15
Grand
Illusion
(La Grande Illusion)
Release date 8th June 1937
Country : France
Running time : 114 mins
Genre : War
Starring Jean Gabin, Erich Von Stroheim
Screenplay by Jean Renoir
Directed by Jean Renoir
DVD
available in the Criterion Collection:(La Grande Illusion)
Release date 8th June 1937
Country : France
Running time : 114 mins
Genre : War
Starring Jean Gabin, Erich Von Stroheim
Screenplay by Jean Renoir
Directed by Jean Renoir
Prisoners of war appear to have much in
common with their captors due to class comradeship but it is soon
revealed that the old certainties of class rivalry and dominance by
the aristocracy are over.
A movie that works on so many levels. On one it is a prisoner of war film which led to all the later movies set in Colditz, Stalag 17 and The Great Escape. Another level it is an anti-war film which like All Quiet on the Western Front reveals that the enemy are people just like us who often have the same ambitions. Finally it is a clever commentary on the end of the era of the dominance of the old aristocracy in Europe : the Austro Hungarian and Ottoman Empires and the old certainties of class comradeship which extended beyond national boundaries . It is Erich Von Stroheim's finest acting hour too.To me there are other foreign language movies but none are as good as this.
A movie that works on so many levels. On one it is a prisoner of war film which led to all the later movies set in Colditz, Stalag 17 and The Great Escape. Another level it is an anti-war film which like All Quiet on the Western Front reveals that the enemy are people just like us who often have the same ambitions. Finally it is a clever commentary on the end of the era of the dominance of the old aristocracy in Europe : the Austro Hungarian and Ottoman Empires and the old certainties of class comradeship which extended beyond national boundaries . It is Erich Von Stroheim's finest acting hour too.To me there are other foreign language movies but none are as good as this.
The
story is true. It was told to me by my friends in the war. Jean Renoir
One of the true masterpieces of the
screen. Pauline Kael
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Written content copyright Derek McLellan,2005.
Copyright © The Fedora Chronicles
