L'Armée des ombres
Encyclopedia
Army of Shadows is a 1969
French film
directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. It is a film adaptation of Joseph Kessel
's 1943
book of the same name, which blends Kessel's own experiences as a member of the French Resistance
with fictionalized versions of other Resistance members. Army of Shadows follows a small group of Resistance fighters as they move between safe houses, work with the Allied militaries, kill informers, and attempt to evade the capture and execution that they know is their most likely fate. While portraying its characters as heroic, the film presents a bleak, unromantic view of the Resistance.
At the time of its initial release in France
, Army of Shadows was not well received or widely seen. In the wake of the events of May 1968, French critics denounced the film for its perceived glorification of Charles de Gaulle
. At the time American art-film programmers took their cues from Cahiers du cinéma
, which had attacked the film on this basis, and so it was not released in the United States
for almost forty years. In the mid-1990s Cahiers du cinéma published a reappraisal of the film (and Melville's work in general), leading to its restoration and re-release in 2006. The film was greeted with critical adulation in the U.S., landing in many critics' year-end top ten lists.
. Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura
), a distinguished civil engineer and the head of a Resistance
network, has been arrested by Vichy French
police and is placed in a camp. A few days later, the French authorities hand Gerbier over to the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo
, and he is transferred to headquarters in Paris
for interrogation. Gerbier manages a daring escape by killing a guard and makes his way back to Marseille
where his network is based.
Gerbier's right-hand man, Félix Lepercq (Paul Crauchet
), has identified a young agent named Paul Dounat as the informant who betrayed Gerbier to the Vichy police. With the help of Guillaume Vermersch a.k.a. Le Bison (Christian Barbier), a burly French Foreign Legion
veteran, Gerbier and Lepercq take Dounat to a safe house
to execute him. They are met there by Claude Ullmann a.k.a. Le Masque (Claude Mann), a young upstart eager to prove himself. The execution cannot be done as planned, by shooting, because of a family next door, and in the end the traitor is strangled.
Lepercq happens upon an old friend in a bar, Jean-François Jardie (Jean-Pierre Cassel
), a handsome, risk-loving, former pilot
. Upon Lepercq's offer, Jean-François joins the Resistance. On his first mission to Paris
, he meets Mathilde (Simone Signoret
) who under the guise of a housewife is one of the linchpins of Gerbier's network, unbeknown to her family. His first mission accomplished, Jean-François pays a surprise visit to his elder brother Luc Jardie (Paul Meurisse
), a renowned philosopher who lives a detached, scholarly life in his Paris mansion. (Luc Jardie's character is partly based on the actual philosopher/resistance leader Jean Cavaillès
).
Gerbier plans to travel to the Free French headquarters in London
via a British submarine
. On the sub, Gerbier meets Luc Jardie, who is actually the Grand Patron (Big Boss), the head of all Resistance networks whose identity is a closely guarded secret.
In London, Gerbier organises additional logistical support for the resistance and Luc Jardie is decorated by Charles de Gaulle
himself. Gerbier takes shelter from an air raid in a night club. Gerbier must, however, cut his trip short when he learns that the Gestapo has captured Lepercq. He parachutes back into France and finds shelter in a château
near Annecy
in the French Alps
. Meanwhile, Mathilde has taken command after Lepercq's arrest. Learning that Lepercq is detained in a maximum-security Gestapo
prison in Lyon
, she devises an audacious escape plan. Jean-François, who has been sitting silently through the discussion of the plan, makes his decision. He writes a letter of resignation to Gerbier and mails an anonymous letter to the Gestapo to incriminate himself. His gamble is successful: after a brutal interrogation, he is placed in the same cell as Lepercq. Lepercq has been repeatedly torture
d and lies on his bunk barely alive.
Dressed as a German military nurse, and accompanied by Le Masque and Le Bison wearing German uniforms, Mathilde arrives at the gate of the Lyon prison in a stolen German ambulance with a forged order for Lepercq's transfer to Gestapo
headquarters. However, the prison doctor, though duped by the order, examines the moribund Lepercq and pronounces him unfit for transport. Mathilde had not anticipated that contingency and can only leave the prison empty-handed. Jean-François, seeing that any chance of escape is now lost, tells Lepercq that he has several cyanide
pills and offers him one (hiding from him the fact that he in fact only has one pill).
