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Full Description
Directed by the great Jean Renoir, "La Grande Illusion" (1937) is the finest of all anti-war films and a cinematic masterwork. Other films oppose war by showing its horror. Renoir's film holds the horror at arm's length to give us a clearer view of it. A prisoner-of-war drama, with brilliant performances from leading stars of its period, including Erich von Stroheim and Jean Gabin, the film combines popular appeal with a formal brilliance that allows a complex examination of how classes, nations and genders relate to one another. In this comprehensive and readable companion to the film, Martin O'Shaughnessy underlines its sharp intelligence. He shows how, not content to register the world as it is, the film plays off competing historical possibilities against each other, facing the public with their responsibility to shape the future. Locating the film in the context of Renoir's career, O'Shaughnessy discusses its use of stars, production history, set design and reception. He compares known drafts of the film with a previously undiscovered story outline, casting important new light on its genesis. Stressing how it spoke to its times, he also demonstrates how it speaks to us now.
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgments
Introduction
1 Contexts:
A director and his two careers
Cast and creative personnel
Historical and political contexts
2 Genesis, evolution, preparation:
A long gestation
The evolving script
The plagiarism case
The set
3 Analysis:
Structure
Motifs
Film style
Shooting in deep time
Sequences and scenes
Misrepresenting the war?
4 Reception:
Pre-war triumph
Post-war controversy
Serene mastery?
Anti-Semitism?
Conclusion
Appendix 1: Renoi'r's films
Appendix 2: Cast and creative personnel
Appendix 3: The evolving script
Appendix 4: Selected bibliography
