Customer Reviews

Grand Illusion [VHS]

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1 star:		(3)

 

 

Grand Illusion is sometimes considered as one of the greatest movies ever shot. It was Orson Welles' favorite. Even though many consider that "Rules of the Game" is more important and brillant. The two movies are very different, both incredible. Grand Illusion is easier to catch immediatly while Rules let you think endlessly. In regard of the DVD : BUY IT EYES CLOSED ! The picture is incredible, looks like it was shot yesterday because coming from the original re-found negative film. It has not even one small spot or crack. It is PURE. And it is the original 114 minutes version, not the well-known 105 minutes. The DVD is full of bonus, the best being the filmed introduction by Jean Renoir, and also the audio archive of Von Stroheim. I cannot express how much I love Renoir and this movie and I hope that Rules of the Game will come up in DVD soon in Zone 1 (it exists in France in Zone 2 with a beautiful master, but has no english subtitles). Then the world can contemplate this masterpiece again and again. Buy Grand Illusion and you'll never think of war and humanity the same way again.

The Criterion Collection has been batting 1.000 lately by bringing out splendid DVD versions of such classic films as "The Wages of Fear","The Passion of Joan of Arc" and "The Third Man". Now, with "Grand Illusion", they may have even surpassed themselves.

The transfer is from an original camera negative thought to be lost for decades and it can't be rivalled for image clarity or sound quality (given that this is a 62-year old film). The DVD version of "Grand Illusion" looks as close as we can hope to its original state.

The film itself is a poignant examination of the conflict between class and national identity during World War I. Three French officers - an aristocrat (Pierre Fresnay), a rich Jewish banker (Marcel Dalio), and a working-class capitian (Jean Gabin) - are captured and imprisoned by a refined, arrogant German officer (von Stroheim). The French and German aristocrats share a deeper cultural and affetionate bond than they do with the men of their respective countries. When the French captives plan an escape, the aristocratic officer risks himself for a nationalism he doesn't believe in. The scenes between Fresnay and von Stroheim, arguably some of the tenderest scenes in the movie, display a ritual of noblesse oblige that seems absurd today (the people in the cinema where I saw it laughed at these men's tender missives to each other). And, indeed, these aristocratic manners are patently absurd in the theater of modern warfare. Pauline Kael has said that this film is "an elegy for a dying class" and that's partially true - it's also an examination of how tenuous the bonds of nationalism can be both within countries (as relations between the working-class Gabin and Dalio later prove) and between them (when a German guard hands Gabin a harmonica). And yet, the acting and writing are grounded so much character and detail that you can be very moved by this film without noticing these underlying theme (the audience that laughed at the aforementioned scenes, gave the film a standing ovation at the end).

"Grand Illusion" has been enormously influental - you can see traces of it in "Casablanca" (with Dalio, interestingly enough) and "Paths of Glory", for example. Renoir's direction is wonderfully fluid - even his minor characters have unique features. Along with "Passion" and "The Third Man", the Criterion version of "Grand Illusion" is one of the finest DVD releases of the year. Let's hope that they now do the same for "The Rules of the Game"

One of the greatest achievement in film history, this Jean Renoir's masterpiece could be seen only in prints and video made from an inferior duplicate neagtive for over 40 years, as the original film elements was thought to be lost during the German occupation (Goebbels and Hitler hated the film, and banned it in Germany at its original release). If you have seen only these versions, you haven't really seen it yet! The new transfer, made from the newly-discovered original camera negative (i.e., the best film element available) is just stunning. For the viewers familliar with the film, there is an added surprise at the begining, for the credit title sequence is different. The crisp trasnfer allow viewers to appreciate the depth of Renoir's masterful direction, for you can see a lot of details that might be lost in inferior prints: for Renoir, it is not just the protagonists that are important, but the whole atmosphere that surrounds them, including the delicious performance from the supporting cast (the Jean Renoir Stock Company, such as Julien Carrette, Gaston Modot and Jean Daste) which makes this film more than just an anti-war film. The DVD also includes the trailer from the 1958 re-release, featuring Jean Renoir himself passionately telling what this movie is all about: "it is a story of people like you and me, caught in the tragedy called war". Grand Illusion is a story of survival, of people who want to live in their best way possible, within their humain limitation. Limitation, for the people can act only within their social class behaviour and their social role. But Renoir never condems or criticize them; the film embraces even the flaws in their perosnalities. It's a great film, and a must-have DVD.

