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Grand Illusion

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Grand Illusion (1937)

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97 %
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Reviews Counted: 34

Fresh: 33

Rotten:1

Average Rating: 9.2/10

Runtime: 1 hr 54 mins

Genre: Foreign Films

Synopsis: 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... 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. [More]

Starring: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich Von Stroheim, Marcel Dalio

Starring: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich Von Stroheim, Marcel Dalio, Dita Parlo, Carette

Director: Jean Renoir

Director: Jean Renoir
Screenwriter: Jean Renoir, Charles Spaak
Producer: Albert Pinkovitch, Frank Rollmer

[See More Credits]

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Release:

Sep 9, 2008

[DVD Details]
 
 
  • Jean Renoir's pacifist masterpiece stars Jean Gabin as a French World War I POW held by Erich Von Stroheim'sGerman captain. One of the greatest antiwar films ever made, as well as a rousing prison-escape adventure, Grand Illusion is an exemplar of the 1930s poetic realist movement.
  • Source: Image Entertainment Inc.
  • Reviews for Grand Illusion

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    1 - 20 (sorted by date)
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    Among many distinctions, Jean Renoir's anti-war masterpiece, made two years befor WWII, was the first foreign-language film to be nominated for legit Oscar--Orson Welles said that if he had to choose one great film, it would be Renoir's.

    Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | comment Comment
    02/05/08
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com
    Ratings Image

    One of the greatest anti-war films ever

    comment Comment
    06/12/07
    Lori Hoffman
    Atlantic City Weekly
    N/R

    Click to read the article

    Full Review Source: New York Magazine | comment Comment
    05/12/07
    Peter Rainer
    New York Magazine
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    Ratings Image

    Superb Renoir work should be seen by all.

    comment Comment
    11/30/06
    Steve Crum
    Dispatch-Tribune Newspapers
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    No review available.

    comment Comment
    03/09/06
    Jake Euker
    F5 (Wichita, KS)
    Ratings Image

    Renoir films have a way of talking about one thing while being about another.

    Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
    02/09/06
    Derek Adams
    Time Out
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    Unforgettable.

    comment Comment
    10/27/05
    Cole Smithey
    ColeSmithey.com
    Ratings Image

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    10/18/05
    Mark R. Leeper
    rec.arts.movies.reviews
    Ratings Image

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    09/09/05
    Daniel M. Kimmel
    Worcester Telegram & Gazette
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    No review available.

    comment Comment
    07/23/05
    Emanuel Levy
    EmanuelLevy.Com
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    No review available.

    comment Comment
    07/15/05
    Jonathan R. Perry
    Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas)
    Ratings Image

    Perhaps the greatest anti-war film ever made.

    Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
    04/16/05
    Dennis Schwartz
    Ozus' World Movie Reviews
    Ratings Image

    You don't know war films can be like this until you see it: elegant, humane, seriocomic, deeply wounded, with a sublime regard for life that exceeds all borders.

    comment Comment
    07/27/04
    Nick Davis
    Nick's Flick Picks
    Ratings Image

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    10/15/03
    Jurgen Fauth
    About.com
    Ratings Image

    One of the greatest films of all time.

    comment Comment
    08/22/03
    John Esther
    Pasadena Weekly
    Ratings Image

    Renoir has created a strange and interesting film, but he owes much to his cast.

    Full Review Source: New York Times | comment Comment
    06/12/03
    Frank S. Nugent
    New York Times
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    Ratings Image

    La Grande Illusion, even after more than a half a century, is still a phenomenal work of art-- elegant, eloquent and powerfully moving.'

    Full Review Source: KPBS.org | comment Comment
    03/30/03
    Beth Accomando
    KPBS.org
    Ratings Image

    Others cite The Rules of the Game, but I think this is Renoir's best work.

    comment Comment
    02/24/03
    Rob Vaux
    Flipside Movie Emporium
    Ratings Image

    Achieves that rare distinction of having a precise vision of an earlier time, making that vision relevant to its own time, and remaining strangely contemporary in any age.

    Full Review Source: Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC) | comment Comment
    10/17/02
    Ken Hanke
    Mountain Xpress (Asheville, NC)
    Ratings Image

    No review available.

    comment Comment
    10/03/02
    Nell Minow
    Movie Mom at Yahoo! Movies
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