GRAND ILLUSION Movie Review
La Grande Illusion
A portrait of war, friendship, gallantry, and respect in a world that has now—in every sense—vanished. Jean Renoir's great Grand Illusion is the story of all of this, as well as a suspenseful and gripping tale of French soldiers determined to escape their German captors during World War I. Pierre Fresnay and Erich von Stroheim are, respectively, the French and German officers of “the old school,” who are adversaries on the field of battle but who are at heart both citizens of the same, vanishing civilization—one where the formal, chivalrous rules of combat are paramount, and where honor is more highly prized than victory. Jean Gabin and Marcel Dalio co-star as prisoners whose eyes are focused on escaping, but the show belongs to Fresnay as the refined and brave Captain de Boeldieu, and, most indelibly, von Stroheim, in whose hands the noble and elegant German air ace von Rauffenstein becomes one of the unlikeliest romantic figures in movie history. Grand Illusion deserves all the praise it's ever received; it's one of the great film experiences. (That greatness wasn't achieved easily; early in the shoot, Renoir, in tears, told the egomaniacal von Stroheim that he would shut down the film if von Stroheim didn't stop trying to direct. The tears worked, and von Stroheim was docile for the remainder of the production.) Grand Illusion's humanitarian vision didn't sit well with the Nazis; Goebbels tried to destroy every European print in existence, calling it “cinematic enemy number one.” He failed. It seems that after the war, one was found—in Germany. Von Rauffenstein would have loved it.
NEXT STOP… Kameradschaft, Rules of the Came, Paths of Glory
1937 111m/B FR Jean Gabin, Erich von Stroheim, Pierre Fresnay, Marcel Dalio, Julien Carette, Gaston Modot, Jean Daste, Dita Parlo; D: Jean Renoir; W: Charles Spaak, Jean Renoir; C: Christian Matras; M: Joseph Kosma. New York Film Critics Awards ‘38: Best Foreign Film; Nominations: Academy Awards ‘38: Best Picture. VHS, LV, DVD VYY, MRV, FOX