18. Renoir's Grand Illusion (1937)

[@calumyoung7172]

This is a wonderful lecture. Thank you. I saw the film last night, and exploring it again through this talk was an absolute treat. What a pleasure. Wonderful enthusiasm for the subject.

[@walterbenjamin1386]

Very interesting lecture. Thank you. There is a scene where one of the soldiers says to another that the war will end in a few months, to which the other replies "what an illusion!"

[@Mikemurdock431]

I would say that the last scene, the one with the unseen border also points at grand illusions in society. Social prejudice and class differences are as irrelevant as an imaginary line on the snow.😊

[@walterbenjamin1386]

Supposedly, as I read somewhere, Renoir claimed to have nothing to do with the deaths of these animals. Someone else directed this scene. Also I am rewatching this film during the lecture but I do not see the shot counter shot in the first scene with Boldieu and Raufenstein. The camera shows both in the same shot. The professor is referring to a scene, later in the film at about 51 minutes in, when they are recaptured and arrive at the unescapable prison run by Raufenstein. Von Stroheim made this film. The scenes in the second prison with Boldieu’s death, the moment with the geranium (the sole flower in the prison) and the accompanying soundtrack - unforgettable.

[@COCOTEIER]

When they crossed the border they arrived in Switzerland not in Belgium. A good conference on one of the greatest movie ever made.

[@lauzmaki]

The song the two are singing when they are fighting is en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Il_%C3%A9tait_un_petit_navire . They sing up to "Rations began to wane" (Les vivres vinrent à manquer). The next bit of the song tells how they have to chose who will be eaten. But Marechal come back before that. The song itself is also helping him feel bad about leaving his friend to die.

[@Mikemurdock431]

All my life I've thought that was a Spanish song ("Había una vez un barquito chiquitito..."). I guess the song was originally French and was translated into Spanish at some point.

[@shikharfilms5457]

Thank you for this insightful lecture. 🙏

[@tomdrowry]

Not a bad job to have, watching films all today, then talking about them.

[@xaraooo0lini]

its much more difficult, you have to study history and analise it in relation with cinema and get to know everything about cinematic techniques and innovations from cinema's early years.

[@KB-ju6fi]

You have to study for a tremendous amount, its not easy

[@reelscreenwriting8940]

Great course

[@matheusafrancez]

What an inspiring class. Wow, I would wash David's feet.

[@bhavykhatri2669]

Washing the feet as a respect also exist in hindu ancient literature where Lord krishna washes his friend sudama feet.

[@19Edurne]

They cross the Swiss border, not into Belgium. Belgium was occupied by Germany too, so it wouldn't have made a difference. But Switzerland was neutral...

[@windowskipper949]

the professor looks like Billy Boby thronton

[@jalexanderevans]

I don't think that's a person.

[@walterbenjamin1386]

The hunting scene is painful to view, to such a degree I have to fast forward through it each time I watch RotG. The image of rich and lazy cowards hiding behind the brush, poised to kill innocent wildlife, look too reminiscent of soldiers behind barbed wire to be coincidental. Is this a throwback to WW l or a prescient image of the coming holocaust in which 75 million people would die? Renoir was a Marxist and had already expressed his idealistic, humanitarian views in Grand Illusion. Here the opposite of his humane vision is seen - the villainous slaughter of adorable little creatures, beautifully photographed during their tragic, heartbreaking death.

[@georgeharrison5753]

If you take into consideration that a hunting rifle was later used to kill the only Jewish character in the movie it is obviously a picture of the evils to come. There was a reason this movie was banned in France and criticized by right-wingers for being ''unpatriotic''.

[@walterbenjamin1386]

@@georgeharrison5753 I'm not sure who you are referring to. The only Jewish character I'm aware of is the Marquis. The pilot who was killed at the end wasn't Jewish, as far as I can tell.

[@georgeharrison5753]

@@walterbenjamin1386 You are right, my bad. I misremembered that part. There are other points in the movie (the cook throwing anti-semitic words) that I really believe it tries to make a point about antisemitism and the rise of fascism at the times

[@walterbenjamin1386]

@@georgeharrison5753 Very much agree with you. The cook is comfortable with his antisemitism, but clearly Lisette was not. Have you seen Grand Illusion? There are some pretty strong scenes about one of the central character's Jewishness. You probably already know Renoir was a Marxist at this time. These two films are among my all time favorites.

[@georgeharrison5753]

@@walterbenjamin1386 Yes. I think Grand Illusion was a story about a dying old world, while RotG was a view of things to come. Rules of the Game also happens to be my favorite movie. Renoir's ability to make everyone have their reasons is something I haven't experienced in any other movie.