L'armée des ombres (1969)

User Rating:

8.2/10   

Director:

Jean-Pierre Melville

Writers:

Jean-Pierre Melville (adaptation) and
Joseph Kessel (novel)

Release Date:

12 September 1969 (France)

Genre:

Drama | War

Plot:

France, 1942, during the occupation. Philippe Gerbier, a civil engineer, is one of the French Resistance's chiefs...

Plot Keywords:

French | Camp | French Resistance | Escape | Resistance

Awards:

3 wins

Cast

Lino Ventura	...	Philippe Gerbier
Paul Meurisse	...	Luc Jardie
Jean-Pierre Cassel	...	Jean François Jardie
Simone Signoret	...	Mathilde
Claude Mann	...	Claude Le Masque
Paul Crauchet	...	Felix
Christian Barbier	...	Le Bison
Serge Reggiani	...	The hairdresser
André Dewavrin	...	Colonel Passy
Alain Dekok	...	Legrain
Alain Mottet	...	Commander of the camp
Alain Libolt	...	Paul Dounat
Jean-Marie Robain	...	Baron de Ferte Talloire
Albert Michel	...	Gendarm
Denis Sadier	...	Gestapo's doctor

Also Known As:

Army in the Shadows
Army of Shadows (USA)
L'armata degli eroi (Italy)
The Shadow Army

Runtime:

Spain:140 min | UK:145 min | USA:145 min | Argentina:145 min

Country:

France | Italy

Language:

French | German | English

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono | Dolby Digital (2006 restoration)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:AA (original rating) | UK:AA (1978) | UK:12A (re-rating) (2005)

Filming Locations:

Avenue Hoche, Paris 8, Paris, France

Company:

Les Films Corona

Trivia:

Cinematographer Pierre Lhomme claimed that the last surviving, watchable print of the movie had turned completely pink with age. He later supervised the 2k resolution, digital restoration of the film at the Eclair Laboratories in Paris.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the London WWII sequence, we see double yellow lines on the road. These were only introduced in the UK in 1956 and didn't become common until the 1960s. Same goes for a couple of the street signs, of a style not known before the 1960s.

Quotes:

Philippe Gerbier: See you later, Comrade.
Legrain: ...You're a communist?
Philippe Gerbier: No. But I can still have comrades.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Broken English (2007)

Soundtrack:

Symphony No. 41 (Jupiter)

The great Melville strikes again

No false heroic's in this ultra realistic portrail of anti-Nazi men and women during the occupation of France. Melville's actors have obviously been cast for being very ordinary and each performance from Ventura's lead to Reggianis almost cameo as a Barber add to the almost doco like feel. A magnificent film from the truly underrated master and one of cinemas true perfectionists.