Orson Welles, who was not known for his modesty, said that if a cabinet containing every film ever made caught fire and he only had time to run in and rescue one film, it would be the Grand Illusion (not Citizen Kane, etc). Most people watching this film today might wonder why it warrants such high praise. I say this because many of the themes in this film have been dealt with memorably in other films (the first time I saw the Grand Illusion, for example, I couldn't help thinking that I preferred Stalag 17). As a result, the film appears to be less original than it actually was. Modern audiences are also not used to the movie's themes being dealt with so subtly (no bodies are graphically blown up to show the horrors of war, no lower class characters are unjustly executed, etc). Thus it will not attract as much widespread popular praise as such overblown garbage as Saving Private Ryan (which is a complete and utter failure as an anti-war movie after its opening 10 minute gorefest ends). In contrast, this film has a subtle depth which elevates its effectiveness and will keep the viewer thinking long after it ends.

There are many illusions dealt with in the film. The interaction between the upper class prisoners and the prison camp's commandant (excellently performed by Erich Von Stronheim) illustrates the illusion of civility that exists (or should I say existed) during war (people pretending to be civilized while trying to wipe each other out). It illustrates the illusion of nationalism (except for the war, the officers are kindred spirits). The illusion of class is also well portrayed with the commandant arbitrarily showing less favour to some prisoners because of their last name and for no other reason. Viewers with knowledge of history will also note the irony in its theme of the decline of nobility and the ascendency of democracy given that this film occurs during a war in which lowly soldiers were ruthlessly sacrificed by their "noble" leaders in greater numbers than in any other war.

One thing which makes this film different from most others about war or class is that it portrays the noble officers as worthwhile and positive people, but it treats all of its characters with equal respect. This, of course, further illustrates the illusory nature of class.

For a thought-provoking movie, it is also quite entertaining, filled with humour, suspense and great performances. While I would not go as far as Welles in his praise of The Grand Illusion, it is still very highly recommended.

The Grand Illusion, together with The Rules of the Game is Jean Renoir's best known film. But unlike The Rules of the Game, which was universally maligned by both critics and the moviegoing public and banned by the French government for bad taste, The Grand Illusion was universally praised to become the instant classic. Well, this tale of two movies has perhaps most to do with the tones of the movies and Renoir's humanistic tendency to approach everything with understanding and fairness, as far as that is possible, even with things that he is actually lampooning (as in The Rules of the Game.) In case of The Rules of the Game, maybe the moviegoers could not reconcile the frivolity of life - as offensive as that was - and profound sympathy that was shown to them. But in The Grand Illusion, the noble themes and situations are more acceptible.

Renoir's films are rarely if ever about just one thing, and The Grand Illusion is no exception. First of all, what is the "grand"(more accurately, great or maybe even gross) illusion that the title refers to? It obviously refers to the illusion that the war will be over soon as it is often expressed in the movie. It is also the illusion that war is noble or honorable, or that war brings divided classes together. It also refers to the illusions of the German officer Rauffenstein of the old and new order. But it probably also refers to the illusion that the audience experiences at the end of the movie. At the superficial level, some moviegoers may feel that Marechal and Rosenthal escape successfully to France and that after war Marechal would Elsie. Although other moviegoers would find such prospect too optimistic, they would feel that the audience could choose either way - Marechal will return to Else or he will not. But any kind of optimistic sense felt at the end of the movie is the "grand" illusion. The fact is that Marechal and Rosenthal probably will return to France, and possibly be killed in later battles (though Rosenthal reappears in the Rules of the Game, it seems to be more of in-joke than the same character); in any case, the reunion of Else and Marechal is illusion. Although it seems that the national boundaries have been overcome by two characters, it turns out to be illlusion not because there is any truth to the boundary, which is man-made, but because of the social condition that is shaped by these boundaries. The bond between Marechal and Else, and between Marechal and Rosenthal are genuine but fragile liek von Rauffenstein's geranium. There are several times when they overcome nationality and religion toward common bond of humanity, but in the end, boundaries and social conditions impose order again. So at the end, when they make final sprint toward the Swiss border, Marechal and Rosenthal exchange words of farewell as if they are going their separate ways. In the movie, as noted, there are all kinds of man-made boundaries that separate men from others - class, nationality, language, (German, French, English, and Russian are prominently spoken in various scenes), ethnicity (there is even African officer in POW camp, and he's not there accidently), religion(which is quite prominent in one particular scene). After all, this film is the granddaddy of POW and escape genre, and the boundary manifests in physical forms of barbed wires, walls, and national borders. The main characters try to break out from the imposed boundary just as much from prison walls. But for Renoir, the boundary that separates men more than anything else is that of class - which separates common men from aristocrats. We see all sorts of social group that can be categorized - a student of Pindar, vegetarian, engineer, and various people who are occupied with different kinds of concerns. The movie often concerns itself with what these people will do if they get out of prison or if war is over. One of the most remarkable myth about the war is that it unites all social groups in one patriotic solidarity. The division among men is paradoxically most apparent in the closeness of two main characters. In fact, von Rauffenstein and de Boieldieu are so much in tune with each other that they almost appear to have been friends even though they meet for the first time in the movie. They have common acquaintances, place they have been to, but what brings them together in the end is their class.

