What little reading about film I have done has been rather selective (Fassbinder, Truffaut etc.), but I found Malle on Malle, ed. Philip French, really fascinating. The best thing one can say about a book on film is that it makes you want to go and watch some of the films it discusses, and I found this book to be one such. I highly recommend it if you can find a copy.

As for Malle's films they're more readily available in the US than the UK, but a DVD release for Le Souffle au Coeur, Lacombe Lucien etc. is overdue.