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

Director:

Jean Renoir

Writers:

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

Release Date:

12 September 1938 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

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.

Plot Keywords:

Pow | Escape | Captain | Escape Attempt | Aristocrat

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 4 wins & 1 nomination

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)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jacques Becker	...	L'officier anglais (uncredited)
Habib Benglia	...	Le sénégalais (uncredited)
Pierre Blondy	...	Un soldat (uncredited)
Albert Brouett	...	Un prisonnier (uncredited)
George Forster	...	Maison-Neuve (uncredited)
Karl Heil	...	Un officier de la forteresse (uncredited)
Carl Koch	...	L'ordonnance de von Rauffenstein (uncredited)
Little Peters	...	La petite fille d'Elsa (uncredited)
Claude Sainval	...	Le capitaine Ringis (uncredited)
Michel Salina	...	(uncredited)
Claude Vernier	...	L'officer prussien (uncredited)

Directed by
Jean Renoir

Writing credits
Charles Spaak		(scenario and dialogue) &
Jean Renoir		(scenario and dialogue)

Produced by
Albert Pinkovitch	....	producer (uncredited)
Frank Rollmer	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Joseph Kosma		(music)

Cinematography by
Christian Matras		(photography)

Film Editing by
Marthe Huguet		(film editor) (as Huguet)
Renée Lichtig		(1958 version)
Marguerite Renoir		(film editor) (as Margueritte)

Production Design by
Eugène Lourié		(as Lourié)

Set Decoration by
Eugène Lourié		(as Lourié)

Costume Design by
René Decrais		(costumes) (as Decrais)

Makeup Department
Raffels	....	make-up

Production Management
Raymond Blondy	....	production manager

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Jacques Becker	....	assistant director
Robert Rips	....	assistant director (uncredited)

Art Department
Alexandre Laurié	....	props (as Lourié)
Raymond Pillon	....	props (as Pillon)

Sound Department
Joseph de Bretagne	....	sound engineer (as De Bretagne)

Camera and Electrical Department
Jean Bourgoin	....	assistant cameraman (as Bourgoin)
Ernest Bourreaud	....	assistant cameraman (as Bourreaud)
Claude Renoir	....	assistant cameraman
Sam Levin	....	set photographer (uncredited)

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Suzy Berton	....	wardrobe (uncredited)

Music Department
Emile Vuillermoz	....	musical director (uncredited)

Other crew
Barnathan	....	location manager
Pierre Blondy	....	general manager
Françoise Giroud	....	script girl (as Gourdji)
Carl Koch	....	technical consultant
Robert Rips	....	set manager
Herman G. Weinberg	....	subtitler: English (uncredited)

Production Companies

• Réalisation d'art cinématographique (RAC) (as Réalisations d'Art Cinématographique)

Distributors

• Réalisation d'art cinématographique (RAC) (1937) (France) (theatrical)
• Eduard Weil & Company (1937) (Austria) (theatrical)
• Nova Film (1937) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• World Pictures Corporation (1938) (USA) (theatrical) (English subtitles)
• Prisma (1948) (Germany) (theatrical)
• Coronis (1956) (France) (theatrical) (restored version)
• Continental Distributing (195?) (USA) (theatrical) (English subtitles)
• Cinédis (France) (theatrical)
• City Film (19??) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Filmsonor (France) (theatrical)
• Les Grands Films Classiques (GFC) (France) (theatrical) (re-release)
• Nederland NV (19??) (Netherlands) (theatrical)
• Barr Entertainment (199?) (USA) (VHS) (English subtitles)
• Continental Home Vídeo (Brazil) (VHS)
• Coronis (France) (16 mm)
• Criterion Collection, The (2004) (USA) (DVD)
• Criterion Collection, The (2008) (USA) (DVD) (Essential Art House edition)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (VHS)
• Criterion Collection, The (USA) (laserdisc)
• Epoca (19??) (Argentina) (VHS)
• Home Vision Entertainment (HVE) (1998) (USA) (DVD)
• Janus Films (????) (USA) (all media)
• Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) (1972) (USA) (TV) (network premiere)
• Rialto Pictures (1999) (USA) (re-release)
• StudioCanal (2005) (France) (DVD)
• StudioCanal (2005) (France) (DVD) (digital new master)
• Süddeutsche Zeitung (2006) (Germany) (DVD)

