La grande illusion
Subtitle: (Jean Renoir, 1937)
By: Martin O'Shaughnessy
Series: Ciné-Files: the French film guides; French film guides series
Publisher: I.B. Tauris; Distributed in the United States and Canada exclusively by Palgrave Macmillan
Published: 2009
Place of publication: London; New York; New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 126
ISBN-13: 9781848850576
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 the conflict. 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."--Jacket.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references (p. [125]-126).

Filmography: p. [115]-116.
Table of contents: title: Contexts. A director and his two careers; title: Cast and creative personnel; title: Historical and political contexts; title: Genesis, evolution, preparation. A long gestation; title: The evolving script; title: The plagiarism case; title: The set; title: Analysis. Structure; title: Film style and group dynamics; title: Shooting in deep time; title: Close analysis : form and meaning; title: Misrepresenting the war?; title: Reception. Pre-war triumph; title: Post-war controversy; title: Serene mastery?; title: Anti-Semitism?; title: Appendix 1. Renoir's films; title: Appendix 2. Cast and creative personnel; title: Appendix 3. The evolving script.