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trolley freak
20Dec11
As a former member of the French Resistance himself, this totally gripping drama is the most personal and maybe the best film Melville ever made. He nurtured it for a quarter of a century and managed to create an atmosphere of foreboding where his characters are constantly at risk of betrayal and imminent death. Melville regular Ventura and Signoret stand out in a film that is the summit of his directorial career....
AntioneOscar69
29Sep11
One of the best films ever made set during World War II.. which is quite an accomplishment. Gritty, haunting, great performances, tight yet deliberate direction, moody and mysterious. A masterpiece.
Nick McGaw
15Sep11
Slow, but gripping. If you can get past the masterpiece theatre vibe, there's a near classic underneath. This is a film which takes its characters seriously and has seriously considered the implications of their actions and inactions. Not a walk in the park, but a worthwhile lecture.
Feu_follet
26Aug11
Darker than all I've seen of Melville's films, Army of Shadows is a puzzle and a complete tour de force of suspense and tension.
T.J. Royal
10Aug11
Didn't know it was possible: That each main character could have the exact same dispassionate emotional arc throughout an entire motion picture. I still liked this for what it was. The shadow-drenched style went a long way to illustrating the struggle against the German occupation. But I felt a significant emotional disconnect between the characters and their situation. Great urgency was lacking a lot of the time.
Jake Cole
16Jul11
Melville's metallic tones and stark existentialism have never been more oppressively intimate yet thematically vast. A portrait of the early days of insurrection, as moral quandaries harden into uncompromising force. It does show heroism, but also the dark side of it, and I can't recall a war film feeling more resolutely sad.
Dave
22May11
It still amazes me that this film was not released in the U.S. until nearly 40 years after it was made. It is one of the best French films of all time and remains my favorite from Melville. It's part war film, part noir, part Melville gangster-cool. Incredible moviemaking and an all-time classic.
Lorna Singh likes this
Zachary George Najarian-Najafi
16Feb11
Melville directs with such passion here. Army of Shadows is just as cool and exciting as his gangster films. The striking visual stylizations make perfect use of muddy grays, blues, and browns and low-key camera work that rackets up the tension. However instead of archetypes like Melville's gangsters, these are real people, tossed into compromising positions whom we truly care about. I had chills right down my spine.
Border Radio
21Jan11
Depressing and dark as a resistance movie should be. Had its moments but didn't hang together.
Edna Sweetlove likes this
Erik Villasenor
28Dec10
It doesn't even feel like it's 2 hours long, well paced and extremely gripping.
Sudipto Basu
23Oct10
Melville's masterpiece. Understated throughout, which is appropriate for a film that is about an underground revolution.
There Will Be Josh Schasny
4Oct10
This was one of the most depressing films I have seen. Melville had a style throughout the entire film that recalls the classic approach to filmmaking with a modern vibe to it (for its time). This has been called his most personal film and is highly worthwhile. A classic in its own right.
Devon Hansen
16Jun10
holy shit. move over, Early Spring. #1 on the netflix queue has a new occupant.
Zebedee Franklin
13Feb10
powerful, haunting and chilling film, that draws you close to the dread that must have filled the maquis asleep or awake as the Gestapo and informers drew ever nearer. Brilliant
