A Great Drama of Human Emotions
Director: Jean Renoir
Producer: Frank Rollmer, Albert Pinkovitch
A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal, grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. When the men are transferred to a high-security fortress, they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein, who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu.
114 min
Rating: 7.855/10
Released
Watch Trailer
Top Cast
Jean Gabin
Le lieutenant Maréchal
Pierre Fresnay
Le capitaine de Boëldieu
Erich von Stroheim
Le capitaine von Rauffenstein
Marcel Dalio
Le lieutenant Rosenthal
Dita Parlo
Elsa
Julien Carette
Cartier, l'acteur
Movie Info
Director: Jean Renoir
Producer: Frank Rollmer, Albert Pinkovitch
Production Companies: Réalisation d'Art Cinématographique
Countries: France
Similar Movies
The Last Parade
1931-01-31
Zborov
1939-01-06
Bécquer and the Witches
2018-10-19
The Last Mistress
2007-05-30
Persepolis
2007-06-27
The Edge of Heaven
2007-09-27
Aphrodite
1982-01-01
Savior
1998-06-01
Could This Be Love?
2007-02-08
The Bourne Identity
2002-06-14
Madame Bovary
1991-03-03
The Diary of Anne Frank
1959-03-18
Monsieur Batignole
2002-03-06
Mythos Côte d'Azur - Liebe, Luxus, Leidenschaft
2021-11-25
Earth and Ashes
2004-05-13
The Face Behind the Mask
1938-03-19
Somme 1916, la bataille insensée
2016-03-01
The Lark Farm
2007-01-01
My Uncle Benjamin
1969-11-28User Reviews
What Others Said
CinemaSerf:
Very much more of a character-driven look at the experiences of French prisoners during the first world war. The inmates represent - much as did their army - soldiers from all aspects of life. The aristocratic Pierre Fresnay as "Boeldieu", Jean Gabin "Maréchal" and Marcel Dalio "Rosenthal" as the more down to earth captives - but all proud Frenchmen with their own determination to escape their imprisonment. The film features many of their valiant escape attempts; along with providing us with quite an interesting illustration of the toughness of their existence and the diversions they sought from the terminal ennui. "Boeldieu" forms an unlikely, respectful relationship with the Commandant - Erich von Stroheim; a fellow aristocrat who feels himself a failure for ending up as a glorified jailor rather than fighting gallantly on the battlefield. On a basic level, it is really quite routine; and the ending almost incidental: what makes this distinctive is the way the story interweaves the decline of a centuries old class system; the chivalric honour between opponents being a thing of the past. This is very much about "Egalité" and "Fraternité" in order to secure "Liberté" and is told in as sympathetic a fashion as it is possible given the gritty peril of their circumstances. Gabin and von Stroheim are particularly effective as is Joseph Kosma's score and the tightly focussed direction on just a few central characters really does give this a sense of purpose.