On the run again after the Gestapo
has discovered his Annecy
hideout, Gerbier meets Mathilde in a Lyon
restaurant for debriefing. Mathilde urges him to escape to London
in view of the mounting danger; she has seen his face on a wanted poster on the wall of the Lyon prison. Mathilde departs, but a happenstance Vichy police raid of the restaurant for food rationing violations captures Gerbier. He is handed over to the Germans and, after a few days in prison, is taken with his cellmates to a firing range where an SS officer explains a sadistic game in which the prisoners are to race to the far end of the room as a machine gun firing squad fires upon them. As the shooting starts, Mathilde's team, who have been lying in wait on the roof of the corridor, throw smoke bombs into the line of fire to block the Germans' view, then throw a line to Gerbier who narrowly escapes. Le Bison then drives Gerbier to an abandoned farmhouse deep in the countryside, where he is to wait for the situation to cool down.
After one month of solitude, Gerbier receives an unexpected visit from Luc Jardie who has come to seek his advice after Mathilde has been arrested. Despite Gerbier's earlier warning, Mathilde was carrying a photo of her daughter in her wallet when she was caught. The Gestapo offers her a choice: either Mathilde tells all about the network or her daughter will be sent to a military brothel
in Poland
. The Grand Patron has barely finished explaining the situation when Le Masque and Le Bison arrive. Jardie, wanting his presence to remain secret, hides in the back room while the two men hand over a coded status report telling that Mathilde has been released the day before and that two Resistance men have been picked up the same afternoon. Gerbier orders Mathilde's immediate execution, but Le Bison refuses to carry out the order and swears to prevent Gerbier from killing her. As a fight is about to break out, Jardie emerges from the back room and defuses the tension by the sheer force of his personality. He convinces Le Bison that the only reason Mathilde acted the way she did — betraying only minor agents, and convincing the Gestapo to release her under the pretext of leading them to her network — was to give the Resistance a window of opportunity to kill her, thereby sparing the network and her daughter. Le Bison reluctantly agrees to take part in the operation and Jardie announces that he too will be present as a final homage to Mathilde. Later, however, Jardie reveals to Gerbier that the argument he presented to Le Bison is purely speculative.
A few days later, Mathilde is walking the streets of Paris
when Jardie and his men pull up next to her in a stolen Wehrmacht
car. Seeing them, Mathilde freezes and keeps her eyes locked into Jardie's while Le Bison pulls out a pistol
and shoots her twice, after which the car speeds away. As the film comes to an end, silent text screens tell us the eventual fate of the four men: Le Masque will manage to swallow his cyanide pill in time, Le Bison will be beheaded in a German prison, Jardie will die under torture having betrayed no other name than his own — and Gerbier, will decide not to run this time.
The final shot is a POV from within the car, the Arc de Triomphe
prominent in the windshield, until a soldier literally waves them away.
in November 2006 and in Region 1 by the Criterion Collection in May 2007.
The film appeared in many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006.
General top ten
Its score on the review site Metacritic
is 99/100.
1969 in film
The year 1969 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Last year for prize giving at the Venice Film Festival until it is revived in 1980...
French film
Cinema of France
The Cinema of France comprises the art of film and creative movies made within the nation of France or by French filmmakers abroad.France is the birthplace of cinema and was responsible for many of its early significant contributions. Several important cinematic movements, including the Nouvelle...
directed by Jean-Pierre Melville. It is a film adaptation of Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel
Joseph Kessel was a French journalist and novelist.He was born in Villa Clara, Entre Ríos, Argentina, because of the constant journeys of his father, a Lithuanian doctor of Jewish origin. Joseph Kessel lived the first years of his childhood in Orenburg, Russia, before the family moved to France...