Although Renoir is sympathetic to these aristocratic characters, he does not grieve with them about the end of the old order, which the WWI brought about. Theirs is the class that must die out (aristoracy in Europe still lingered through the thirties to the WWII, which was to be the coup de grace, especially in Germany and France.), the new beginning starts in the last third of the film with Marechal, Rosenthal, and Else. Renoir's universe of complex orders and characters are well served by his film technique that utilizes depth of field and adroit tracking shot for The Grand Illusion is one of the best examples of democratic aspects that realist school is striving to achieve. I am not one to feel nostalgic about aristocracy, and certainly not Renoir (who supported the Popular Front), but Renoir tells the most elegiac story about passing of an age - from the age of aristocracy to the modern age. The Grand Illusion was made in 1937, when with Sudenten crisis and all that, there was distinct certainty that a major war was brewing in Europe. In this sense, The Grand Illusion was a plea for bond of brotherhood and higher understanding. Yet Renoir was also a realist. More and more one thinks about the movie, there is a greater sense of tragedy.

This DVD was delayed for several years to acquire the best possible prints and beatifully restore them. It is a testament to Criterion's commitment to the art of cinema - well worth long wait.... Most highly recommended.

One of the greatest films of all time from one of the greatest filmmakers. Jean Renoir, son of Auguste Renoir, the famous painter is one of the most evocative filmmakers that ever lived. Along with this masterpiece he made 'The Rules of The Game' with some of the same actors which is even a better film. The film, contrary to first glimpse, is not just a prison escape movie or a buddy-drama. It is a film that tackles a lot of issues; class differences (rich and poor), nationalities (French and German), military ranks (officers and soldiers), and even ideas and religions. All this makes for a poignant multi-layered anti-war film. Erich Von Stroheim stars as a proud German general who was severely bruised and burned in a plane crash and is now the head of a POW camp. Von Stroheim was also a genius director, he made the silent classic 'Greed'. Not only was he a legendary director but he could also act delivering the most memorable performance in the whole cast and was also fluid in three languages. Stroheim plays Capt. Von Rauffenstein, an idealistic and very patriotic man who is extremely proud of his family name and still believes in 'superiority' just because of a last name or because of a military rank. Pierre Fresnay is the countercurrent of Stroheim's character an admirable French officer who is conscious of all the changes that are happening in the turmoil of WW I. Jean Gabin's character on the other hand is less refined and more realistic, he portrays the surviving 'middle class'. Dita Parlo, who also starred in Jean Vigo's 'L'Atalante' just five years earlier plays Else, the German farm woman who warmly looks after two escaped POW's. Her character is meant to represent the suffering of the women and children that stay behind while their husbands or brothers could meat their deaths at any moment. There is a very touching scene where she explains that her husband and almost all her brothers have dies in the war, this is one of the profoundly sobering anti-war messages that you will ever find in film. I think Renoir's 'Grand Illusion' in the film is the superiority of the upper classes in the face of war. While the truth is that nobody is exempt when it comes to war. One of the most moving scenes ever filmed is the death of Pierre Fresnay by the hands of Von Stroheim. What also makes this film unique is that all the characters are richly textured and detailed, a quality that has almost been lost in 'modern' cinema. Easily among the best French films of all time and a must-see for foreign film fans. From a scale of 1-10 I give this film a 10!

I was absolutely floored when I first saw this movie about a year ago, at the house of a friend. I adore old war films (think "The Great Escape," "Stalag 17," and "Bridge on the River Kwai"), and thought I had the genre just about memorized until I saw this. It is an intense film, a grand one, but ultimately gentle. It takes place during World War I, which, the director once said, was "almost a war of gentlmen." The Nazis were two decades from gaining power, the nations of Europe enjoyed relative prosperity, and the upper classes ruled over all. In this setting, the necessary brutality of such films as I've previously mentioned seems out of place. Indeed, in the first few scenes, a German pilot who has shot down two French fliers invites them for lunch with his officers (!). This kind of respect, this illusion that war abides by certain rules and expectations, seems anachronostic and dated at first, in a post-Vietnam, post-9/11 world. But there is such hope, such desire for a world where the classes between nations are united, that the movie never seems jingoistic or naïve, just optimistic.

