Grand illusion

Duration: 111 mi

Genre: War

Year Published: 1937

Format: 16mm

Color: B&W

Sound: sound

Description: Jean Renoir drew on his memories as a pilot and prisoner-of-war to present this pacifist film set during World War I. Three French soldiers are apprehended and confined in German hands: an aristocrat, Boldieu, a Parisian mechanic, Marechal, and a Jewish banker, Rosenthal. Within the prison setting, a physical boundary that restricts movement, Renoir analyses the more intangible impediments to peaceful human interaction: class, nationality, race, religion and gender. (Circulates), On the surface, it is a story of French prisoners of war and their daring escape from a German-held chateau. It is also concerned with a dying aristocracy, the end of a chivalrous way of life, the false illusions of nationalism, and the stupidities of bigotries and class barriers that lead men to war. Stars: Pierre Fresnay, Erich Von Stroheim, Jean Gabin, Marcel Dalio. French with English subtitle .

3 users have this film:
Indiana University Library Moving Image Archive, New York Public Library, University of Maryland 16mm

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