La Grande Illusion (1937)
"La grande illusion" (original title)

During the First World War, two French soldiers are captured and imprisoned in a German POW camp. Several escape attempts follow until they are sent to a seemingly impenetrable fortress which seems impossible to escape from.

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

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

Stars:

Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay

Nominated for 1 Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Jean Gabin	...	Le lieutenant Maréchal
Dita Parlo	...	Elsa - Farm Woman
Pierre Fresnay	...	Le captaine de Boeldieu
Erich von Stroheim	...	Le captaine von Rauffenstein (as Eric von Stroheim)
Julien Carette	...	Cartier - l'acteur (as Carette)
Georges Péclet	...	Le serrurier (as Peclet)
Werner Florian	...	Le sergent Arthur
Jean Dasté	...	L'instituteur (as Daste)
Sylvain Itkine	...	Le lieutenant Demolder (as Itkine)
Gaston Modot	...	L'ingénieur (as Modot)
Marcel Dalio	...	Le lieutenant Rosenthal (as Dalio)

Storyline

During 1st WW, two French officers are captured. Captain De Boeldieu is an aristocrat while Lieutenant Marechal was a mechanic in civilian life. They meet other prisoners from various backgrounds, as Rosenthal, son of wealthy Jewish bankers. They are separated from Rosenthal before managing to escape. A few months later, they meet again in a fortress commanded by the aristocrat Van Rauffenstein. De Boeldieu strikes up a friendship with him but Marechal and Rosenthal still want to escape...

---

Plot Keywords:

pow | escape | captain | escape attempt | aristocrat | 

---

Genres:

Drama | War

---

Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French German English Russian

Release Date:

12 September 1938 (USA)

Also Known As:

Grand Illusion

Filming Locations:

Caserne de Colmar, Colmar, Haut-Rhin, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$50,793 (USA) (13 August 1999)

Gross:

$172,885 (USA) (30 November 2012)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Réalisation d'art cinématographique (RAC)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

114 min 94 min (1937 release)

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

President Roosevelt was shown a private screening at the White House during November 1937.

---

Goofs

As the WWI German soldiers are celebrating a French fort's capture, the map on the wall of the officers club is clearly an inter-war (1919-1938) map of Germany.

---

Quotes

Capt. de Boeldieu: I think we can do nothing to stop the march of time.
Capt. von Rauffenstein: Believe me, I don't know who is going to win this war the end, whatever it is will be the end of the Rauffensteins and the Boeldieus.

---

Connections

Referenced in The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

---

Soundtracks

"La Marseillaise"
(1792) (uncredited)
Written by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle

User Reviews

So,I finally saw it and of course I thought it was one of the best films ever!!!

I have tried to get this film for months on the criterion collection but it seems impossible here in Sweden(Maybe not impossible,you can order it on Amazon but that´s to expensive).So when I finally found it on video this is what I say about it:

This anti-war masterpiece film is really ONE OF THE GREATEST FILMS EVER.I almost liked it as much as seven samurai.It´s a about a group of French prisoners during the world war one.

The performances is simply some of the best I have seen(Jean Gabin Erich von Stroheim...).The cinematography is beautiful,great script but I guess i was most impressed by the direction by Jean Renoir.

I don´t think that I have been more touched by a film then this.It has such a deep humanity.A poetic film that should be seen by every one.Also remember that I have only seen this film once and it could be in my top 20 over the best films ever and when I watch it again it could be in top 3.

RATING: 5/5