La Grande Illusion (1937)
- Directed by
- Jean Renoir
- Genre
- drama film
- Country
- France
- Runtime
- 2h 04m
- Rated
- NR
- Rating
- 7.9 of 10 from 784 voters
- Elsewhere
- IMDb
The catalogue in 3D
The film shelves have a room of their own that you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real films from the same catalogue when you tell them what you feel like watching. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this film is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.
How it feels
French officers in a German prisoner of war camp plot an escape during World War I. The film focuses on relationships between men of different classes and nationalities, showing how the barriers of war break down.
humanisticthoughtfulbittersweetslow-pacedclass-consciouspoignantrestrainedculturedquietly tense
What happens
La Grande Illusion (commonly known in English as "The Grand Illusion") is a 1937 French war drama film directed by Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are German prisoners of war during World War I and are plotting an escape. The title of the film comes from the 1909 book The Great Illusion by British journalist Norman Angell, which argued that war is futile because of the common economic interests of all European nations. The perspective of the film is generously humanistic to its characters of various nationalities. La Grande Illusion is regarded by critics and film historians as one of the masterpieces of French cinema. Orson Welles named La Grande Illusion as one of the two movies he would take with him "on the ark". Director and producer Sydney Pollack picked La Grande Illusion as one of his ten favorite films of all time. In 1958, the film was voted number 5 on the prestigious Brussels 12 list at the 1958 World Expo. In 1995, the Vatican included La Grande Illusion in its list of 45 "great films" under the category of "Art". Empire magazine ranked it #35 in "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)
More like this
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The Citadel of Silence (1937)
Culprit (1937)
Sarati the Terrible (1937)
The Call of Life (1937)
Lady Killer (1937)
Abused Confidence (1937)
Boissière (1937)- More like this film, on a shelf you can walk up to.It's the lit case on the top shelf.