La grande illusion (1937)

Réalisateur:

Jean Renoir

Scénaristes:

Charles Spaak (scenario and dialogue) &
Jean Renoir (scenario and dialogue)

Date de sortie:

12 septembre 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drame | Guerre

Intrigue:

During 1st WW, two French officers are captured. Captain De Boeldieu is an aristocrat while Lieutenant Marechal was a mechanic in civilian life...

Plot Keywords:

French | Escape | Aristocrat | Officer | Castle

Récompenses:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 1 nomination

Avis des utilisateurs:

A Vision of Reality the Way it Shouldn't Be...

Ensemble

Jean Gabin	...	Lt. Maréchal
Dita Parlo	...	Elsa (farm woman)
Pierre Fresnay	...	Capt. de Boeldieu
Erich von Stroheim	...	Capt. von Rauffenstein (as Eric von Stroheim)
Julien Carette	...	Cartier, l'acteur (as Carette)
Georges Péclet	...	Le serrurier (as Peclet)
Werner Florian	...	Sgt. Arthur
Jean Dasté	...	The teacher (as Daste)
Sylvain Itkine	...	Lt. Demolder (as Itkine)
Gaston Modot	...	The engineer (as Modot)
Marcel Dalio	...	Lt. Rosenthal (as Dalio)
reste de la distribution par ordre alphabétique:
Jacques Becker	...	English officer (uncredited)
Albert Brouett	...	Un prisonnier (uncredited)
Carl Koch	...	(uncredited)
Claude Sainval	...	Capitaine Ringis (uncredited)
Michel Salina	...	(uncredited)

Réalisé par
Jean Renoir

Scénaristes
Charles Spaak		(scenario and dialogue) &
Jean Renoir		(scenario and dialogue)

Produit par
Albert Pinkovitch	....	producer (uncredited)
Frank Rollmer	....	producer (uncredited)

Musique originale
Joseph Kosma

Image
Christian Matras

Montage
Marthe Huguet
Renée Lichtig		(1958 version)
Marguerite Renoir		(as Margueritte)

Décorateur de plateau
Eugène Lourié		(as Lourié)

Création des costumes
René Decrais		(as Decrais)

Maquillage
Raffels	....	makeup artist

Directeur de production
Raymond Blondy	....	production manager

Assistant réalisateur
Jacques Becker	....	assistant director
Robert Rips	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Département Art
Alexandre	....	props
Laurié	....	props
Raymond Pillon	....	props (as Pillon)

Technicien du son
Joseph de Bretagne	....	sound engineer (as De Bretagne)

Caméra et Département Electrique
Jean Bourgoin	....	assistant camera (as Bourgoin)
Ernest Bourreaud	....	assistant camera (as Bourreaud)
Sam Levin	....	set photographer
Claude Renoir	....	camera operator

Département Costume et garde-Robe
Suzy Berton	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Département Musique
Emile Vuillermoz	....	musical director (as Vuillermoz)

Divers
Barnathan	....	location manager
Pierre Blondy	....	general manager
Françoise Giroud	....	script girl (as Gourdji)
Carl Koch	....	technical advisor
Robert Rips	....	set manager
Herman G. Weinberg	....	subtitler: English (uncredited)

Companies de production

• Réalisation d'art cinématographique (RAC) (as Réalisations d'Art Cinématographique)

Distributeurs

• Réalisation d'art cinématographique (RAC) (1937) (France) (theatrical)
• Eduard Weil & Company (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• World Pictures Corporation (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (English subtitles)
• Prisma (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Coronis (1956) (France) (theatrical) (restored version)
• Continental Motion Pictures Corporation (195?) (USA) (theatrical) (English subtitles)
• Studio Canal (2005) (France) (DVD) (digital new master)
• Studio Canal (2005) (France) (DVD)
• Cinédis (France) (theatrical)
• Filmsonor (France) (theatrical)
• Les Grands Films Classiques (GFC) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Barr Entertainment (199?) (USA) (video) (English subtitles)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Coronis (France) (16 mm)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Rialto Pictures (1999) (USA) (re-release)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Autres Companies

