The first world war. The plane of the French pilots Moreshal bold and the shot down German ACE von Rauffenstein, but both pilots survived and ended up in a pow camp. There are also a few British officers, with whom newcomers join at the work on the escape tunnel.
After the French victory on the Western front of Moreshal, Baldie and the other French prisoners transferred to another prison, where the commandant assigned to their "old friend" von Rauffenstein. Commandant warmly welcomes the French, noting that from "his" prison escape is impossible
La grande illusion
| Year | 1937 |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Tagline | A Great Drama of Human Emotions |
| Director | Jean Renoir |
| Cinematography | Christian Matras |
| Scriptwriters | Charles SpaakJean Renoir |
| Produced | Albert PinkovitchFrank Rollmer |
| Music | Joseph Kosma |
| Art Direction | Eugène LouriéRené Decrais |
| Editing | Marthe HuguetRenée LichtigMarguerite Renoir |
| Genres | DramaMilitary |
| USA Gross | $316 050сборы |
| Release Date | June 4, 1937 |
| MPAA | N |
| Runtime | 114 min. |
Plot Summary
Did You Know?
The film was banned in Germany by Nazi propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels, who called it "cinematographic enemy No. 1" and called his Italian counterpart to do the same.
The film received a nomination for "Oscar" in the nomination "the Best film of the year", despite the fact that this award was given only to English-language movies, "the Great illusion" shot on the French.
According to the testimony of Renoir, for three years he unsuccessfully sought support for his project, and, in the end, had to submit to the Grand illusion as an adventure film about the escape from captivity. But even those sponsors that Renoir was able to find, did not believe in the success of the film, which affected its funding.
The role of Rauffenstein originally intended for a theatrical actor and Director Louis Jouvet, but associated other obligations, Jouvet was forced to withdraw. As a result, Renoir invited his favorite film Director Erich von Stroheim, due to lack of demand in Hollywood find themselves at the end of 1936 in France.
Despite the success of the audience, the jury of the Venice film festival of 1937 still not decided to award the film Grand Prix (although, according to some, the film of Mussolini) and made him a special consolation prize for best ensemble cast.
For many years it was believed that the original negative was lost in 1942 during an air RAID of the Allies. Copies of the film was discovered in 1958 and during the 1960s the film was again released. It was later revealed that the negative was sent back to Berlin for storage in Reichsfilmkammer. In 1945, during the occupation of Berlin Raspiller was in the zone controlled by the Russians, and was sent to Moscow to the state film Fund. The negative was returned to France in the 1960s, but more than 30 years has lain unidentified in the vault of the Toulouse Cinematheque, because nobody suspected that he survived. In the early 1990s, when the movement of the Cinematheque film Archive in France, the negativity has finally been identified. The film, restored it with a company Rialto Pictures, was released in August 1999.