The performances are exceptional; Jean Gabin, Erich von Stroheim, Pierre Fresnay--all seem to really live in their characters, not simply portray them. Von Stroheim, in particular, brings intense poignancy to the tragic figure of the German commandant von Rauffenstein, with his neck brace, stilted walk, and desperate yearning for companionship (which makes him turn to, of all people, his own enemy, Captain de Boeldieu, whom he shot down 18 months previous). Indeed, a lot of the film's message can be summed up in this character: his friendship with an enemy soldier, expressing Renoir's hope for a more peaceful, less divided world; his accoutrements of wealth and station, which hold him firmly in place, unable to change his views of the structure of the world, even as it shifts around him; and his belief in the eponymous "grand illusion" of the continued supremacy of the aristocrats over the working classes in a world scarred by war.

As a bit of a side note, this film, considering its age, is in startlingly pristine condition. The story of the film negative is told on the DVD, as part of the many supplements, so I won't bore you with it here. Suffice it to say that this version of this seminal film was lost for over 60 years before its discovery in the 1990s, resulting in its near-perfect condition today. The picture is as sharp as that of any contemporary film, crystal clear, and refreshingly free of dirt and tears that usually mar most older prints by virtue of constant use. This version is about the best you will find, as it has gone through a tedious, time-consuming restoration process that has given it this impressive sheen. My recommendation: Buy this DVD post haste.

As a viewer who knew this film only from squinting dimly at late night snowy television broadcasts of censored versions (the only available copy was patched together from what had survived the censors of various nations) and reduced to fit the time slot, as a viewer who once heard the great Orson Welles tell Johnny this is the greatest film of all time, as a viewer once deeply moved by what I had heard and seen, I found this Criterion edition a revelation and relief. Incredibly, instead of cranking up the contrast on my old black and white television all the way in order to watch a silouhette show, I can now perceive the film as intended, completely with every nuance of shadows reflected in rain puddles, with the full pallette of greys and shades, with every blink and squint of Gabin's tired expressive eyes, fabled to have brought viewer to tears with a meaningful weary glance, and now knowing how, and why. This film by the son of the great Impressionist painter REnoir, is beautifully composed and written, and is the father of all later war movies, including the great escape by the plagiarist Sturges who also stole from Seven samauri. In fact in the sequences of Marichal and Rosenthal between imprisonment and arriving at the farmhouse we can see where Samuel Beckett got his ideas for Waiting for Godot: tramps sleeping in ditches with sore feet, alternately embracing and fighting, parting and reuniting, singing and discussing, under a bare tree and stone.

My only complaint with this as with many another Criterion edition is the dreary commentary which drones on and on entirely missing the point, calling a corpse a guard and not a prisoner, calling a French officer stand offish when clearly he is suppressing his fear at preparing himself for his sacrificial death in escape. THis is the most unpardonable, the commentators missing the great courage of this officer as he dresses himself for his inevitable death, missing the fact that he is biding time to give the two truly escaping five minutes to get out, while he alone flees up a castle wall keeping carefully in sight. HEY COMMENTATOR- don't you see why he is checking his watch every few minutes!!?? This commentator entirely misses the most important and subtle points while droning on in an english accent and how offensive it is to see english transvestites. Oh, well, do not turn on the commentator and enjoy over and over again this film, which powerfully builds with a subtlety and power which our modern disposable blockbusters will never have.

THe scenes in which Gabin is held in solitary confinement cared for by a compassionate prison guard are so much more powerful than Steve MacQueen throwing a baseball against the wall in Great Escape, and must make us think of the effects of our own "informal" prisoners of war and Supermax prisoners in solitary.

GET THIS FILM TODAY! Watch and learn for a lifetime.

I was very cautious in my expectations for this film. So much devotion to GRAND ILLUSION seemed to be based on its fantastic history, but would the movie be so good? Would it be dated?

Actually, it IS dated. And there's the strength. Renoir captures a time that is forever gone. No modern film could hope to capture this film's beautiful message. A message of honor and universal humanity. A film that takes time to sink in.

How beautifully ironic that a Nazi officer, and then the Soviet Union, were responsible for saving this master print. Renoir surely smiled from heaven.

The restoration that Criterion did on this film is worthy of an Oscar. If you saw the film in its old format, you might not appreciate how pretty Renoir's images are until you see the DVD version. The film is more somber than sad and it paints a pretty good picture of what perceptions of war must have been like before WWII. It's hard to believe anybody on opposing sides would be this nice to one another. There is quite a bit more honor in Renoir's characters than the contemporary viewer may be accustomed to and this may make some feel that Grand Illusion is sentimental. But Renoir is not looking back at the past with fondness--he just made the movie before the world became a lot more cynical.