• Smyth  music publishing
• G.M. Film  titles
• Luxtone  lighting
• Paris Studios Cinéma  filmed at
• Western Electric Management  sound post-production (as Western Electric System Sonar)
• Traonouez (Paris)  costumes (uncredited)

Autre(s) titre(s):

Grand Illusion (Australia) (video box title) (International: English title) (informal title)
The Grand Illusion (USA)

Durée:

114 min | 94 min (1937 release) | Germany:107 min

Pays:

France

Langue:

Français | Allemand | Anglais | Russe

Couleur:

Noir et Blanc

Rapport de forme:

1,37 : 1

Son:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Classification:

Finland:(Banned) (1942) | Finland:K-16 (1937) | Finland:K-8 (1959) | Malaysia:U | Norway:12 (1959) | Norway:16 (1937) | Germany:12 (f) (1948) | Portugal:M/6 | Australia:G | Germany:(Banned) (1937-1945) | Italy:(Banned) (1938-1945) | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | UK:U (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) (cut)

Lieux de tournage:

Caserne de Colmar, Colmar, Haut-Rhin, France

Société:

Réalisation d'art cinématographique (RAC)

Anecdotes:

First foreign language film - and still one of only a handful - to be nominated for Oscar as Best Picture.

Goofs:

Anachronismes: Elsa's rural farmhouse in the mountains has electric lighting in the 1910s.

Guillemet:

Lieutenant Maréchal: The theater's too deep for me. I prefer bicycling.

Connexions De Film:

Référencé sur Lotte Reiniger: Homage to the Inventor of the Silhouette Film (1999) (V)

Bande son:

Si tu veux marguerite

A Vision of Reality the Way it Shouldn't Be...

It is a wonder to see a film from the 1930's so definite in its view and opinions, yet so touching and revelatory. Jean Renoir's GRAND ILLUSION is a film of great importance, one that improves with each viewing. Having just finished the picture again for the first time in some 7 years, I was struck by its freshness. It is an Anti-War film set during World War I that is something to watch. It demands intense viewing.

This is a French work of art by the great Renoir, who would make his most acclaimed film, RULES OF THE GAME, two years later. If you ask me, GRAND ILLUSION is the superior pic and holds up immeasurably better. The small doses of humor and original characters in this film foresee the classic "shooting party" of RULES OF THE GAME. With this movie, Renoir uses prisoners-of-war and the ludicrous element of war so prevalent in early 20th Century Europe and merges them into a film not unlike a play (an extremely well-written play). The viewer has no illusions as to whether or not a war is happening. We happen not to see any battles or gunplay, rather, the human element between men and women who are not so different no matter their ethnicity.

Renoir's camera is an incredible tool used throughout. He probes the characters at the various prison camps with some smooth dolly shots and brilliant use of focus and pull-backs. It seems like an extension of his hand, much like his father's paintings. One striking scene has some weary soldiers singing the French "Las Marseilles" after getting third hand knowledge of a French victory over their German captors. Any scene with Erich von Stroheim is interesting because he is human and not some mindless German dictator so many people would come to know at the time of the film's release. He is a broken man, scarred by war and looking to gain a friend in the enemy. This is rare.

As far as prison camp films go, these guys seem to have it easy, however the fact that they are officers gives us some explanation. The story-line effectively moves from escape attempts to human realization of the situation they are in. Parts of it reminded me of STALAG 17, Billy Wilder's 1953 classic no doubt inspired by GRAND ILLUSION. This is Wilder's film without the Hollywood touch, realist and sometimes drab. Abel Gance's J'ACCUSE would follow a year later. If you want to see some anti-WWI films with two completely opposite methods of warning beneath the surface, see these two flicks back to back.

The illusion of reality is shattered by war, Renoir is telling us. If only it could be as simple as those amazing shots of the countryside from inside the German woman's house: a breathtaking, simple look at a peaceful scene the way it should be.

RATING: ***1/2