La Grande illusion (The Grand Illusion) poster & wallpaper

Dita Parlo, Erich von Stroheim, Jean Gabin

Two French soldiers -- blue-collar Maréchal (Jean Gain) and genteel de Boieldieu (Pierre Fresnay) -- strive to overcome their differences while plotting their escape from a German prison camp during W...( read more  read more... )orld War I. Meanwhile, de Boieldieu finds a kindred spirit among his captors in a patrician German officer (Erich von Stroheim). Directed by Jean Renoir, the film is one of the first prison-break movies ever made and is considered a genre classic.

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94% liked it

7,017 ratings

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97% liked it

34 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 54 min.

Directed by: Jean Renoir

Release Date: January 1, 1937

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DVD Release Date: March 24, 1998

Stats: 464 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (464)

  • columbiatch
    August 20, 2009
    columbiatch
    One thing that jumps out at me is how humanist this film is. Every character is treated with the utmost respect and dignity even with their faults and prejudices. It's kind of unbelievable that how nice the Germans treat their prisoners, and the prison seems more like a summer ca...( read more)mp. I also enjoyed Renoir's elliptical narrative and use of long takes.
  • jplong39
    July 5, 2009
    jplong39
    My favorite Renoir, and starring the great Jean Gabin and Erich von Stroheim
  • rubystevens
    April 13, 2009
    rubystevens
    it's the mother of all prison escape films!
  • dooritor1
    April 20, 2008
    dooritor1
    Not all its said to be.. in fact its pretty weak.
  • QueenCityFilms
    March 5, 2008
    QueenCityFilms
    excellent flim!
  • ElCochran90
    October 17, 2009
    ElCochran90
    "Frontiers are an invention of men. Nature doesn't give a hoot."

    LA GRANDE ILLUSION (1937)


    Director: Jean Renoir
    Country: France
    Genre: Drama / War
    Length: 114 minutes

    ...( read more)com/albums/ww125/ElCochran90/Decorated%20images/?action=view¤t=grandeillusion2.jpg" target="_blank">Photobucket

    La Grande Illusion allowed director Jean Renoir to acquire worldwide cinematic recognition including Hollywood fame, without mentioning the private screening President Roosevelt was shown at the White House in the year of 1937. La Grande Illusion is much more than a film hailed as one of the greatest masterpieces of all time, but it is a beautifully composed and directed essay through the eyes of experience and a humanly accurate perspective, which belonged to Jean Renoir, a cinema giant that achieved to become an astounding auteur with a poetically well-established vision through one of the most expressive visual arts ever conceived by mankind: the 7th Art. Such project, evidently, would be subject to several reactions, from heartwarming acceptance to complete rejection. Whereas Benito Mussolini banned it in Italy and German politician Joseph Goebbels prohibited its national distribution, a film that was thought either lost or destroyed would be reconstructed by Renoir himself during the 50's. Nowadays, its historical importance has reached strikingly relevant levels, considering the fact that the film portrays both sides of the war in the most possible and empathetic way, culminating with an extraordinary ending sequence.

    La Grande Illusion is set during World War I where two French officers are captured in Germany by the Captain Von Rauffenstein. Whereas Lieutenant Marechal used to be a mechanic before the war, Captain de Boeldieu belonged to aristocracy, who has a brief friendly encounter with Von Rauffenstein. They are later taken to the Hallbach POW under the German constant surveillance, where both de Boeldieu and Marechal meet several other characters from different backgrounds, such as Rosenthal, son of a wealthy Jewish family. Because of an escape attempt, among other discipline violations commited in Hallbach, destiny makes these characters be transported to the Wintersborn POW camp, where Von Rauffenstein is now in command. However, Captain de Boeldieu is put within a moral plot when he has to decide whether to remain with his fellow companions or to understand and reassume his true position among with the other POWs and his newly formed special relationship with Captain Von Rauffenstein. La Grande Illusion is one of the few foreign films in the history of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture. Jean Renoir was ironically nominated for the award called Mussolini Cup - which lost against Julien Duvivier's Un Carnet de Bal (1937) - and won the award of Best Overall Artistic Contribution at the Venice Film Festival in the same year.

