Claude Brule Movies

This French film is a sex comedy set in the World War I period. Franz (Leonard Whiting) is in love with the Colonel's daughter, but the Colonel will not let a mere lieutenant marry any daughter of his. In order to further his career so as to wed the woman of his dreams, Franz makes love to a succession of women. Bedroom confidences lead him to get hold of the Russian plan for an attack on his countrymen. This gets him his promotion and the hand of his girl. When he finds himself behind enemy lines, he heads off for yet another adventure involving a General (Curt Jurgens) and his mistress. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

A voluptuous outer space agent travels to another galaxy in search of a missing inventor in this science fiction send-up. Barbarella (Jane Fonda), an interstellar representative of the united Earth government in the 41st century, is dispatched to locate scientist Durand Durand, whose positronic ray, if not recovered, could signal the end of humanity. Outfitted in an array of stunning Star Trek/Bond girl outfits and cruising around in a plush, psychedelic spaceship, Barbarella travels to the Tau Seti system and promptly crash-lands. She then spends the rest of the film discovering the joys of interstellar sex with a keeper of feral children (Ugo Tognazzi), a blind, beatific angel (John Phillip Law), and an inept revolutionary named Dildano (David Hemmings). Slowly but surely, she also finds her way to Durand Durand by moving from one exotic, Wizard of Oz-style locale to another. Along the way, she meets the kindly Professor Ping (a surprisingly verbal Marcel Marceau), a Eurotrash dominatrix named the Great Tyrant (Rolling Stones gal pal Anita Pallenberg), and the Concierge (Milo O'Shea), a strangely familiar lackey of the Great Tyrant who tries to destroy Barbarella with his great big organ of love. Jean-Claude Forest, who created the character Barbarella in 1962 for V-Magazine, served as visual advisor on the adaptation. The film's missing scientist character famously inspired the band name of '80s pop stars Duran Duran (who altered the spelling slightly). Almost two decades later, the film also inspired electronic act Matmos, which was named after the aqueous personification of evil unleashed by the Concierge at the movie's climax. ~ Brian J. Dillard, All Movie Guide

This stylish psychological thriller from Claude Chabrol has such labyrinthine plotting that many critics called it too confusing. Christine Balling (Yvonne Furneaux) tries to convince Paul Wagner (Maurice Ronet) to sell his venerable champagne business to an American company. She asks her husband Chris (Anthony Perkins), who is also Wagner's friend, to help her to persuade the stubborn Paul. While on a trip to Hamburg, Wagner picks up a German girl in a restaurant. The next morning, the girl turns up dead, and Paul can't remember if it was he who killed her. Chris, who becomes aware of the incident, promptly tells his wife, and she tries to blackmail Wagner into signing a deal with Americans. Later, another woman turns up dead, and again Paul was the last person who saw her alive. He begins questioning his own sanity. ~ Yuri German, All Movie Guide

This war-drama centers more on the effects of battle on civilians than it does on the bravery of the fighters as it tells the story of a courageous squadron of Yankee soldiers endeavoring to protect and bring to safety a village full of French civilians whom they saved from German captors following the Allied invasion of Normandy. During the battle to free them, the soldiers also capture a German officer. They then begin heading toward the beach with the civilians so they can go to England. Unfortunately, the beachmaster does not know they are coming and regretfully sends them back. Twice more the squadron and the civilians go back to the beach, but they are still not allowed to go. Things get even worse when the Germans begin bombing the remains of their town and they are forced to find some place to hide until help arrives. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this romantic comedy, voluptuous Parisian model Sophie (Brigitte Bardot) is angered when she learns that her boyfriend Phillipe, a photographer, has been playing around with Barbara, an American heiress. Alain, another man, who has secretly loved her for years, suggests she get even by making love to him. Sophie has a better idea, she will follow her Corsican family traditions and simply shoot him. Alain warns the photographer who takes his new girl and flees for the Alps with Sophie and Alain in hot pursuit. In the scenic mountains, Sophie and the 'other' woman meet. Together they decide the men are not worth the effort and begin to despise them. This film contains the once-controversial "nude" dance scene with Bardot (who actually wore a body stocking). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Pierre Ambroise Francois Choderlos de Laclos's 18th century novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses was filmed several times. In Roger Vadim's version, Jeanne Moreau coerces her husband Gerard Philippe into ruining the reputation of pious Annette Vadim (the director's wife at the time). Philippe spoils Moreau's nasty little plan by falling in love with his intended victim. While the novel merely humiliated Moreau's character for her misdeeds, Vadim comes up with a far more painful and permanent punishment. Since the release of the 1988 Dangerous Liaisons, Vadim's film has travelled under the title Dangerous Liaisons 1960 (even though it was technically completed in 1959, and released to the U.S. in 1961). ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide