#1 - The Grand Illusion

So we start this endeavor with a film that Criterion no longer prints.  It is a classic I had never heard of, by a director I barely heard of (Jean Renoir) - Clearly I have a lot to learn on this trip :D

I don't know if I'm going to be writing summaries of the films here as much as my impressions - This film kept my attention the whole way thru, with it's depiction of WWI prison life.  I was struck by how much it reminded me of WWII POW films, such as Stalag 17 or The Great Escape.  I was also struck by the depiction of what I would call, familiarity and decency between the POW's and the Guards.

It is here that one of the special features of the Disc paid off - Jean Renoir himself talking about the 1958 re-release.   This film was shot before WWII and the Nazis.  There was a last vestige of the aristocracy between the French Captive, Captain de Boeldieu, and his German counterpart, Captain  von Rauffenstein.   From the very first scenes, you get the impression that WWI among captured officers was as far from the front lines as we are in the 21st century from Trench warfare.

Of course, no POW film is complete without some escape attempts, and the 2nd half of the film is driven by the narrative of the escape of two Lieutenants, one a working class Mechanic from Paris, and one an upper class Jewish naturalized citizen.   I suspect this is what drove the Nazis to attempt to destroy all copies of the movie, as their friendship is among the strongest represented in the picture.

As a final note - (although it's unavailable to anyone without access to the disk) - There is a special feature on how the film was restored.   I'll probably write some interludes here and there, thoughts on things like film restoration, subtitles, and the like, but to see what the print WAS and what Criterion restored it to is magnificent - The technology only gets better and better - The Apu Trilogy by Satyajit Ray was recently restored, and folks have commented that what is on the Blu-ray is probably better than any copy that ever made the theater.   It's wonderful to have these films without the scratches and noise, that, like crackle on a vinyl record, can serve as fatigue of sorts as the film goes along.

There is some excellent trivia at wikipedia, of course, and I'll leave you with that link regarding some of the history and themes.   This film feels like it's needed in today's world - I can see why it would be the first film they chose to release when they started the DVD series


The Grand Illusion - at Wikipedia