Watch: The 25 Best French Films Distributed by Sony Pictures Classics

For more than 20 years, Sony Pictures Classics co-presidents Michael Barker and Tom Bernard have led the charge at one of the most prominent U.S.-based distributors of foreign-language films. Many of those titles hailed from France, and tonight the French embassy in New York will present Barker and Bernard with the prestigious Chevalier of the Legion of Honor, the country’s highest military and civil award.

They are the ninth and tenth Americans to receive the recognition, joining a list that includes Walt Disney, David Lynch, Barbara Streisand, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

READ MORE: DECADE: Michael Barker & Tom Bernard — Another Ten Years in the Classics World

At the Cannes Film Festival in May, Sony Classics represented eight titles in the official selection, including French Bertrand Bonello’s biopic “Saint Laurent,” which will screen this month at the New York Film Festival. When the company releases it theatrically next year, it will be the 85th French film that Barker and Bernard have brought to American audiences since the early 1980s, when they first led Orion Classics with Marcie Bloom.

To celebrate their evening, we’ve assembled our selection of trailers for the 25 best French films distributed by Sony Classics. Our list includes seminal films from cinematic masters such as Eric Rohmer, Claire Denis and the Dardenne brothers, as well as more recent critically acclaimed French productions, including “The Past” and “Amour.” Bravo, Tom and Michael! 

THE LAST METRO (1981)

DIVA (1982)


PAULINE AT THE BEACH (1983)

RAN (1985)

SUMMER (1986)

AU REVOIS LES ENFANTS (1987)

WINGS OF DESIRE (1988)

MURMURS OF THE HEART (1989)

CHOCOLAT (1989)

LIFE AND NOTHING BUT (1990)

EUROPA, EUROPA (1991)

CITY OF LOST CHILDREN (1995)

MA VIE EN ROSE (1997)

VA SAVOIR (2001)

THE TRIPLETS OF BELLEVILLE (2003)

WINGED MIGRATION (2003)

CACHE (2005)

L’ENFANT (2006)

PERSEPOLIS (2007)

THE CLASS (2009)

THE WHITE RIBBON (2009)

A PROPHET (2010)

WILD GRASS (2010)

AMOUR (2012)

THE PAST (2013)