Denise Vernac

A formidable presence both in front of and behind the camera, German auteur Erich von Stroheim is the subject of this in-depth documentary. Renowned for villainous roles as well as for his meticulous filmmaking approach, von Stroheim had a prolific decades-spanning career, which is detailed in interviews and photographs. Most notably, clips of his most celebrated works and even some of his lesser-known productions are presented.

A young Gallic heiress Christine is looking for her long-lost brother in Algeria. She's not looking for danger, but that's what comes in her way from every nook and cranny.

Bernard Sommet has killed his wife and her lover and he declares that was a crime of passion. Sylvie Foucot, his court-appointed attorney, not only believes him but falls in love with him. But the examination magistrate is not convinced. For his part, he leans towards premeditation. Whether Sommet premeditated his act or acted out of anger and jealousy will be up to the court to decide.

Catherine married Jérôme, a wealthy landowner living in North Africa, from a bourgeois but noxious background. While living in total family harmony, she is seized by a mystical crisis following a vision of a cleric in ecstasy. She abandons her home and worldly possessions to take a job as a maid. After a bumpy road that severely tested her spirituality, Catherine found peace by returning to live with her devoted partner.

On the outskirts of Parisian council housing estates lies a vast wasteland that still retains its mysteries in this day and age, and serves as a refuge for people who, in their spare time, escape or are often ejected from their overcrowded dwellings. They form small, rather harmless bands, share their first secrets, build up their "treasures" and submit to strict rituals. The sanctity of their rebellions is underscored by initiation through blindfolded jumping and a blood test. An impossible love story is born between two members of the same clan, Dan, a beautiful, tomboyish girl, and Lucky, a sweet but feisty boy.

This Yves Allegret film is set in French Polynesia and stars Edmond O'Brien, Richard Basehart, Andrea Parisy, Nicole Berger and Reg Lye. Basehart is the black sheep of a wealthy family of mining financiers based in France. He dumps the family life style and heads to Tahiti to make it on his own. His wife, Andrea Parisy, is less than amused with Basehart's choice.

Bob Letellier, a good looking rich kid who studies science, makes the acquaintance of Alain, a cynical and immoral young man. The latter introduces him to the existentialist circles of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. Bob is invited to a party and becomes Clo's lover, a rich heiress.

Biographic film chronicling the last year of the life of the Italian painter Amedeo Modigliani, 1919, who falls in love with a girl from a wealthy family. Her parents are against this relationship and stop financial help. Modigliani worked and died in abject poverty in the Montparnasse Quarter of Paris, France.

Lady Diana Winham is beautiful, wealthy and a widow, so she's courted. She travels Europe in luxury trains, earning her nickname. One of her riches, a uranium deposit in a South American country, attracts the attention of international secret agents. Lady Diana is at the center of a spider's web, with the French, British and Germans all trying to get their hands on her. Helped by the love of Armando, whom she met in San Miguel, she gives the deposit to her secretary Gérard as a reward for his services.

Complicated intrigues fester in the warmth of Segnac, a charming village on the Cô te d'Azur. The hô teliers' daughter, Violaine, has only a few months to live and loves Blaise d'Orliac, who is closely watched by his mistress Michèle. Old O'Hara is platonically in love with Violaine and encourages Blaise's meetings with the young girl. Michèle interferes. Blaise kills her. O'Hara believes Violaine is guilty and wants to accuse himself. Violaine, on the verge of death, exonerates Blaise. M. Dautrand, who was playing the part of a holiday painter but is really a police officer, decides after reading the girl's diary to leave Blaise in peace. Violaine dies happily.