    Having served in the air force during WWI, Jean Renoir completely understood the implications of the concept of humanity and masterly applied it to a timeless and hauntingly inspirational classic where the utterly astonished audience is left the choice of either supporting the humanistic ideas portrayed in the film or adopting a particular side, whether it was of a Jewish, a German or a French character. Thanks to the brilliant and tranquilly built direction, such mentality is impossible to accept, since the worst enemy against a soldier is war itself, but not the opposite side or the army of an enemy country. The brutality of war is compensated with the underlying sensitive layers of the psychology of each character, each one of them realizing they have a different and independent role once these individuals with so varied backgrounds are put together under the same circumstances. Normally, Germans, French and Jews would endlessly fight with their respective armies in a battlefield. In La Grande Illusion, they form a fiercely cohesive group with a single purpose, independently of the fact that destiny had a personal plan for each and every one of them. This aspect, of course, comes from the comprehension Renoir had towards the human condition and how the senselessness of war itself affects our love towards sanity, resulting in cinematic neutrality.

    La Grande Illusion effectively works more as one of the most influential films of all time than just as one of the very first prison break films, since it surpasses that concept. Man's humanity to man is the most benign and sociable characteristic war itself brings out, thus exterminating almost any possible social and political boundary existent between mankind and daringly defying racial and discriminatory statements, taking the relevance out of them. The fulfillment of personal duties is a habit originated from the feeling of membership towards a particular country or group, whether it is political or social; consequently, it plays an important role within the film. Romance is not an absent characteristic in La Grande Illusion, thus perfectly illustrating the most profound and yet desperate yearnings of the human heart. A German widow, mother of a little girl, disinterestedly receives a Jew and a French officer, and even ends up starting an emotional relationship with one of them. Destiny is an unstoppable force; however, the events portrayed throughout lack a sense of irony, clearly establishing the astonishingly true connection between cause and consequence.

    The scenario and dialogue originally written by Jean Renoir and Belgian screenwriter Charles Spaak necessarily had to resort to a classic structure, yet with several poetical touches throughout in order to emphasize mankind's irrefutable nobility. Cinematographer Christian Matras wonderfully captures the POW camps and natural spring and winter landscapes without a predominant sensation of awkwardness, thanks to the balance and detail each shot contains. The musical score offers inspiration and a rebirth, suggesting a new beginning for the soul. La Grande Illusion is the conglomeration of all the elements that put together are capable of creating a powerful and everlasting feature film with a message aimed to the masses.

    Before John Sturges' The Great Escape (1963) and Frank Darabont's overrated The Shawshank Redemption (1994), La Grande Illusion is not only the best film of such a legend of cinema, but also a reminder to worldwide nations to reflect and deeply analyze the complexity of the spirit and what empowerment and tragedy really mean, not mentioning how both terms unfortunately tend to intertwine, bringing along catastrophic results, despite that honor and justice will always prevail. A film which historical importance has nowadays been honored and highly respected, La Grande Illusion pushes the limits of the genres of war and drama, and takes them to never imagined epic levels. It is cinema at its best.

    100/100
  • jscottcorley
    September 5, 2009
    jscottcorley
    Renoir is the bomb. A prison camp film from WWI with a unique perspective. Finely acted and thought provoking.
  • jam233
    July 9, 2009
    jam233
    An incredible masterpiece by director Jean Renoir. The cast is superb a the story is always fascinating. The character development is outstanding. The story is one of the best anti-war screenplays ever. Brilliant.
  • jschartrand
    April 7, 2009
    jschartrand
    While it's really too long and endless, the acting is good and the story interesting in the jail moments.
  • KellyRikDixon
    February 25, 2009
    KellyRikDixon
    During World War I, two French soldiers plot an escape from a German prison camp, succeed, and then take refuge in the home of a German widow. This 30's war drama has the grave misfortune of being French, something which cinema must really try not to be if it wishes to be any goo...( read more)d. Fortunately, the necessary objectivity that making a war film entails overcomes this, as war is war, and it's hard to branch much further away from that. Whilst the performances are fine, and there are some enjoyable scenes, the first 2/3 or so has way too many boring moments, and a generally very draggy tone. Post escape, it's very watchable but still nothing special, and the characters on the whole are pretty forgettable. Maybe worth one watch if you're into this kind of thing...

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Critic Reviews

January 1, 2000
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times

... the camera doesn't point or intrude, but glides. full review

View more La Grande illusion (The Grand Illusion) reviews at RottenTomatoes.com

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  • For what famous film was this the final uttered line of dialogue or narration (translated into subtitles or not)? :"Don't shoot—they're in Switzerland." "Good for them."   Answer »
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