Grand Illusion - Criterion Collection (1938)

Retrospection on the Great War

This story is set in 1916. French soldiers are in a bar. Marechal is summoned to HQ for a mission to photograph the enemy lines. But they are shot down (off camera) and brought to the enemy officer's barracks for lunch. The war does not prevent formal manners. The officer prisoners are then sent to a POW camp. They receive packages of food to supplement their rations. Some of the prisoners are digging an escape tunnel. The details are shown; the same techniques will be used in the next war. There is a problem with getting fresh air into the tunnel. Dirt from the tunnel is dropped in the garden. The conversations tell about their characters. The prisoners put on a show for entertainment. "It's a long way to Tipperary." The news about a battle for Verdun causes the singing of the Marseillaise [as in "Casablanca"].

New orders arrive: the officers are to be moved to a new camp far behind the lines. Three are sent to an escape-proof castle. [Colditz?] The Commandant treats the prisoners with politeness. Soon they plan to escape to Switzerland. Is there a bond between the professional army officers who are of the nobility? There is a large Christmas package that contains a surprise! The guards do not like the music from the prisoners. A roll call creates a distraction. Boieldieu suffers for his distraction. Marechal and Rosenthal escape down the wall. They find shelter. The woman's husband, father, and brothers were all killed in the war - great victories. But they must continue on their journey to Switzerland. The grand illusion is that this will be the last war. You can compare this film to the POW films made after WW II.

In real life "Rosenthal" (Marcel Dalio) escaped to America and played a part in "Casablanca". After WW II the formation of two nearly equal alliances prevented another European war. This changed after 1990, and there was a war in the Balkans (as before WW I). [Reading subtitles detracts from watching the characters.] June 16, 2008

Contradictions and Humanity: A Gentleman's War

Introduction
Trying to make sense of the time period: 1910 to 1920, I referred to various media and formats. I began with Alfred W. Crosby's America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918. Using Crosby's reportage as a starting point, I viewed 10 hours of video or a mini series based on the book by Professor Hew Strachan called The First World War (2005), Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion (1937), and Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957).

Alfred W. Crosby's America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918
According to Crosby, in the period covering August 1918 through to March 1919, "Spanish" influenza spread worldwide. The estimated death toll, approximately 25 million; the exact number is unknown. It is argued in this book that more people died of the flu than in the First World War - hence the connection. Subsumed in this 25 million dead where an estimated 500,000 Americans. Ironically, despite the lethality of the disease, Spanish flu pandemic is all but ancient history today. In this detailed reportage by Crosby, he retells the history of the time with the Spanish influenza at the center. In the process of doing this, Crosby unravels the extent of effect on the American psyche, and makes an attempt to explain its eventual loss in our national narrative. Crosby's musing framed the events of the decade in a new light - the advantage of which is - I had no other frame of reference. I was expecting traditional history - this happened, then that happened - but I got much more.
In a later section, I will frame this perspective of the decade against another narrative that all but only mentioned this whole pandemic in one line in almost 503 minutes of video. Is it all about perspective? Why did Crosby seek to frame the year of the pandemic (and the decade) while Strachan and the documentary crew relegate it to a mere mention? The answer may not be forthcoming - but I just wanted to put it out there for consideration. Crosby is also famous for a more extensive and, I would argue, better told narrative called Ecological Imperialism.
America's Forgotten Pandemic is extensive in its range. The book is divided into 15 chapters, divided into 5 parts. In "An Abrupt Introduction to Spanish Influenza" we are introduced to the big picture regarding the phenomenon of the Spanish Influenza.
In "Spanish Influenza: The First Wave - Spring and Summer, 1918" we see Spanish Influenza advancing in stages - virulent in some places and not in others. Too soon to start taking records and too confused to care - the body count mounts but the records are in disarray. What is obvious is that there is a problem - the extent of which will never be fully documented. Spanish influenza is seen in Africa, Europe, and America.
In "The Second and Third Waves" is where we see the extent of the reportage of Crosby. Methodical to a degree that seems almost unfeeling - Crosby begins to analyze the movement of the disease and begins to introduce us to the genesis of American policy vis-à-vis epidemiology. If you just read Crosby's narrative, you would think everything happened around the disease. Even Crosby's take on the discussion between Italy's Orlando, England's George, France's Clemenceau, and America's Wilson is framed around everyone getting sick of the flu. Was it really as widespread as Crosby paints it out to be? If it was, why is it so absent in all the other narratives? Was if because the First World War and that narrative was so dominant or that it did not fit in with the New World Order narrative of Woodrow Wilson. The reportage gets specific - Crosby goes city by city.
In "Measurements, Research, Conclusions, and Confusions" we get more reportage and more indications that a definitive explanation of the cause, the spread, and the resolution of the pandemic will not be arriving. Hints, statistics and tests lead to hogs as the culprit - but nothing definitive. He asked, in Chapter 14, "Where did the flu of 1918 go?" Chapter 14 is a transition to the Afterword where even more speculation is to be had - this time more human than scientific.
In "Afterword" we get "An inquiry in the peculiarities of human memory." Yes, why were we so quick to forget this pandemic but constantly remind ourselves of the Black Plague when, "Nothing else - no infection, no war, no famine - has ever killed so many in as short a period" (Crosby 311)? Crosby speculates that the American public did not want to take away from the heroism of the First World War so they subsumed the pandemic and it's narrative "tended to be concealed within that of the war" (Crosby 320).
In the end, much like Sasha Abramsky argues in American Furies, the very banality of the issue (in Abramsky's case the prisons, in Crosby's case the pandemic) is its own worst enemy. According to Crosby, "The very nature of the disease and its epidemiological character encouraged forgetfulness in the societies it affected. The disease moved too fast, arrived, flourished, and was gone before it had any ephemeral effects on the economy and before many people had time to fully realize just how great was the danger" (Crosby 321). This case, along with lynching examination previous deliberation is proof of a nation starving for spectacle. But, harkening back to the banality issue - in the end, we just forget by what we remember.

