STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED
Unmissable
Excellent
Good
Poor
Tragic

FILM DETAILS

Certificate PG

Cast Pierre Fresnay Erich von Stroheim Jean Gabin Julien Carette.

Directors Jean Renoir.

Screenwriters Jean Renoir Charles Spaak.

Running Time 110 minutes

LATEST FILM REVIEWS Behind The Candelabra Iceman , The Before Midnight Everybody Has A Plan Easy Money 5 STAR REVIEWS My Neighbour Totoro Gatekeepers , The Stoker In The House Lincoln

La Grande Illusion
Jean Renoir's humanist masterpiece

Tweet

Plot
Two French officers in a POW camp during World War I befriend a Jew and begin to hatch an escape plan from the supposed impenetrable fort. The three are separated with the two Frenchmen arriving at a fort months later only to find their friend there already.

Review
A profound examination of the nature of war, with a strong pacifist — but not appeasing — streak. In 1916, commandant Von Stroheim runs a supposedly escape-proof German POW camp and comes to respect one of his charges, aristocratic French officer Fresnay. They share a doomed vision of honourable war that the carnage of World War One has rendered hideously obsolete, and a tragic escape attempt brings the truth home to them both.

With a letter-perfect performance from Von Stroheim, and a potent examination of the differences of class and attitude among the prisoners and the guards, this is less hectoring than most anti-war films, but nevertheless makes a lasting statement.

Write Your Review
To write your review please login or register.

Your Reviews

Average user rating for La Grande Illusion

Watched today: tp://www.imdb.com/title/tt0028950/]La Grande Illusionean Renoir`s masterpiece is one of the best anti-war films I`ve ever seen. Inside the P.O.W. camp everybody is accepted for who he is without looking at one`s background. There even grows somewhat of a friendship between the captured French officers and the German commander (an excellent role by Erich von Stroheim). What if they`d met under different circumstances? A beautiful humanistic piece of work in wich the always exce... More

Posted by TheGodfather at 23:28, 02 June 2012 | Report This Post

Powerful Story Telling

When I took my intro to film class, I was given a list of foreign films and I had to read one from the list. I called my sister, who was a French major to ask her if she could recommend a good French film. She told be that I should try any film by Jean Renoir. This film was the only one of his films on his list. I loved the movie, much more that Renoir's La Règle du jeu. The story is a compelling story about the harsh realities of war. The characters are people you can connect with. ... More

Posted by kingtutiii at 05:57, 04 April 2012 | Report This Post

CURRENT HIGHLIGHTS
		Clint Mansell On Making Requiem For A Dream 'Darren had to edit at night because he could get access to the studio for free then.'
		Arrested Development Video Interviews Say hello to Jeffrey Tambor, David Cross, Tony Hale, Michael Cera and Alia Shawkat
		Empire's Favourite Music Moments From The Pixies to Burt Bacharach via Audioslave
		Cannes Film Festival Videblogisode #2 Episode II: Attack Of The Clouds featuring Emma Watson and Paul Haggis
		The 20 Soundtracks That Defined The 2000s The sounds of a dark knight, a mischievous Parisian, a troubled family and one flying house...
		Movie Poster Mashups: The Furniture Edition You'll laugh, you'll cry, you'll be appalled at the punning...
		Dwayne Johnson Talks Fast & Furious 6 'I wanted to come in and frankly dominate the movie.'

Follow @empiremagazine