MUBI brings you a great new film every day.  Start your 7-day free trial today!
Watch a new film every day for $4.99.
Try MUBI for FREE.
 

Grand Illusion

La grande illusion

France

1937

114 Min
Black and White
1.33:1
English, German, Russian, French
  • Currently 4.3/5 Stars.
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5

   |   

DIR Jean Renoir

PROD Frank Rollmer, Albert Pinkovitch

SCR Jean Renoir, Charles Spaak

DP Christian Matras

CAST Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Julien Carette, Jean Dasté, Sylvain Itkine, Georges Péclet, Gaston Modot, Marcel Dalio

ED Marguerite Houllé

MUSIC Joseph Kosma

Venice: Best Overall Artistic Contribution, Melbourne (Programme 12), Locarno (Sections spéciales / Carte blanche à Markus Imhoof), Berlinale (Retrospective)

Synopsis

One of the very first prison escape movies, Grand Illusion is hailed as one of the greatest films ever made. Jean Renoir’s antiwar masterpiece stars Jean Gabin and Pierre Fresnay, as French soldiers held in a World War I German prison camp, and Erich von Stroheim as the unforgettable Captain von Rauffenstein. —The Criterion Collection

Director

Original

Jean Renoir

The son of the painter Auguste Renoir, Jean Renoir became one of France’s most important and respected filmmakers during the middle of the 20th century. A Philosophy and Math student, Renoir became a cavalryman, but was invalided out of the army before World War I. Later, he married a model and aspiring actress, and, following the death of his father and the acquisition of an inheritance, set up his own production company to produce movies for his wife. Renoir learned from these early experiences of financing movies and watching other films, and became a director in 1924. With the advent of sound, Renoir’s career was quickly made with a series of profitable films, including La Chienne (1931), a savage and dark drama about a man’s self-destruction, which was later remade by Fritz Lang as Scarlet Street. Renoir’s subsequent films, including The Lower Depths (1936) and Grand Illusion (1937), were among the finest made in France before the war, and were well acknowledged at the time of… read more

Wall

Displaying 4 of 29 wall posts.
Picture of Liga dos Blogues Cinematográficos

Liga dos Blogues Cinematográficos

27May13

À Jean Renoir em A GRANDE ILUSÃO interessam principalmente as relações cordiais estabelecidas entre inimigos durante a Primeira Guerra Mundial, conflito tido por ele quase como uma guerra de cavalheiros. Ao apontar para as incontornáveis semelhanças entre povos separados por fronteiras e diferenças artificiais, o diretor acabou realizando um dos filmes mais belos e humanistas da história do cinema | Wallace Guedes

Wallace Andrioli likes this

Picture of DT

DT

2May13

CC#1: L’original - a laudable first edition. Containing caustic establishment undertones, yet coupled with such a romantic, egalitarian view of honour amongst soldiers, as the fraternal lingua franca (the pairing of Gabin, et al with von Stroheim but the start) - but of course, not entirely without tension; therein lies the rub. Nonetheless: The Benevolent Great Escape - sound montage.

Picture of AKFilmFan

AKFilmFan

21Mar13

While it isn't his masterpiece (Rules of the Game) I found this to be my favorite Renoir that despite it's episodic feel contains some great performances and commentary on the nature of war and class.

Picture of joey Noodles

joey Noodles

8Feb13

My first Renoir, great film!

  • Picture of Scorpio Velvet

    Scorpio Velvet

    8Feb13

    Same with me! And my personal favorite next to THE RULES OF THE GAME (1939)!

  • Picture of Duncan Gray

    Duncan Gray

    9Feb13

    Me too! Also, check out The Crime of Monsieur Lange, which is being played in this year's Director's Cup.

Related Films

Fans

Displaying 5 of 1914 fans.

Articles

Our roundup of essays and articles on this film.
W184

Movie Poster of the Week: Jean Grémillon’s “Remorques” and the Posters of the French Old Wave

By Adrian Curry on August 18, 2012

A look at some of the best original French posters for the films in Film Forum’s current series: The French Old Wave.

read article
W184

TCM Classic Film Festival 2012

By David Hudson on April 12, 2012

The festival opens with the world premiere of a new restoration of Cabaret.

read article
W184

Daily Briefing. Bergman's Videos, Antonioni's Docs and More

By David Hudson on April 6, 2012

Also: Posters for this year’s Directors’ Fortnight and Critics’ Week, “Great Directors” in San Francisco, Picasso in London and more.

read article
W184

Daily Briefing. Prison Breaks and Bank Heists

By David Hudson on February 27, 2012

Also: New issues of Offscreen and Networking Knowledge.

read article
W184

Losey, Tarkovsky, Renoir, Karmakar and More

By David Hudson on March 19, 2010

"Revived for a week at Film Forum in an excellent restored print, The Prowler (1951) may be the creepiest of classic noirs," writes J Hoberman

read article
W184

The Auteurs Daily: Bundles

By David Hudson on August 24, 2009

Some days just don't bundle well. Like today. No overriding theme, hot button issue or newly released title leaps out. Everyone does seem

read article

BluRay Review: LA GRANDE ILLUSION (1937)

By Twitchfilm.com on June 11, 2012
Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion is the kind of classic film that leaves you thinking ‘Wow, that must have been a really big deal in its day’. While it still possesses a great deal of power, for all its
read on Twitchfilm.com

Lists

Displaying 5 of 433 lists.

Reviews

Displaying 4 of 8

The war within

By Musycks on April 4, 2012

Doyen of the poetic realism movement Jean Renoir once wrote ’It’s not by being realistic that one has the best chance at capturing reality’, ergo La Grande Illusion is not a very ‘realistic’ war film…  read review

Untitled

By Alex Naidoo on July 17, 2009

Grand Illusion is a war film that focuses very little on war. Instead it focuses on those who have been brought together by war and how cultural and class differences affect their interactions. From…  read review

Untitled

By Sam Cooper on June 20, 2009

Considered one of the first films to deal with the whole prison escape theme, The Grand Illusion is an anti-war film directed by renowned French director, Jean Renoir. Two French soldiers are shot…  read review

Untitled

By J. Ridicul​ous on June 8, 2009

Renoir’s masterpiece is an incredible critique of the social and political divisions that consumed Europe before and during the first world war. It champions universal humanity over idealogical and…  read review

Forum

Displaying 2 discussion topics.

Any Thoughts on Grand Illusion?

41 posts by 26 people 10 months ago

Americanizing the translation

25 posts by 12 people almost 3 years ago

DVD

Buy the DVD from The Criterion Collection.