A Prison Is For Escaping: La Grande Illusion (1937)

<p><span style="font-weight: 400;">When asked what two films he would take with him "on the ark", Orson Welles simply responded, "La Grande Illusion... and something else!"</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">A classic of prison escape movies,</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Grand Illusion</span></em> <span style="font-weight: 400;">(1937) was hugely influential on films that followed, including</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Great Escape</span></em><span style="font-weight: 400;">. Variously banned by both German and French authorities, the film — which deals with themes of class, prejudice, and war — was not without controversy.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Film critic Roger Ebert called it "a meditation on the collapse of the old order of European civilization," and critics and film historians alike regard the film not only a masterpiece of French cinema, but also one of the greatest films of all time.</span> <em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">The Grand Illusion</span></em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, in fact, was restored and released as the inaugural DVD of The Criterion Collection.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">James and Thomas discuss this seminal work by director Jean Renoir, son of the famous French painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir.</span></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Next up on Criteria, we'll be viewing and discussing the second installment of</span> <em><span style="font-weight: 400;">Dekalog</span></em><span style= "font-weight: 400;">, the 10-part series of films directed by Polish auteur Krzysztof Kieślowski.</span></p> <p><strong>Notes</strong></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">Millet and Modern Art: From Van Gogh to Dalí</span> <a href= "https://www.slam.org/exhibitions/millet-and-modern-art/" target= "_blank" rel="noopener"><span style= "font-weight: 400;">https://www.slam.org/exhibitions/millet-and-modern-art/</span></a></p> <p><span style="font-weight: 400;">The Flight Into Egypt, by Jean Millet</span