Other Companies

• Smyth  music publishing (uncredited)
• G.M. Film  titles (uncredited)
• Luxtone  lighting (uncredited)
• Paris Studios Cinéma  filmed at
• Western Electric  sound post-production (as Western Electric System Sonar)
• Traonouez (Paris)  costumes (uncredited)

Also Known As:

"La grande illusion" - France (original title)
"Grand Illusion" - Australia (video box title), USA

Runtime:

114 min | 94 min (1937 release) | Germany:107 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | German | English | Russian

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Germany:(Banned) (1937-1945) | Italy:(Banned) (original rating) (1938-1947) | South Korea:12 | Sweden:15 | USA:Unrated | UK:U (video rating) | UK:A (original rating) (cut) | Finland:(Banned) (1942) | Finland:K-16 (1937) | Finland:K-8 (1959) | Malaysia:U | Norway:12 (1959) | Norway:16 (1937) | Germany:12 (f) (1948) | Portugal:M/6 | Italy:T (re-rating) (1947) | Argentina:13 | Netherlands:14 (original rating) (1937) | Netherlands:14 (re-rating) (1947) | Netherlands:14 (re-rating) (1958)

Filming Locations:

Caserne de Colmar, Colmar, Haut-Rhin, France

Company:

Réalisation d'art cinématographique (RAC)

Trivia:

This pacifist war film shows no combat at all.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Lt. Maréchal is climbing down the rope from the watchtower the wooden window shutters can be seen closing above him even though he closed them himself minutes prior.

Quotes:

Capt. de Boeldieu:May I ask you a question?
Capt. von Rauffenstein:Of course.
Capt. de Boeldieu:Why did you make an exception of me by inviting me here?
Capt. von Rauffenstein:Because your name is Boeldieu, career officer in the French Army. And I am Rauffenstein, career officer in the Imperial German Army.
Capt. de Boeldieu:But my comrades are officers as well.
Capt. von Rauffenstein:A 'Maréchal' and 'Rosenthal,' officers?
Capt. de Boeldieu:They're fine soldiers.
Capt. von Rauffenstein:Charming legacy of the French Revolution.
Capt. de Boeldieu:Neither you nor I can stop the march of time.
Capt. von Rauffenstein:Boldieu, I don't know who will win this war, but whatever the outcome, it will mean the end of the Rauffensteins and the Boeldieus.
[...]

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "The Dick Van Dyke Show: The Lady and the Tiger and the Lawyer (#3.16)" (1964)

Soundtrack:

La Marseillaise

How language separates us

What makes Grand Illusion a great movie, and the reason that some of us keep returning to it, is that it can't be reduced to a single simple proposition, the way that recent war movies like Platoon ("war bad," to quote Tarantino's synopsis) or Saving Private Ryan ("war senseless") can. It's easy to be sentimental about war, even while deploring it, by focusing on the horror of it or by making heroes out of those who are forced to fight. Renoir deals instead with the far more complex mesh of differences and alliances that separate and divide our characters. And while his main characters all have a clear class/national/religious identity, he makes much more out of them than just sociological categories.

But trying to explain why Grand Illusion is such a great movie by charting all the conflicting bonds of nationality, class, religion, etc. doesn't explain why the movie is so powerful. To me it is in those scenes in which language either separates our characters (as when Marechal tries and fails to tell the British prisoners about the tunnel or asks why de Boeldieu uses "vous") or unites them (as when von Rauffenstein and de Boeldieu speak in English or the English officer (in drag) sings the Marseillaise or when Marechal finally learns a little German). In these cases, Renoir uses language-without hitting us over the head to make the point-to illustrate the conflict between his ideal of sympathy between humans and the differences of class, nationality and religion.

Now I know that this sounds just as dry and academic as other attempts to explain Grand Illusion. Maybe it is; the movie really does not need to be explained to be enjoyed. But these are the scenes that, for whatever reason, have always made the greatest impression on me.