Gilles Segal Movies

Julie Fabre (Nathalie Delon) is plunged into despair when her son dies on the operating table -- but the depth of her loss is nothing compared to how she feels once she finds out that the doctors were responsible for her son's death, and that one of the doctors was her own husband. He has disappeared, and in spite of harassing his fellow doctors to gain information on his whereabouts, Julie has no luck at all. Just as she seems to have no means of finding her husband to exact the retribution she desires, she meets Gabriel (Patrick Norbert) -- someone still mourning the death of his own brother -- and between the two of them, they start to build a legal case against her spouse. As a part of that process, they steal some damaging medical records and when her husband comes to retrieve them, Julie kills him. Now both she and Gabriel, her accomplice, have to run from the police unless they decide to face prosecution -- not a likely scenario. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

The novelist Françoise Sagan is the director of this romance, which chronicles the interactions that take place between a married couple, and their ladies' man friend and a girl of his during a hunting trip. The playboy family friend had once had a brief liaison with the wife while her husband was away on one of his many business trips, and he wants another. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Based on a true story, this French crime/action drama tells the story of three young prisoners who escape from their courthouse arraignment with a number of hostages. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This French romance/drama follows the efforts of a woman (Catherine Jourdan) who has long had a stifling marriage in a boring province. She has an affair with a traveling photographer, follows him to Paris, and then has a series of unsatisfactory but interesting relationships, one of which is with a woman. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This thin French drama takes place on a barren prison island. Pierre (Omar Sharif) has been sentenced to a life of hard labor on an island which lacks even a proper prison building: the men live in tents year 'round. Despite the grim conditions and brutal guards, he manages to hold his temper in check. His wife (Florinda Bolkan) campaigns for the right to visit him and finally succeeds. His inner discipline disturbed by her visit, Pierre reacts almost normally to abuse from a guard, and tragedy follows. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This hard-boiled French crime thriller begins with the bold murder of a well-heeled Frenchman. The detective assigned to the case is most puzzled for there seems to be no motive. Then a old man and an astrologer are killed in exactly the same way, leaving the detective to figure out how the three disparate victims are linked. All he has to go on is a mysterious diary given to him by the step daughter of the first victim. The diary belonged to him and contains a list of the man's lovers. One of those women was once the lover of the detective and he calls upon her. She, not knowing that he is on a case, hopes that he will renew their love. During their tryst, he learns that she knows all three of the victims, but before he can call her on it, she too is gunned down. Eventually it is the lover of the step-daughter who leads the detective to the mystery's surprising, shocking conclusion. Despite the film's noir-ish content, director Philippe Labro chose to film it in gay, sunny Nice, a technique that actually enhances the grimness of the suspenseful story. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This film is based on actual letters German soldiers sent home from the siege of Leningrad during World War II. The litany of trouble these poor grunts endured is lamentable. One complains of returning home an invalid. An SS man has bad dreams about the Russian tank-driver he killed. Another complains when he sits down to hear a piano recital and one of the musicians has frozen fingers. Another soldier swears he will never forgive his father for injuries he suffered in the invasion of Leningrad. Stock footage of wars from World War II to Vietnam are inserted and give an ironic tinge to the feature. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Taken from the popular play by Jean Giraudoux, The Madwoman Of Chaillot has an international all-star cast, but the final result falls short despite the talents of the celebrated thespians. The madwoman in question is the extremely eccentric Countess Aurelia (Katherine Hepburn). Roderick (Richard Chamberlain) is the peace-loving activist who, along with a local rag picker (Danny Kaye), warns the Countess of a plot to destroy the city. A quartet of villains led by the Chairman (Yul Brynner) are after the oil reserves that bubble under the water supply. Along with the Broker (Charles Boyer), the Commissar (Oscar Homolka), and the Prospector (Donald Pleasence), the evil developers plan to secure the oil rights to the region with or without the consent of the unsuspecting public. The Countess invites Josephine (Dame Edith Evans) to judge the villains, who are locked in the Countess's cellar for their crimes against the people of Paris in this lethargic film. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide

After years of enduring movie lampoons of his 1955 crime-caper classic Rififi, director Jules Dassin topped them all with his own spoof, Topkapi. It's a rather disreputable crew that teams for the elaborate jewel theft masterminded by Maximillian Schell. Sexy Melina Mercouri (Mrs. Dassin) is probably the best of the batch: the others are faffling Robert Morley, unreliable Gilles Segal and Jess Hahn. Bumbling Peter Ustinov (who won an Oscar for his performance) is duped into helping the thieves, and soon finds himself uneasily straddling both sides of the law. As in Rififi, the theft itself (taking place in Istanbul's Topkapi Palace museum) is played out in near-complete silence. We won't tell you how the crooks are foiled; just be advised that money flies out the door when something else flies in the window. Topkapi was based on The Light of Day, a somewhat more somber novel by Eric Ambler. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide