Customer Reviews

The Sorrow and the Pity [VHS]

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To most film viewers, this masterpiece of Marcel Ophuls is known by being continuously mentioned by Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in "Annie Hall". Yes, it is the long documentary film about the holocaust that they talk about.

Marcel Ophuls, son of Max Ophuls has created a poignant potrait of french society under the Nazis occupation, and their relation to the most horible crime in human history -- he indeed is not afraid to tell the truth; that holocaust took place in France because the French citizen allowed it to happen to the least to say, and even have colaborated to it. However, this film is not a simple minded accusation, but a thoughtful study about a society under pressure, and its strugle for survival.

It certainly is a deppressing film; the viewers are constantl reminded to what they would have done if they were --we were-- living under such sircumstances. It is truthful to that extreme extent. It's an amazing film; thoughtful, inteligent, emotional.

The opening of this film steered quite a controversy in Frannce, but neverthless had led the way to fictional films about the Holocaust and the ocupation that are more mature and adult, not afraid to portray the truth; Jean-Pierre Melville's THE ARMY OF SHADOW, Francois Truffaut's THE LAST METRO, among others.

This is the most moving documentary I have seen. It transports the viewer back to World War II France and conveys the courage, cowardice and hatred arrising from events most of us will thankfully never have to live through. This film helps the viewer understand (or gain an insight)into life in occupied France.

I was born in 1968 - well after the end of WWII. Like most English people I hold the view that we either kicked French ass, or saved their skin depending on the particular conflict (we'll forget about the Norman invasion and Joan of Arc). However, given total collapse, would the UK or US be any different? Some people would collaborate (for ideological or financial reasons, perhaps for survival or out of ignorance), the majority would do nothing and the minority would resist. Would it be so different for any other country? One area the film touches on is the French treatment of Jews - it would appear the French were just as inhernly anti-semitic as the Germans. Anti semitism in france appears to be systemic (e.g. WWI ?Dreyfus affair).

One disturbing aspect of the film was the punishment of young women who slept with the Germans. The most minor acts of collaboration were treated the most harshly. The war in france during the occupation bordered on cival war between factions of the resistance (FFI, Gaulist) and Nazi groups (Millice). A situation amounting to anarchy existed for a short period after the liberation.

Sorrow and pity sum up what I felt for many of the individuals concerned. It presents a dilema I hope I am never faced with - we don't know how we would react both as nations or individuals unless placed in those circumstances. Probaly the closest the UK came was the Channel Islands, occupied from 40-45. The only part of the US that has lived under military occupation, since the revolution, is the South after the defeat of the Confederacy in 1865 - neither example is comprable to the total defeat of France in WWII. The doucmentary brings home the shades of grey in war. No conflict is balck or white, however much we wish it were. Otherwise 'normal' people do bad things - this film illustrates the moral ambiguity war imposes.

Easy to understand why France wants to forget this period.

Thank goodness this is now available to US and Canadian viewers. Ophuls did a masterful job of interviewing members of the French Resistance and other participants in World War II. One can learn so much about this war from many interesting points of view not usually in our history books. Many of the people featured in this documentary are sadly long gone but their dedication and devotion to their cause is inspirational as well as informative.

I was a little daunted at watching "The Sorrow and the Pity" because it is four hours long, and in Annie Hall Woody Allen presents this movie as a sort of dour duty that you have to sit through to prove your own ethical hardiness. It turns out that this landmark documentary is as gripping and riveting as any fine fictional film, because it handles its thorny issues with great skill and is as carefully crafted and filmed as a Hollywood thriller. I wonder how much Ken Burns was influenced by it, because it seems to be a sort of forerunner of his work; that is, documentaries that are planned and executed as art, not just as regurgitation of stale facts.

Ophuls talks to many French and Germans who lived during the time, and who either resisted the Nazis or gave into them. (It's a little aggravating that on the DVD there are no titles to identify who is speaking; you have to piece together who said what from a close reading of the closing credits.) People were more innocent 30 years ago about appearing before a camera and they maybe weren't as aware of just how revealing about themselves it could be. Thus you get interview subjects like Laval's nephew, and the former German officer at his child's wedding, and the aristocrat who joined the Waffen SS, who inadvertently disclose their opportunism or self-deception or venality or cowardice. The clips from now rarely seen propaganda films that Ophuls uses are mesmerizing. During the scenes from the anti-Semitic "Jud Suss" you get a feeling of palpable evil as you view just how the Nazis prepared their subjects for the coming holocaust.

Ophuls presents Vichy as a colossal moral failure by the French people, a collapse of character that haunts them to this very day. (Ophuls couldn't get French financing for the film, and then state-run French television refused to show it.) He shatters forever the myth that all the French were in the Resistance. "Sorrow" and "pity" are the very words one uses to define "tragedy"; "tragedy" is the word you must use to describe the French experience of World War II. This film is a solemn reminder of the dangers of appeasing or collaborating with fascism, and it's more relevant than ever.

Like many other Americans, I had a skewed view of French participation in WWII. I mean, the prevailing wisdom is that they fought (badly) a short time, surrendered ignominiously, and then wanted a huge chunk of the glory and German territory to occupy after the English and the Americans saved them from the Nazis. But after watching The Sorrow and The Pity, I came away with a different view.
On the eve of WWII, France was a country beset by weak political leadership and growing tensions between left and right. The Socialist government of Leon Blum was widely reviled and after its collapse the country drifted from one domestic crisis to another as war clouds gathered ominously to the east. On paper, France was well-prepared for war with the numerically fewer and militarily less advanced German army. The German high command did not think the war would be easy and many doubted that France could be beaten. But it was. As it turned out, German ideology, discipline, and training trumped French overconfidence and disunity.
The Sorrow and the Pity shows the tragedy of defeat and the disarray into which France fell in its aftermath. WWI hero Petain took command in the part of France the Germans did not occupy and made Vichy its capital. He made many errors, but in retrospect you have to say he tried to keep the Germans at bay as much as possible. Think how the war may have turned out had the Germans occupied the country entirely!
In a series of interviews interspersed with period film footage we see the occupation through the eyes of both the occupier and the occupied. We hear stories of bravery and cowardice, tragedy and triumph, loyalty and treachery. Deep thinkers might be left musing about what might have happened in their own countries under similar circumstances. Importantly, we get two views of Laval and Petain instead of just the usual dismissal of them both as traitors.
The Sorrow and the Pity should give all of us pause. Watch, listen, learn and think about what your own reactions might be if your country were occupied. Would you use occupation as a cover to settle personal vendettas? Would you keep your head down and try to go about your business unobtrusively? Would you passively resist? Or would you actively work for liberation? We all might imagine ourselves as doing the most heroic thing, but what would we really do? And would you rationalize whatever it was you ended up doing after it was all over? Millions of Germans and Frenchmen did!
I really recommend that anyone interested in obtaining a well-rounded view of WWII and the French role in it take the 4 hours+ and see The Sorrow and the Pity. Not only does the viewer learn a lot about that aspect of the war, but also about human nature. This is truly a gripping story from start to finish.

60 years ago France negotiated a peace with Hitler and the country was split: Germany occupied the north while Petain's collaborationist; puppet government installed itself in the South. France was the only conquered country in WWII to have established a collaborationist government. To further disgrace herself in defeat, she was proactive in Hitler's Final Solution by instituting the same anti-Semitic policies as had been enacted elsewhere in Hitler's Europe and in sending thousands of French citizens to death camps. How could this have been possible? Is one man to blame? Hitler? Petain? Or is an entire nation guilty? While most of France sat idly by, small groups of patriots-risking death, torture, and deportation--formed resistance factions within France to combat the Nazi propaganda and even undermine German military strength with sabotage and assassinations. These "terrorists" as the German's called them, sacrificed everything for their ideals. While the experience of World War II and the evils of Hitler have been recorded in countless mediums,The Sorrow and The Pity is one of the most important if for no other reason than because there is a sense in our (American) society that war is fiction. It is almost absurd to think of one's homeland being invaded--even occupied--by another country. Surely, our civilization has moved beyond the barbarism of those days! Watch this documentary and try to understand, because these events are not fiction. They really happened. It was only 60 years ago.

Never in my life have I seen a film dedicated to the subject of Vichy France. I had long read about it but knew very little about the official pronouncements of the collaborationist government. I assumed that The Sorrow and the Pity was strictly a documentary about the French resistance, but was pleasantly surprised by its depth. It describes the Vichy of Petain and Laval quite thoroughly. You may recognize some of Ophuls' interviewees from The World at War (such as Edward Spears), but the stand out individual here was the fellow who volunteered for the SS. I assume he served in the Charlemagne outfit. Frankly, I was surprised he was alive and actually showing his face. His point that the slaughter of 1,600 French sailors by the English was a motivating force for him to join the Germans was something I would have never considered. It seems inconceivable back then for the French to have even hesitated siding with anybody other than England--given the competition--but it is clear that Anglophobia was rampant after "the rout" of May 1940. The most sensational thing about this film is the footage of the collaborationists. It seems as if modern history has made great attempts to cover up just how much the citizenry backed Petain (at first) and looked sympathetically to the Nazis. The speeches, the newsreels, and the photos are incredibly valuable and terribly interesting- especially if you're a history buff. I'd rank this one right up there with Hotel Terminus.

This is a 4 1/2 hour documentary, directed by Marcel Ophuls, about France during the occupation in WW II. Most of the movie consists of interviews with French people about their roles during the war and what life was like then; it does a lot of debunking of the French Resistance, showing most people resigning themselves to the Nazis in order to survive: no sign of great heroics here. Obviously, this caused much controversy when the film came out. Despite its length and format, the movie is never dull. A most interesting documentary.

This is the way a great documentary is supposed to be made. This film came at a time when documentaries were few and far between, it remains riveting for every minute of its 251 minute length. It succeeds by telling a coherent story as well as an enthralling one. Most documentaries these days throw everything at you (in a hasty, sloppy manner), and load up their films with endless "talking head" shots. Then when they're criticised for it, they come up with the usual adage "it's up to the viewer to decide.". While the ultimate judge is the viewer, this is not a reason for a "cut and paste" approach to the film. This approach removes the narrative flow from many recent documentaries. This film tells its story so well and brilliantly, like a grand novel, and illuminates you on the Vichy government, and how it was really like to live and how complicated it is to live under an occupation. There are some historians here and there, but the film deals mainly with those who lived and fought the Nazis, those with the most at stake. That's one of the reasons the film is so riveting. It comes across as human, something many documetaries miss entirely. It's a great film. Its length means nothing, because you're never bored. A must...

A milestone of documentary film-making, "Sorrow" captures this devastating period in France's history in painfully frank, unblinking terms, and provides no easy answers, just as there were none at the time. The French people had no choice but to adapt to this oppressive new social order, since rebellion or escape was a life-or-death proposition. So, were the collaborators as guilty as the occupiers? And were those that rebelled really that heroic, if it meant their families would also suffer for their death and betrayal of the occupying forces? Watch this unnerving masterpiece, and reach your own conclusions.