's 1943
1943 in literature
The year 1943 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*George Orwell resigns from the BBC to become literary editor of Tribune.*Isaac Bashevis Singer becomes a naturalized citizen of the United States....
book of the same name, which blends Kessel's own experiences as a member of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
with fictionalized versions of other Resistance members. Army of Shadows follows a small group of Resistance fighters as they move between safe houses, work with the Allied militaries, kill informers, and attempt to evade the capture and execution that they know is their most likely fate. While portraying its characters as heroic, the film presents a bleak, unromantic view of the Resistance.
At the time of its initial release in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Army of Shadows was not well received or widely seen. In the wake of the events of May 1968, French critics denounced the film for its perceived glorification of Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
. At the time American art-film programmers took their cues from Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du cinéma
Cahiers du Cinéma is an influential French film magazine founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca. It developed from the earlier magazine Revue du Cinéma involving members of two Paris film clubs — Objectif 49 and...
, which had attacked the film on this basis, and so it was not released in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
for almost forty years. In the mid-1990s Cahiers du cinéma published a reappraisal of the film (and Melville's work in general), leading to its restoration and re-release in 2006. The film was greeted with critical adulation in the U.S., landing in many critics' year-end top ten lists.
Synopsis
October 1942 in Nazi-occupied FranceFrance
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura
Lino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
), a distinguished civil engineer and the head of a Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
network, has been arrested by Vichy French
Vichy France
Vichy France, Vichy Regime, or Vichy Government, are common terms used to describe the government of France that collaborated with the Axis powers from July 1940 to August 1944. This government succeeded the Third Republic and preceded the Provisional Government of the French Republic...
police and is placed in a camp. A few days later, the French authorities hand Gerbier over to the Nazi secret police, the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
, and he is transferred to headquarters in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
for interrogation. Gerbier manages a daring escape by killing a guard and makes his way back to Marseille
Marseille
Marseille , known in antiquity as Massalia , is the second largest city in France, after Paris, with a population of 852,395 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Marseille extends beyond the city limits with a population of over 1,420,000 on an area of...
where his network is based.
Gerbier's right-hand man, Félix Lepercq (Paul Crauchet
Paul Crauchet
-Selected filmography:-External links:...
), has identified a young agent named Paul Dounat as the informant who betrayed Gerbier to the Vichy police. With the help of Guillaume Vermersch a.k.a. Le Bison (Christian Barbier), a burly French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
veteran, Gerbier and Lepercq take Dounat to a safe house
Safe house
In the jargon of law enforcement and intelligence agencies, a safe house is a secure location, suitable for hiding witnesses, agents or other persons perceived as being in danger...
to execute him. They are met there by Claude Ullmann a.k.a. Le Masque (Claude Mann), a young upstart eager to prove himself. The execution cannot be done as planned, by shooting, because of a family next door, and in the end the traitor is strangled.
Lepercq happens upon an old friend in a bar, Jean-François Jardie (Jean-Pierre Cassel
Jean-Pierre Cassel
Jean-Pierre Cassel was a French actor.-Life and career:Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite , an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor. Cassel was discovered by Gene Kelly as he tap danced on stage, and later cast in the 1957 film The Happy Road...
), a handsome, risk-loving, former pilot
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
. Upon Lepercq's offer, Jean-François joins the Resistance. On his first mission to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, he meets Mathilde (Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret
Simone Signoret was a French cinema actress often hailed as one of France's greatest movie stars. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award, for her role in Room at the Top...
) who under the guise of a housewife is one of the linchpins of Gerbier's network, unbeknown to her family. His first mission accomplished, Jean-François pays a surprise visit to his elder brother Luc Jardie (Paul Meurisse
Paul Meurisse
Paul Meurisse was a French actor who appeared in over 60 films and many stage productions. Meurisse was noted for the elegance of his acting style, and for his versatility. He was equally able to play comedic and serious dramatic roles...
), a renowned philosopher who lives a detached, scholarly life in his Paris mansion. (Luc Jardie's character is partly based on the actual philosopher/resistance leader Jean Cavaillès
Jean Cavailles
Jean Cavaillès , was a French philosopher and mathematician, specialized in philosophy of science. He took part in the French Resistance within the Libération movement and was shot by the Gestapo on February 17, 1944....
