Georges Franju is a figure of immense importance in the history of
French cinema, not primarily for his films (exceptional though many of
these are) but for being the co-founder, with
Henri Langlois, of the Cinematheque
Française in 1937--France's most famous and important film archive.
He worked primarily as a film archivist until 1949, when he made his
solo directorial debut with the shocking yet lyrical slaughterhouse
documentary
Blood of the Beasts (1949). More
documentary shorts followed before his feature debut,
Head Against the Wall (1959)
in 1958, which established his uniquely poetic and visually striking
style (his films were generally characterized by unforgettable images
that owed a great deal to early cinema in general and German
Expressionism in particular). His reputation was strengthened with the
bizarre plastic surgery horror film
Eyes Without a Face (1960);
Judex (1963), a tribute to French film
serial pioneer
Louis Feuillade in 1963;
and the
Jean Cocteau adaptation
Thomas the Impostor (1965),
though in the last 15 years of his life he was sadly neglected.
Cinéma 16(1975)
Chroniques de France(1964)
The Man Without a Face(1975)
Shadowman(1974)
La ligne d'ombre(1973)
The Demise of Father Mouret(1970)
Thomas the Impostor(1965)
Therese(1962)
About a River(1955)
Le métro(1934)
Vie(1993)
The Man Who Sleeps(1974)
Cinéma, de notre temps(1989)as Self
Étoiles et toiles(1982)as Self
Télex Arts(1981)as Self (1984)
Rembob'Ina(2018)as Self
Seul Franju(2020)as Self
Aznavour by Charles(2019)as Self
Une histoire du cinéma fantastique français(2019)as Self
Genre c'est du cinéma?(2018)as Self
Les Nuits de France Culture(1994)as Self