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Grande Illusion

La Grande Illusion

1937

Jean Renoir

Jean Gabin, Erich von Stroheim, Pierre Fresnay, Marcel Dalio ...

8.0

8,675

Drama 1916, during World War I. Lieutenant Maréchal and Capitaine de Boeldieu are two combat pilots who are shot down by the Germans. They are taken to a prisoner of war camp where they strike up a friendship with Lieutenant Rosenthal, a wealthy Jew who shares lavish food parcels sent by his family with his fellow prisoners. The three men help with digging a tunnel in a bid to escape from their prison, but they are transferred to another camp ... [+]

	Author	Review
United States	Roger Ebert rogerebert.com	"Masterpiece (...) In his best films observation and sympathy for the characters define every shot; there is hardly a camera decision made for pure effect (…) Rating: ★★★★ (out of 4)"	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Bradshaw The Guardian	"Jean Renoir's great anti-war develops the fallacy of its title with tragic and ironic grandeur (...) A vividly humanist, anti-war classic (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Tim Robey Telegraph	"Not only hugely important in film history (...) but a sorrowful, acutely thoughtful, and wholly imperishable masterpiece (...) [It] holds up sublimely (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	William Thomas Empire	"A profound examination of the nature of war (...) One of the great humanist war films, Jean Renoir's masterpiece continues to echo down the decades (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United Kingdom	Dave Calhoun Time Out	"Masterpiece (...) Such sharply political films are rarely so entertaining, natural and humane (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Variety	"An artistically masterful feature, the picture breathes the intimate life of warriors on both sides during the First World War. It gives a different slant on the inner mental workings of those caught in the maelstrom of warfare"	POS
United Kingdom	Peter Freedman Radio Times	"Masterpiece (...) Though not an easy film, in any sense, it's worth the effort (…) Rating: ★★★★★ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Jaime N. Christley Slant	"It would be difficult to find a body of work by any other master that’s as majestic as it is serene (…) Rating: ★★★★½ (out of 5)"	POS
United States	Michael Phillips Chicago Tribune	"It's a dream of a picture in every sense, and considering all who wanted to destroy it (...) it is looking very, very good indeed."	POS
United States	Dave Kehr Chicago Reader	"It's an excellent film, with Renoir's usual looping line and deft shifts of tone"	POS

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