Subscribe to watch - 14-day free trial, then £4.99 a month
Betty Blue
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s story of a volatile, highly sexual relationship was one of the most successful French films of the 1980s.
Drama 1986 185 mins
Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix
Overview
Jean-Jacques Beineix’s stylish and extravagant story of an unstable, highly sexual relationship was one of the most successful French films of the 1980s.
A film of two halves (especially in its extended director’s cut, as it’s presented here), Beineix begins with a focus on the unbridled sexual intensity of a relationship in its early passionate throes, before Betty’s volatile streak soon starts to signify a more worrying descent into depression. It’s become a tirelessly repeated cliché that no 1980s student digs was complete without a poster of Betty Blue on the walls, and it’s certainly true that clever marketing (including a savvy retitling from the original: 37° 2 le matin) resulted in a film that achieved real crossover success in the UK, becoming the signature film of the ‘cinema du look’ movement.
Contains scenes of strong sex and nudityRelated
Drama
Winter Sleep Winter Sleep
Drama 2014 197 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Modern master filmmaker Nuri Bilge Celyan’s Palme d’Or winner: an extraordinary, epic drama.
The Wild Pear Tree The Wild Pear Tree
Drama 2018 189 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning Winter Sleep is a persuasive portrait of a young writer at odds with his hometown and family.
Sympathy for the Devil Sympathy for the Devil
Drama 1968 101 mins Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard intercuts footage of The Rolling Stones composing their classic Sympathy for the Devil with punchy agitprop sketches on the global anti-imperialist struggle.
La Grande Bouffe La Grande Bouffe
Comedy 1973 130 mins Director: Marco Ferreri
Marco Ferreri's provocative and controversial satire about four friends who retreat to a country mansion with the intention of eating themselves to death.
Stud Life Stud Life
Drama 2012 87 mins Director: Campbell X
Campbell X's debut feature is a sexy, young and cool gay romance taking a unique look at a slice of British urban life.
XXY XXY
Drama 2007 91 mins Director: Lucía Puenzo
A sensitive exploration of the sexual awakening and confusion of one intersex teenager.
Most Popular Films of 2018
Suspiria Suspiria
Horror 1977 101 mins Director: Dario Argento
Dario Argento’s phantasmagoric gothic nightmare blends operatic violence, disorienting dream logic and hyper-real visuals to create a horror classic.
Paris, Texas Paris, Texas
Drama 1984 145 mins Director: Wim Wenders
The late, great Harry Dean Stanton's finest role came as the near-mute Travis, on a journey across America to reunite his family, in Wim Wenders' moving tale of loss and redemption.
Me without You Me without You
Drama 2001 103 mins Director: Sandra Goldbacher
Anna Friel and Michelle Williams star as two troubled girls whose tumultuous friendship takes many twists and turns.
The Housemaid The Housemaid
Thriller 2010 107 mins Director: Im Sang-soo
An enigmatic housemaid and her wealthy, totalitarian employer begin an affair that will have disastrous consequences for them both.
Pauline at the Beach Pauline at the Beach
Drama 1982 95 mins Director: Eric Rohmer
Eric Rohmer's final collaboration with the great cinematographer Nestor Almendros follows a holidaying teenager as she begins to navigate the adult world.
Under the Skin Under the Skin
Melodrama 1997 83 mins Director: Carine Adler
Carine Adler’s sexy and dark debut, starring Samantha Morton in her first major feature film role.
New
Winter Sleep Winter Sleep
Drama 2014 197 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Modern master filmmaker Nuri Bilge Celyan’s Palme d’Or winner: an extraordinary, epic drama.
The Wild Pear Tree The Wild Pear Tree
Drama 2018 189 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
Nuri Bilge Ceylan’s follow-up to his Palme d’Or-winning Winter Sleep is a persuasive portrait of a young writer at odds with his hometown and family.
Sympathy for the Devil Sympathy for the Devil
Drama 1968 101 mins Director: Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard intercuts footage of The Rolling Stones composing their classic Sympathy for the Devil with punchy agitprop sketches on the global anti-imperialist struggle.
Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
Crime 2011 151 mins Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
A modern masterpiece from major filmmaker Nuri Bilge Ceylan, following police and prosecutors as they escort a murderer through the bleak Anatolian steppes in search of a buried body.
Glastonbury Fayre Glastonbury Fayre
Documentary 1971 87 mins Director: Peter Neal
Nic Roeg made this film of the first Glastonbury Festival to feature the pyramid stage - with a line up including Melanie, Terry Reid, Family, Fairport Convention, Traffic, Linda Lewis and Arthur Brown.
Taxi Tehran Taxi Tehran
Documentary 2015 81 mins Director: Jafar Panahi
Following a personally difficult but artistically rewarding spell making films under house arrest, Jafar Panahi is back on the streets of Tehran.