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The History of French Cinema: 1961

5/7 -

Mauro Bolognini’s Il Bell'Antonio, which tackles the sensitive subject of male impotence, is released.   Marcello Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale star. [ADD]

9/8 -

Pierre Kast’s La Morte-siason des amours (The Season of Love) is released.   The film, which is the former Cahiers du Cinéma’s critic’s second, stars Pierre Vaneck, Françoise Arnoul and Daniel Gélin. [ADD]

1/9 -

34-year-old Jean-Gabriel Albicocco’s debut feature, La Fille aux yeux d'or (The Girl With the Golden Eyes), which stars his wife Marie Laforêt, is released.   Paul Guers and Françoise Prévost also star in a tale of jealous obsession set in the world of haute couture. [ADD]

6/9 -

Jean-Luc Godard's third picture Une femme est une femme (A Woman Is a Woman) is released.   Godard’s new wife, the Danish actress Anna Karina stars with Jean-Claude Brialy and Jean-Paul Belmondo, while Jeanne Moreau makes a brief cameo appearance. [ADD]

22/9 -

Jean-Pierre Melville's adaptation of Béatrix Beck’s novel Léon Morin, prêtre (Léon Morin, Priest) is released after the director cuts the running time from over three hours to 117 minutes.   Jean-Paul Belmondo and Emmanuelle Riva star. [ADD]

29/11 -

Agnès Varda’s Cléo de 5 à 7, which tells in real-time the story of a superstitious Parisian nightclub singer (Corinne Marchand) as she anxiously awaits news from her doctors on whether she will live or die, is released. [ADD]

6/12 -

Jean-Jacques Vierne’s adaptation of Hergé’s story Tintin et le mystère de la toison d'or (Tintin and the Mystery of the Golden Fleece) is released.   Jean-Pierre Talbot stars as Tintin, and Georges Wilson is Captain Haddock. [ADD] 

Other Key French Films of 1961

Chronique d'un été (Chronicle of a Summer) (Edgar Morin, Jean Rouch) [ADD]

¡Cuba Sí! (Chris Marker) [ADD]

Lola (Jacques Demy) [ADD]

The History of Cinema: 1961