).
Gerbier plans to travel to the Free French headquarters in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
via a British submarine
Submarine
A submarine is a watercraft capable of independent operation below the surface of the water. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability...
. On the sub, Gerbier meets Luc Jardie, who is actually the Grand Patron (Big Boss), the head of all Resistance networks whose identity is a closely guarded secret.
In London, Gerbier organises additional logistical support for the resistance and Luc Jardie is decorated by Charles de Gaulle
Charles de Gaulle
Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle was a French general and statesman who led the Free French Forces during World War II. He later founded the French Fifth Republic in 1958 and served as its first President from 1959 to 1969....
himself. Gerbier takes shelter from an air raid in a night club. Gerbier must, however, cut his trip short when he learns that the Gestapo has captured Lepercq. He parachutes back into France and finds shelter in a château
Château
A château is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor or a country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally—and still most frequently—in French-speaking regions...
near Annecy
Annecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
in the French Alps
Alps
The Alps is one of the great mountain range systems of Europe, stretching from Austria and Slovenia in the east through Italy, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Germany to France in the west....
. Meanwhile, Mathilde has taken command after Lepercq's arrest. Learning that Lepercq is detained in a maximum-security Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
prison in Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
, she devises an audacious escape plan. Jean-François, who has been sitting silently through the discussion of the plan, makes his decision. He writes a letter of resignation to Gerbier and mails an anonymous letter to the Gestapo to incriminate himself. His gamble is successful: after a brutal interrogation, he is placed in the same cell as Lepercq. Lepercq has been repeatedly torture
Torture
Torture is the act of inflicting severe pain as a means of punishment, revenge, forcing information or a confession, or simply as an act of cruelty. Throughout history, torture has often been used as a method of political re-education, interrogation, punishment, and coercion...
d and lies on his bunk barely alive.
Dressed as a German military nurse, and accompanied by Le Masque and Le Bison wearing German uniforms, Mathilde arrives at the gate of the Lyon prison in a stolen German ambulance with a forged order for Lepercq's transfer to Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
headquarters. However, the prison doctor, though duped by the order, examines the moribund Lepercq and pronounces him unfit for transport. Mathilde had not anticipated that contingency and can only leave the prison empty-handed. Jean-François, seeing that any chance of escape is now lost, tells Lepercq that he has several cyanide
Cyanide
A cyanide is a chemical compound that contains the cyano group, -C≡N, which consists of a carbon atom triple-bonded to a nitrogen atom. Cyanides most commonly refer to salts of the anion CN−. Most cyanides are highly toxic....
pills and offers him one (hiding from him the fact that he in fact only has one pill).
On the run again after the Gestapo
Gestapo
The Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
has discovered his Annecy
Annecy
Annecy is a commune in the Haute-Savoie department in the Rhône-Alpes region in south-eastern France.It lies on the northern tip of Lake Annecy , 35 kilometres south of Geneva.-Administration:...
hideout, Gerbier meets Mathilde in a Lyon
Lyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
restaurant for debriefing. Mathilde urges him to escape to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in view of the mounting danger; she has seen his face on a wanted poster on the wall of the Lyon prison. Mathilde departs, but a happenstance Vichy police raid of the restaurant for food rationing violations captures Gerbier. He is handed over to the Germans and, after a few days in prison, is taken with his cellmates to a firing range where an SS officer explains a sadistic game in which the prisoners are to race to the far end of the room as a machine gun firing squad fires upon them. As the shooting starts, Mathilde's team, who have been lying in wait on the roof of the corridor, throw smoke bombs into the line of fire to block the Germans' view, then throw a line to Gerbier who narrowly escapes. Le Bison then drives Gerbier to an abandoned farmhouse deep in the countryside, where he is to wait for the situation to cool down.
