The Grand Illusion 1937  N/R, 111 min.
Genre: Drama
Director: Jean Renoir
Cast: Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim, Dita Parlo, Marcel Dalio, Julien Carette, Gaston Modot, Jean Daste, Jacques Becker, Georges Peclet, Werner Florian, Sylvain Itkine, Albert Brouett, Claude Sainval, Michel Salina
Written while Hitler was beginning to make his move in Europe, this film examines the mindset of men involved in World War I and shows how the aristocratic backgrounds of French prisoner de Boldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and the German commandant of the prison camp, von Rauffenstein (Eric von Stroheim), contribute to them forming a bond that will have deadly consequences when they allow two French soldiers (Jean Gabin and Marcel Dalio) to escape. The negatives of the film survived, and the restored movie was released in 1999, complete with a new translation.
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 La Bete Humaine 1938  N/R, 99 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
aka: The Human Beast
Judas Was a Woman
Director: Jean Renoir
Cast: Jean Gabin, Simone Simon, Julien Carette, Fernand Ledoux, Blanchette Brunoy, Gerard Landry, Jean Renoir, Jenny Helia, Colette Regis, Claire Gerard, Charlotte Clasis, Jacques Berlioz
Emile Zola's novel is adapted into this excellent film about an unfaithful wife (Simone Simon) who plots her husband's (Fernand Ledoux) demise. Fritz Lang remade this story as "Human Desire."
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The Rules of the Game 1939 N/R, 113 min.
Genre: Foreign / Comedy / Drama
Director: Jean Renoir
Cast: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Roland Toutain, Jean Renoir, Paulette Dubost, Gaston Modot, Julien Carette, Mila Parely, Odette Talazac, Claire Gerard, Anne Mayen, Lise Elina
The moral vacuum inherent in the upper-class system of pre-World War II France is presented in this comedy about marriages, mistresses, and mayhem. A great film.
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| 1. The Grand Illusion (1937)
2. La Bete Humaine (1938)
aka: The Human Beast
aka: Judas Was a Woman
3. The Rules of the Game (1939)
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