Hew Strachan's The First World War (2005)
Is this the documentary to end all documentaries? Arguably not - but a compelling argument could be made for this. However, there were numerous documentaries about the decade and the war that I would have loved to have seen: BBC's `1914-18' and `The Great War,' the precursor of `The World at War' but I don't have all the time in the world. My sense, after having seen this comprehensive documentary - which begins with the assassination of Franz Ferdinand and ends with the Armistice and the League of Nations - I am videoed out. The range and coverage of this documentary is extensive. The series brings in the concurrent stories (of the years in question) of events happening in Russia, Arabia, and Africa. Through this video one really gets a sense of the worldwide involvement. This documentary gave an objective and impersonal view - much less missed any and all references to the 1918 pandemic. For the personal view/perspective we need to turn to Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion, Stanley Kubrick's The Paths of Glory, and return to Alfred Crosby's America's Forgotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918 to round out the perspective.

Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion (1937)
Last week, in preparation for the discussion regarding First World War and the era between 1910 to 1920 we had the pleasure to watch Jean Renoir's The Grand Illusion. My recollection is vague at best but it did leave a lasting impression on me. As a summary, the story begins with the capture of two French officers - De Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and Marechal (Jean Gabin). Captain De Boeldieu is the personification of the cultured upper class. Conversely, Lieutenant Marechal, who being a mechanic prior to signing up represents the common man. The prison camp becomes a meeting place for soldiers of all classes and backgrounds. The objective is plot an escape. In the process of plotting the escape, the duo meets up with a third character - Rosenthal (Marcel Dario). Rosenthal is somewhat an odd choice but be that as it may, Renoir places this character, a son of wealthy Jewish bankers, as the fulcrum between the aristocratic De Boeldieu and the everyman Marechal.
In-class discussion revealed that the Nazis banned Renoir's The Grand Illusion and ordered all copies seized they first occupied France during the Second World War on the orders of propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels. Goebbels ordered all copies to be destroyed - luckily all copies were not and we got to see it. What was it about this movie that would capture the ire and imagination of top Nazi officials? If what was talked about in The First World War had any validity, then it was certainly discouraged to fraternize with the enemy, much less Jews (the relationship between Rosenthal and Marechal) as well as the relationship between Marechal and Elsa (Dita Parlo) the German woman with the child at the end of the story. Such miscegenation or even just fraternizing between two warring European countries would certainly have raised the ire of the Nazi high command.

Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory (1957)
OK, so it was not exactly The Grand Illusion but Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory situates war on a micro level and gave a visual sense of the First World War. Much like Renoir's classic - this is a movie about people - without agency in a world gone insane. Soldiers are seen as tools to be used by Generals who fought wars from Chateaus. Colonel Dax (Kirk Douglas) is the commander of the 701st Infantry Regiment of the French Army dug in along the Western Front's "No Man's Land." The story starts in 1916 when the Allied forces had been in need of a real break. Dax, it is revealed to us early was one of France's greatest criminal lawyer prior to the war. Idealistic and reticent, he defies General Mireau (George Macready) to the bitter end. The generals caricatured and spoken of earlier are General Broulard (Adolphe Menjou) and General Mireau. Broulard orders Mireau that he must attack the unassailable "Ant Hill" and that this space is to be captured within 48 hours. The movie is test of will between the big three: Dax, Broulard, and Mireau - and all the casualties that begin to mount based on their petty politics. An unapologetic and unsentimental, it brought home the futility of war and brought me a different perspective of the era.

Conclusion: Bringing it all together - A Better Understanding of a Critical Time in History
As each decade fused into the next, the last transitioning out into the current and the current transitioning to the next it seems like demarcating time by decades almost seems inorganic. The readings and the films - particularly the documentary - made it seem like the First World War was preparation for the Second. Whole world re-organized, a league of nations being formed, a massive pandemic leaving our purview as quickly as it came in - the United States on the verge of being a major, if not "the" major world player. Compelled to compare Crosby's works - it seemed as if with America's Forgotten Pandemic the object was less to answer the questions but merely to pose it. Absent is the certitude which marked the theories and musing of Ecological Imperialism. I feel vindicated in thinking that it is not as important to come with answers but that we have the real courage to ask the hard questions.

Miguel Llora February 10, 2008

Essential French Cinema: Renoir's La Grande Illusion.

There's an endearing reference to The Grand Illusion in Woody Allen's Manhattan, which I saw again recently in the theater (in its new 35mm print). That reference prompted me to revisit Renoir's antiwar masterpiece in French cinema last night. The Grand Illusion is among the earliest prison escape movies, and is recognized as one of the greatest films ever made. It tells the unforgettable story of Maréchal (Jean Gabin) and de Boieldieu (Pierre Fresnay), two French aviators who plot their escape from several World War I German prison camps. They attempt to escape from their first camp by digging a tunnel beneath the camp. Just before the tunnel is completed, they are forced to switch camps. Boeldieu and Maréchal are then relocated to one camp after another, before finally arriving in Wintersborn, where they continue to conspire about their escape, even though Wintersborn is thought to be inescapable. Erich von Stroheim plays the unforgettable Captain von Rauffenstein, who runs the camp. While the film revolves around the valiant escape attempts, Renoir also uses the film to explore human relations issues of class and race. "[Grand Illusion is] a story about human relationships," Renoir said in the 1960s. "I am sure that such a question is so important today that if we don't solve it, we will just have to say `goodbye' to our beautiful world."

The Criterion edition of Renoir's film includes a newly restored digital transfer created from the long-lost camera negative, new and improved English subtitle translation, a rare theatrical trailer in which Jean Renoir discusses both Grand Illusion and his personal war experiences, an audio essay by film historian Peter Cowie, archival radio presentation: Renoir and Erich von Stroheim accept Grand Illusion's Best Foreign Film honors at the 1938 New York Film Critics Awards, press book excerpts: Renoir's letter "to the projectionist," cast bios, an essay on Renoir by von Stroheim, and essays about the film's title and recently recovered camera negative.

G. Merritt December 16, 2007

Classic, incomparable (anti-) war film.

This is simply one of the greatest films EVER made. Jean Gabin and Eric von Stroheim and the rest of the cast are priceless. Script and story are brilliant. Direction is masterful. What more can one say? Don't miss it!! October 17, 2007

Blue Chip

GRAND ILLUSION is the first title in The Criterion Collection, self-described by Criterion as "a continuing series of important classic and contemporary films. By most accounts GRAND ILLUSION fits that bill. But while historically important or technically innovative films such as GRAND ILLUSION may be of great interest and instruction to film artists, students, historians, theorists, and critics, what do they offer the average, contemporary viewer? If I've never studied film, if I have no real grasp of the technical virtuosity behind Renoir's tracking shots or deep focus, if I'm ignorant of the film's historical context, if I've seen, for example, the same prison escape done later and better (all the while appreciating that Renoir came first), the question arises: is there anything in it for me?

