MOVIE DESCRIPTION:

Frequently cited as both one of the greatest films about war and one of the greatest films ever made, Jean Renoir's La Grande Illusion is an often witty, sometimes poignant, frequently moving examination of the futility of war. During World War I, twoFrench airmen are shot down while taking surveillance photographs in German territory: Capt. de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay), a wealthy and aristocratic officer; Lt. Maréchal (Jean Gabin), a burly but intelligent working-class mechanic. The three are brought to a P.O.W. camp, where they encounter and befriend Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio), a prosperous Jewish banker, and the commander, Von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), takes an immediate liking to de Boeldieu.They are members of the same social class and believe that the political and intellectual ideals of the Europe they once knew will soon be a thing of the past with the rise to power of the proletariat. The three Frenchmen discover that their fellow prisoners have been digging an escape tunnel, and all of them agree to help -- Maréchal and Rosenthal with enthusiasm, de Boeldieu out of a sense of duty. As he puts it, when on a golf course, one plays golf, and while in a prison camp, one tries to escape -- it's the accepted thing to do. As Von Rauffenstein and de Boeldieu become friends, and the rank-and-file soldiers banter as much with the German guards as with each other, the characters seem involved less in a war than in some vast, petty game, albeit one with deadly consequences; they often talk about women and food, while never mentioning political ideology. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

DVD FEATURES:

• Number of Discs: 1
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1 (Pre-1954 Standard)
• Audio: 5.1, PCM Mono
• Screen: Black and White
• Subtitle: English

AWARDS

• Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences

•     Nominated Best Picture - 1938

• National Board of Review

•     Won Best Acting - 1938 (Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Dita Parlo, Erich Von Stroheim)
•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1938

• New York Film Critics Circle

•     Won Best Foreign Film - 1938

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

• Director:

  Jean Renoir

• Screenwriter:

  Jean Renoir, Charles Spaak

• Cinematographer:

  Christian Matras

• Composer (Music Score):

  Joseph Kosma

• Songwriter:

  Vincent Telly, Albert Valsien

• Editor:

  Marguerite Renoir

• Art Director:

  Eugène Lourié

• Set Designer:

  Eugène Lourié

• Sound/Sound Designer:

  Joseph DeBretagne

• Makeup:

  Raphael

• First Assistant Director:

  Jacques Becker

REVIEW:

• A "poetic realist" masterpiece, Jean Renoir's Grand Illusion (1937) eloquently revealed the absurdity of war in a story about escape from a World War I German prison camp. One of the first sound film masters of the mobile camera, Renoir structured his film through a series of long takes in deep focus, moving gracefully yet subtly among the characters to embed them in rather than isolate them from their environments. With this observational style, Renoir examined the "grand illusions" threatening Europe in the 1930s and humankind in general: war and the artificial distinctions of class and nation that drive it. Each of the four main characters stands for a particular social stratum, with their metaphorical places revealed through realistic details of conversation and quotidian behavior. This emphasis on the reality of daily life in prison camps, complete with dialogue in several languages and easygoing camaraderie between prisoners and guards, suggests the core of humanity shared by all, regardless of class, language, and cultural divisions. The poetic final image of an invisible border hidden beneath an expanse of white snow punctuates Renoir's benevolently humanist stance. Grand Illusion was a hit in the U.S. as well as in France, even receiving an Oscar nomination for Best Picture; it also received a special prize at the 1937 Venice Film Festival despite being banned in Italy and Germany. Regularly listed as one of the best films ever made, Grand Illusion's power remains undiminished, while the impact of Renoir's audacious style can be seen from the work of Orson Welles to the French New Wave. ~ Lucia Bozzola, Rovi