After one month of solitude, Gerbier receives an unexpected visit from Luc Jardie who has come to seek his advice after Mathilde has been arrested. Despite Gerbier's earlier warning, Mathilde was carrying a photo of her daughter in her wallet when she was caught. The Gestapo offers her a choice: either Mathilde tells all about the network or her daughter will be sent to a military brothel
Brothel
Brothels are business establishments where patrons can engage in sexual activities with prostitutes. Brothels are known under a variety of names, including bordello, cathouse, knocking shop, whorehouse, strumpet house, sporting house, house of ill repute, house of prostitution, and bawdy house...
in Poland
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
. The Grand Patron has barely finished explaining the situation when Le Masque and Le Bison arrive. Jardie, wanting his presence to remain secret, hides in the back room while the two men hand over a coded status report telling that Mathilde has been released the day before and that two Resistance men have been picked up the same afternoon. Gerbier orders Mathilde's immediate execution, but Le Bison refuses to carry out the order and swears to prevent Gerbier from killing her. As a fight is about to break out, Jardie emerges from the back room and defuses the tension by the sheer force of his personality. He convinces Le Bison that the only reason Mathilde acted the way she did — betraying only minor agents, and convincing the Gestapo to release her under the pretext of leading them to her network — was to give the Resistance a window of opportunity to kill her, thereby sparing the network and her daughter. Le Bison reluctantly agrees to take part in the operation and Jardie announces that he too will be present as a final homage to Mathilde. Later, however, Jardie reveals to Gerbier that the argument he presented to Le Bison is purely speculative.
A few days later, Mathilde is walking the streets of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
when Jardie and his men pull up next to her in a stolen Wehrmacht
Wehrmacht
The Wehrmacht – from , to defend and , the might/power) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the Heer , the Kriegsmarine and the Luftwaffe .-Origin and use of the term:...
car. Seeing them, Mathilde freezes and keeps her eyes locked into Jardie's while Le Bison pulls out a pistol
Pistol
When distinguished as a subset of handguns, a pistol is a handgun with a chamber that is integral with the barrel, as opposed to a revolver, wherein the chamber is separate from the barrel as a revolving cylinder. Typically, pistols have an effective range of about 100 feet.-History:The pistol...
and shoots her twice, after which the car speeds away. As the film comes to an end, silent text screens tell us the eventual fate of the four men: Le Masque will manage to swallow his cyanide pill in time, Le Bison will be beheaded in a German prison, Jardie will die under torture having betrayed no other name than his own — and Gerbier, will decide not to run this time.
The final shot is a POV from within the car, the Arc de Triomphe
Arc de Triomphe
-The design:The astylar design is by Jean Chalgrin , in the Neoclassical version of ancient Roman architecture . Major academic sculptors of France are represented in the sculpture of the Arc de Triomphe: Jean-Pierre Cortot; François Rude; Antoine Étex; James Pradier and Philippe Joseph Henri Lemaire...
prominent in the windshield, until a soldier literally waves them away.
DVD releases
Army of Shadows was released on DVD in Region 2 by the British Film InstituteBritish Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
in November 2006 and in Region 1 by the Criterion Collection in May 2007.
Cast
- Lino VenturaLino VenturaLino Ventura , was an Italian actor who starred in French movies.-Biography:Born as Angiolino Giuseppe Pasquale Ventura in Parma, Italy to Giovanni Ventura and Luisa Borrini, "Lino" dropped out of school at the age of eight and later took on a variety of jobs...
– Philippe Gerbier - Paul MeurissePaul MeurissePaul Meurisse was a French actor who appeared in over 60 films and many stage productions. Meurisse was noted for the elegance of his acting style, and for his versatility. He was equally able to play comedic and serious dramatic roles...
– Luc Jardie - Jean-Pierre CasselJean-Pierre CasselJean-Pierre Cassel was a French actor.-Life and career:Cassel was born Jean-Pierre Crochon in Paris, the son of Louise-Marguerite , an opera singer, and Georges Crochon, a doctor. Cassel was discovered by Gene Kelly as he tap danced on stage, and later cast in the 1957 film The Happy Road...