In any art form there are certain foundational works upon which all future generations of artists build. When I paint, the discovery and refinement of perspective by Giotto and Masaccio, the use of oil and canvas by the Dutch masters, chiaroscuro by Caravaggio, the elaboration of color theory by Albers and Itten, and Pop sensibility by Warhol all have a bearing on what I paint and how I paint it. Cinema is no exception. The foundational works are important to and influence the oeuvres of contemporary filmmakers. They reference, quote, steal from, and build upon these works. These movies, therefore, should mean something to us precisely because they mean something to contemporary filmmakers.

GRAND ILLUSION is multi-layered, as are all great works of art (what the "grand illusion" refers to has been debated for decades). It is a prisoner of war film, although not a very exciting one by today's standards. It is a soapbox for Renoir's brand of humanism. It is an examination of the dissolution of the old European world order as a consequence of the First World War.

Lt. Marechal (Jean Gabin), a working class pilot, and Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay), an aristocratic staff officer, are French soldiers shot down during a reconnaissance mission by Captain von Rauffenstein (Eric von Stroheim), a German pilot, a career staff officer and also a member of the aristocracy. As fellow officers, Rauffenstein invites the downed French soldiers to lunch with him. At table Rauffenstein and de Boeldieu establish an immediate rapport based on their social class as does Marechal with the mechanic seated beside him.

However, the exigencies of war demand that men of vastly different backgrounds and social strata acknowledge and cooperate with one another, and this is elaborated upon in the next segment of the film. Marechal and de Boelieu are transported to a POW camp where we are introduced to Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio), a wealthy Jew. His generosity and kindness dispel any prejudice his fellow inmates might have in peacetime. A British soldier leads the French in singing "Le Marsellaise" upon learning of the French recapture of Douaumont. The aristocratic De Boelieu cooperates in the digging of a tunnel in an unsuccessful escape attempt.

That's enough of a plot synopsis to make a couple of points. The escape plan mentioned above is exactly that seen in THE GREAT ESCAPE and the singing of "Le Marsellaise" predates a similar scene in CASABLANCA. We can certainly enjoy THE GREAT ESCAPE and CASABLANCA without knowing anything about GRAND ILLUSION. But when we recognize the interplay between the two films, their intertexuality, we appreciate both films in fresh, more fruitful ways. Both films become more substantial. This is all part of what Mortimer Adler called The Great Conversation. But these are merely the two most frequently sited examples of Grand Illusion's influence.

There is a recent television commercial for MacDonald's Honey Mustard Chicken Wrap where a man digs an escape tunnel with a spoon. Stanley Donen's musical version of THE LITTLE PRINCE contains a scene where the Little Prince, during his interplanetary travels, comments upon the artificiality of national borders. GONE WITH THE WIND is in part about a way of life forever swept away by war. I have seen each of these in the weeks since I first saw GRAND ILLUSION, and each of these either shares a plot point or thematic material with Renoir's film. Each of these subsequent viewing experiences, however slight, has been unquestionably enriched by the associations I made with GRAND ILLUSION.

Having said all this, I have to confess that my connection with GRAND ILLUSION is intellectual rather than visceral. I watched this film all the way through because I knew I should, not because I couldn't help myself. The film, for all its restored glory, hasn't aged well. It looks a bit primitive. Renoir may have been a pioneer, but the thrill of seeing something cutting-edge in GRAND ILLUSION is exclusive to all but the audiences of 1937. That's the problem with films that rely on technical innovation for their appeal. They don't last (think TRON). A film's longevity depends on far more basic ingredients: a compelling narrative, impeccable structure, fine acting. The acting in GRAND ILLUSION is first rate (particularly von Stroheim), but the plot is not as fresh as it used to be. All in all, the whole viewing experience and the time invested was a lot like an investment in a blue chip stock. It's not a particularly exciting investiment, and you're not really in it for a big immediate gain. But you can expect it to pay a small dependable dividend for years to come. July 29, 2007

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