live or die. Amazing.

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Nothing more can be said about this classic melodrama from the peak of the Hollywood studio-film era. Hardened cynic Bogart softens when he meets old flame Bergman who is now a refugee in neutral wartime Casablanca. Together they outwit the Germans... and of course there's that famous song. Watch this classic or some day you'll regret it. Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow... find out more...

The original big screen romantic epic that fired the hearts of generations to come. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War and telling the tale of the love between Scarlett O'Hara and Rhett Butler, it's the history of a selfish woman who doesn't want to admit her feelings about the man she loves, and finally loses. Won Best Picture at 1939 Academy Awards. find out more...

Resnais's controversial attempt at collaboration with avant garde author Alain Robbe-Grillet. The film sets up a puzzle that is never resolved, a man meets a woman in a rambling hotel and believes he may have had an affair with her the previous year at Marienbad - or did he? Or was it somewhere else? Deliberately scrambling chronology to the point where past, present and future become meaningless, Resnais creates a vaguely unsettling mood by means of stylish composition, long, smooth tracking sh find out more...

The catalyst is the mystery disappearance of a young girl on holiday, but the film concentrates on the burgeoning romance between the missing girl's lover and her best friend as the pair embark on a distinctly half-hearted search. Set against a desolate Sicilian landscape, this highly stylised drama was once considered the be all and end all of art house poseur, it's reputation has sunk but it's still a must see film classic. find out more...

Originally reviled, Renoir's bleak masterpiece has endured to become a true classic of French cinema. Black and funny, it is the story of a lavish weekend party given by the local Marquis. Renoir manages to capture in intricate detail the antics and drama of a society and class on the brink of extinction. 'We are dancing on the rim of a volcano' said Jean at the time. The Danse Macabre scene is breathtaking and dark. Superb. find out more...

This masterpiece is understandably on many people's all time favourite list. The lives of six Parisians are intertwined against the backdrop of the early-19th Century popular theatre and underworld, with the film a multi-layered meditation on the nature of performance. Flawlessly executed and cast. find out more...

One of the great cinema love stories as a one-night stand leads to a life of yearning for the beautiful Lisa but was just another **** for handsome Stefan. Years later a chance encounter leads to his receiving a letter from Lisa telling her tale. A piercing fable of doomed love. Tear-jerker. find out more...

Undoubtedly one of Hitch's best. An innocent businessman is mistaken for a spy by enemy agents and learns the true meaning of persecution, while a deceptively beautiful blonde in the pay of his tormentors steals his heart. A tense and compulsively gripping nice-guy's nightmare. Obligatory viewing. find out more...