Criterion Conquest: Grand Illusion
by Jason Wilson
The Criterion Collection is a company based in the United States that became popularized during the brief laserdisc movement in the 1990s. It introduced the concept of commentary tracks and have generally released the best available versions of films on DVD. It researches the films and put together a plethora of special features for each release. In some cases (like Orson Welles’ Mr. Arkadin), Criterion digs deep and produces a version of a film that had never been available prior to the special release.
Since moving to DVD, Criterion has released nearly 500 titles and it is my goal to watch them all in order and review them all here. There are some limitations as films like Hard Boiled, The Killer, Sid & Nancy, This is Spinal Tap, The Silence of the Lambs, Robocop and maybe a few others are out of print and not available at the local video rental emporium. So in lieu of watching whatever edition is available, I will simply skip it and move on to the next. They are organized numerically by a spine number next to the logo on (you guessed it) the spine of the DVD case.
Is it lame? Maybe. Geeky? Definitely. Fun? You know it.
Grand Illusion (1937)
Directed by Jean Renoir
Starring Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay and Erich von Stroheim.
Written by Jean Renoir and Charles Spaak
Grand Illusion was released in 1937 as a portrait of mankind during the years leading up to the Second World War. It was directly anti-war without being derogatory to any race or culture. The point was to show that the invisible borders separating countries were pointless and the differences between mankind were skin deep. Sadly it didn’t exactly effect the next war from beginning — though it was considered a dangerous movie by the Third Reich. The original prints were believed to be lost during German’s occupation of France in the early 40s. Luckily in 1958, the prints were re-discovered uncut and it was again available to be seen by the public.
The Criterion Collection chose Grand Illusion as its first release in large part to its cultural significance. Orson Welles once declared it as his desert island movie; the one film he would save if he had to choose. The company secured the rights and through digital technology was able to restore the visuals and audio to pristine condition. There is a special feature included showing the differences between the film print and the eventual digital transfer.The movie was over 60 years old when it received its DVD release on Criterion. To think all the crackles and blemishes could be removed to make a transfer this crisp is astounding.
Jean Renoir, the director of Grand Illusion, was a pilot in World War One and he draws on his own personal experiences for the creation of the film. Two men, Marechal and Boeldieu are shot down in German territory and are taken prisoner. They are taken to a prisoner camp where they meet with fellow members of the French army. While before the war, these men would never have conversed due to the disparity in social status, these men form their own bonds and work toward the common goal of escape. The class structure is broached as subtly as the prejudices between culture and country. These petty stereotypes and segregations, found not only in war but in everyday society, are man made and a result of greed and lust for power.
There is a sequence where the French prisoners receive a shipment of costumes so they can put on a show, and at least for a couple hours they can escape their imprisonment. It may be fleeting but it is a glimpse of life before the war. Some of the German soldiers attend and for a moment it is a sign of connection, where no man is bound by their allegiances in the war. This lasts until news arrives that France was able to take back one of its townships that had been taken by the German army. The French prisoners immediately sing the French National Anthem and once again bringing everyone back into the reality of the moment.
The play sequence isn’t all cheerful. As they joke and prepare with their costumes, one of the soldiers comes in dressed as a woman. Everyone stops the laughing and joking and all look at him longingly and even saddened. Without words, they communicate their solemnity about missing their loved ones, wives, girlfriends and even children. Freedom seems like it will never return and this is their present as well as their future.
Marechal and Boeldieu are transferred to a different camp, a fortress under the watchful eye of Captain von Rauffenstein (played by Erich von Stroheim – also in Sunset Blvd.). The Captain and Boeldieu know one another from before the war. Both were aristocrats and both became soldiers. The two of them have several moments discussing the gore of war and pointlessness of it all but concede to being powerless to stop it. They follow their orders and hope to be on the winning side and that peace may follow.
“Nothing grows here but ivy and nettles,” the Captain says when Boeldieu compliments him on the one flower he has. The land is barren. It’s a warning that escape would be suicide. It also serves as a melancholy reminder of the marching feet on the fields of war killing the land underneath.
The ensuing escape attempt and the moments between the Captain and Boeldieu are both exciting and deeply thoughtful. Like the rest of the film, it’s all about how the invisible boundaries and prejudices are exactly that; invisible. War is a pointless exercise that does not represent valor or courage but greed and pettiness. It comes as no surprise that Goebbels thought of the movie as a danger to the war effort.
On the disc, the special features are not exactly plentiful but they do offer some added contextual information that is fascinating and worth checking out. There is an audio commentary by essayist Peter Cowie, archival radio recordings from the late 30s when Grand Illusion received Best Foreign Film from the New York Film Critics and several essays on Renoir, the meaning of the name of the film and more. There is also a great video introduction from Renoir himself about the making of the film, his own experiences at war and the people who worked on the film .
The prize feature I mentioned earlier where the digital transfer is shown from specific scenes. It’s an amazing feature about the digital process.
Grand Illusion is a phenomenal movie that set the stage for prisoner of war films like King Rat, The Great Escape and even The Bridge on the River Kwai. It was the first of its kind and was a terrific choice for the Criterion introduction to DVD.
Next up: Spine # 2, Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai
