Grand Illusion (1937)

Director: Jean Renoir  Starring: Jean Gabin  Erich Von Stroheim  
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Product Summary
Publisher: Image
Format: DVD
UPC: 00715515032629
Buy.com Sku: 208290026
Item#: V2R73W
Category Keywords: Classic  Essential Cinema  Prison/Prisoners  Recommended  War  World War I 
Rating: NR
 
 
Features: DVD
 


Editor's Note

Calling on his own experiences as an aviator in WWI as well as those of his comrades, Jean Renoir's antiwar masterpiece bids farewell to the class constrictions of European society and calls for the unity of humankind across class and national boundaries. Set in the German prison camps of WWI, the film stars Jean Gabin as Marechal, and Marcel Dalio as Rosenthal. Like the charming aristocrat de Boldieu (Pierre Fresnay), these two French aviators were shot down and now spend most of their time escaping from German prison camps before inevitably being recaptured. Between escapes, they do what they can to amuse themselves, which includes running a talent show, but after a tunnel they've dug is discovered, the three are sent to Wintersborn, a forbidding fortress of a prison, which is commanded by former ace pilot von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim). The humane commandant practices noblesse oblige toward de Boldieu, hoping for an alliance across national lines. But he comes to learn that this phrase has a different meaning for the Frenchman. One of the great films of all time, GRAND ILLUSION perhaps most purely embodies director Jean Renoir's characterstic humanism, manifested less here in camera technique than an instinctive ability to educe truthful performances from his cast.


Plot Summary

Jean Renoir's brilliant farewell to Europe's ancient regime, GRAND ILLUSION, set during WWI, stars Jean Gabin as Marechal and Marcel Dalio as Rosenthal, French prisoners of war who constantly escape from prison only to be recaptured. Along with the gracious aristocrat de Boldieu (Pierre Fresnay), they're moved to the fortresslike Wintersborn prison, from which no one has escaped. The commandant of the prison is the ace German pilot von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), now grounded by injury. Despite humane treatment, the Frenchmen plan to escape once again.

 
Features
Source: Image Entertainment Inc.

 
Technical Info

Release Information
Studio: Image
Release Date: 9/9/2008
Running Time: 114 minutes
Original Release Date: 1937
Catalog ID: 002
UPC: 00715515032629
Number of Discs: 1

Audio & Video
Original Language: French
Available Audio Tracks: French
Available Subtitles: English
Video: B&W

 
Cast & Crew
Jean Gabin
Pierre Fresnay
Erich Von Stroheim
Marcel Dalio
Carette
Dita Parlo
Charles Spaak - Screenwriter
Frank Rollmer - Producer
Albert Pinkovitch - Producer
Jean Renoir - Screenwriter
Jean Renoir - Director

 
Professional Reviews
Entertainment Weekly
"...[A] masterpiece..." -- Rating: A 08/20/1999 p.100

Los Angeles Times
"...One of the greatest films ever made....The performances -- from Gabin, Pierre Frensay, Erich von Stroheim and Marcel Dalio -- are as fresh as they were in 1937..." 12/16/1999 p.C47

Chicago Sun-Times
"...It's a meditation on the collapse of the old order of European civilization....There is a quiet voluptuousness; the camera doesn't point or intrude, but glides..." 10/03/1999 p.5

USA Today
"In '38: a New York Film Critics best-direction citation to Jean Renoir and a best-picture Oscar nomination." 02/15/2005 p.6D

Sight and Sound
"[An] anti-war classic....As in so much of Renoir's work, it's the humanism that resonates most strongly." 01/01/2007 p.89

  
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