Grand Illusion
1937 ‘La Grande Illusion’ Directed by Jean Renoir
Synopsis
During the first World War, two French officers are captured. Captain De Boeldieu is an aristocrat while Lieutenant Marechal was a mechanic in civilian life. The two unlikely companions meet fellow prisoners and plot an escape.
Cast
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Frontiers are an invention of men.
-Lieutenant RosenthalWhile some films have incredibly interesting stories in regards to it's pre-prodcution and production, Jean Renoir's first huge financial and critical success, La Grande Illusion, took on a life of it's own after it's release and it's lasted over 75 years. It's no exaggeration, film historians to this day disagree on some of the film's most famous underlying themes with some seeing the film as pro-socialist and anti-semitic while others see it as anti-war and pro-democratic.
Whether it's the fact that the film's public perception changed drastically by some a mere two years after it's realease when World War II broke out forcing cuts to be made in the film so the…
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Simply the most important artifact on basic human relations during the misfortunes of warfare. Released eerily close to the events that would ignite WWII, it is as iconic on a technical level as it is at shattering social boundaries. One of the most effortless cameras in history and easily one of the highest achievements in the medium itself.
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Really really great film by Jean Renoir, released in 1937 just prior to the start of WWII. At its core, the film is a commentary on war; Not exactly a warning or attempt to prevent it, but simply a statement expressing certain and seemingly inevitable beliefs. It does not hammer the viewer with opinions or rhetoric, it simply tells a wonderfully touching story that takes place during WWI.
The movie follows a small group of French soldiers who are being held in German POW camps. For the most part, everyone is treated very well, and the Germans aren't portrayed as the bad guys. The story includes characters of both sides, French and German, as well as upper and lower class.…
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Saw a new 35mm print at the Denver Film Festival and I have to say it gave me a new apprecitation for this film, which is widely considered one of the greatest films ever from possibly the greatest director ever. Seeing it with a sold out crowd with a great print really made me realize how great this film is.
Set in World War 1, we follow a group of POWs through multiple 'prisons.' You really don't know where the story is going to go next, it has tons of surprises. It is also brilliantly written and acted. A lot of movies from this time period are very melo dramatic and the acting and direction is all about hitting you…
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Jean Renoir’s “Grand Illusion” paints a very humanistic portrayal of the First World War. He explores different classes and cultures and explores human nature during war time. This is clearly an antiwar film; even the title of the film alludes to that theme. It was no coincidence that this was released before the start of WWII. What makes this such a successful anti-war film is that the audience is not being lectured and there is no underlying propaganda. The film shows rather than tells.
The acting is beyond good. Although the subject matter is serious, Renoir manages to inject humor and sentiment in all the right places.
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Part of my 100 Movies, 100 Years Project, Year 1937
I gotta hand it to you, Jean Renoir. You have managed to create the least interesting film in existence.
A group of agreeable French soldiers are captured by a group of agreeable German soldiers who put the French soldiers into an agreeable POW camp where they stay for a little bit and then they are transferred to a slightly less-agreeable POW camp where they plan the most retarded (but also pretty agreeable) escape ever. And the escape was really fucking boring because I had the feeling that even if the guys got caught, the entirety of their punishment would be a stern talking-to followed by a most agreeable apology on…
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One of the few positive consequences of Erich von Stroheim's tumultuous career as a director is that he was able to turn in some fine performances as an actor, and his role as Captain von Rauffenstein in La grande illusion may be his finest.
But when a film is as well-written as this one, the actors are inevitably going to shine. It's always interesting to watch a non-American war film from this time period, because both sides are shone in a sympathetic light. As in most great drama film, there are no real "good guys" or "bad guys", there are just people trying to make the best out of the circumstances they are handed.
All of this added to the social and economic themes that speak volumes about war even 76 years later make La grande illusion one of the greatest war films of all time.
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This was the first time I watched Jean Renoir's famous Grand Illusion. I don't have too much time to go into details right now but I will say this film lived it up to everything I had heard about it. I would call it a kind of philosophical prison escape film. There is a lot of humanity in this little movie: the relations among classes in a given society, the relations among classes across warring societies, the relation of two societies against each other in a time of war, and more. I don't necessarily agree that it is anti-Semitic but there is a distinct and purposeful wealthy Jewish character that exhibits many of the anti-Semitic stereotypes - you decide for…
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Part of my 100 Movies, 100 Years Project, Year 1937
I gotta hand it to you, Jean Renoir. You have managed to create the least interesting film in existence.
A group of agreeable French soldiers are captured by a group of agreeable German soldiers who put the French soldiers into an agreeable POW camp where they stay for a little bit and then they are transferred to a slightly less-agreeable POW camp where they plan the most retarded (but also pretty agreeable) escape ever. And the escape was really fucking boring because I had the feeling that even if the guys got caught, the entirety of their punishment would be a stern talking-to followed by a most agreeable apology on…
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POW tale, preceding the likes of The Wooden Horse & The Great Escape (and arguably superior). Interesting drama with an intelligent commentary on class.
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There must be a helluva story behind this movie, because on the surface everything seems slightly askew, a lot of bad edits, awkward pacing and plotting, unusual presentation of life during wartime which left me unsure if this was meant to be satire or like a French Hogan's Heroes, or in some arcane way accurate to a class of war prisoners. I claim ignorance, so watching Grand Illusion I never felt entirely sure what Renoir was wanting me to feel. For the most part, I enjoyed it as a light melodrama and enjoyed especially the peculiarities of this French take on prison life (reminiscent of Le Trou in this respect). The last act of it just kind of hangs there disappointingly.
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Una película inspiradora, de esas que te hacen vivir la guerra de una manera completamente diferente, donde se observa esa "humanidad" que anda en vía de extinción. Una excelente representación de los diferentes actores, protagonista y papeles secundarios.
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it is an epic story that never pretends to be a more complex or deeper film than it is.
it is problematic, or at least i found it, the way the movie is broken into acts, while they might work, even great, each by itself, transitions are a little off-putting.
the ensemble does work wonders with the story delivering performances that are natural and feel unrehearsed.
the directing was not as bold as other RENOIR's film but it gets the work done with smart, subtle decisions.
three quarters of a century later this film is as entertaining and as exciting as it must have been back when. -
Erich von Stroheim plays a German officer and when he’s on screen he chews scenery like it’s made of Triscuits. He’s hammy and AWESOME. The movie is great and many exciting things happen! All the acting is superb, throughout. A fabulous movie. But what’s really important is:
Erich von Stroheim plays a German officer and when he’s on screen he chews scenery like it’s made of Triscuits.
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Frontiers are an invention of men.
-Lieutenant RosenthalWhile some films have incredibly interesting stories in regards to it's pre-prodcution and production, Jean Renoir's first huge financial and critical success, La Grande Illusion, took on a life of it's own after it's release and it's lasted over 75 years. It's no exaggeration, film historians to this day disagree on some of the film's most famous underlying themes with some seeing the film as pro-socialist and anti-semitic while others see it as anti-war and pro-democratic.
Whether it's the fact that the film's public perception changed drastically by some a mere two years after it's realease when World War II broke out forcing cuts to be made in the film so the…