– Jean-François Jardie - Simone SignoretSimone SignoretSimone Signoret was a French cinema actress often hailed as one of France's greatest movie stars. She became the first French person to win an Academy Award, for her role in Room at the Top...
– Mathilde - Claude Mann – Claude Ullmann a.k.a. Le Masque
- Paul CrauchetPaul Crauchet-Selected filmography:-External links:...
– Félix Lepercq - Christian Barbier – Guillaume Vermersch a.k.a. Le Bison
- Serge ReggianiSerge ReggianiSerge Reggiani was an Italian-born French singer and actor. He was born in Reggio Emilia, Italy and moved to France with his parents at the age of eight...
– The hairdresser - André DewavrinAndré DewavrinAndre Dewavrin was a French officer who served with Free French Forces intelligence services during World War II.He was born in Paris, the son of a businessman...
a.k.a. Colonel Passy – as himself - Alain Dekok – Legrain
- Alain Mottet – Camp commander
- Alain Libolt – Paul Dounat
- Jean-Marie Robain – Baron de Ferté-Talloire
- Albert Michel – Gendarme
- Denis Sadier – GestapoGestapoThe Gestapo was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning on 20 April 1934, it was under the administration of the SS leader Heinrich Himmler in his position as Chief of German Police...
prison doctor
Critical reception
When it was originally released in France in 1969, the movie, right after the events of May 68, had bad critical reception because of the political context : De Gaulle was rather unappreciated at the time, and the glorification of the resistance also, during the Algerian War, remained a taboo. That is why it first stayed within the French frontiers, although Melville, as a French director, was quite famous abroad. The English and American audiences were only able to discover the movie in 2006.The film appeared in many critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2006.
- 1st – David Ansen, NewsweekNewsweekNewsweek is an American weekly news magazine published in New York City. It is distributed throughout the United States and internationally. It is the second-largest news weekly magazine in the U.S., having trailed Time in circulation and advertising revenue for most of its existence...
- 1st – Ella Taylor, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
- 1st – Glenn Kenny, PremierePremiere (magazine)Premiere was an American and New York City-based film magazine published by Hachette Filipacchi Media U.S., published between the years 1987 and 2007. The original version of the magazine, Première , was started in France in 1976 and is still being published there.-History:The magazine originally...
- 1st – Manohla Dargis, The New York TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
- 1st – Scott Foundas, LA WeeklyLA WeeklyLA Weekly is a free weekly tabloid-sized "alternative weekly" in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Editor/Publisher Jay Levin and a board of directors that included actor-producer Michael Douglas...
- 1st – Stephanie Zacharek, SalonSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
- 2nd – Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader (tied with Statues Also Die)
- 2nd – Michael Sragow, The Baltimore SunThe Baltimore SunThe Baltimore Sun is the U.S. state of Maryland’s largest general circulation daily newspaper and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries....
- 2nd – Nathan Lee, The Village VoiceThe Village VoiceThe Village Voice is a free weekly newspaper and news and features website in New York City that features investigative articles, analysis of current affairs and culture, arts and music coverage, and events listings for New York City...
- 2nd – Wesley Morris, The Boston GlobeThe Boston GlobeThe Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
- 3rd – Stephen Hunter, The Washington PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
- 4th – Shawn Levy, The OregonianThe OregonianThe Oregonian is the major daily newspaper in Portland, Oregon, owned by Advance Publications. It is the oldest continuously published newspaper on the U.S. west coast, founded as a weekly by Thomas J. Dryer on December 4, 1850...
- 4th – Sheri Linden, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
- 5th – Marjorie Baumgarten, The Austin Chronicle
- 7th – Richard James Havis, The Hollywood ReporterThe Hollywood ReporterFormerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
- 7th – Richard Schickel, TIME magazineTime (magazine)Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
- 8th – Michael Wilmington, Chicago TribuneChicago TribuneThe Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
General top ten
- Steven Rea, The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
- V.A. Musetto, New York PostNew York PostThe New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
Its score on the review site Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
is 99/100.
External links
- Criterion Collection essay by Amy Taubin