“With Melville, we have the impression that if you love cinema, if you love it passionately, you can only make one good film, it’s fantastic.E”… We owe this quote to Quentin Tarantino, who counts Jean-Pierre Melville among his favorite directors!
Following the re-release of Samurai last June, one of the filmmaker’s best-known thrillers, it’s Army of Shadows to enjoy a re-release with a 4K restoration.
This is publisher Carlotta accompanying this reissue, dated June 5, 2024 to be exact. Before that, the film will be making the rounds at the Cannes Film Festival with Lino Ventura, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Paul Meury and Simone Signore in the dedicated section. Heritage films, Cannes classics.
4.5 rated by the press
Army of Shadows is an adaptation of Joseph Kessel’s novel published in 1943. The film was originally released in September 1969. In 1969, the film had 1.4 million admissions (according to CBO Box-office). It has already been released twice in cinemas, in 2005 and 2015.
During its pre-release release, the film was praised by the press and received a rating of 4.5. For Les Inrockuptibles, the film showcases “resistance at its most appalling banality. By the great Melville.”
For Zurban, “Far from a pontificating reconstruction, Melville adapts the testimony of Joseph Kessel, but also takes a page from his own past as a resistance fighter, with deadly and dizzying melancholy, like the film’s music (…).“
What is it about?
France 1942. Gerbier, a bridge and road engineer, is also one of the leaders of the resistance. Condemned and captured, he was put in prison. As he prepares to escape, the Gestapo picks up…
On AlloCiné in relation to the file dedicated to France during the war, we noted that Jean-Pierre Melville’s film deals with his memories of the resistance and the action of Lucie Aubrac (whose life will be the film of Claude Berry, Lucie. Aubrac, in 1997).
An era that had a profound impact on my generation
The Army of Shadows also departs from the traditional image of heroic resistance held by the majority of the French people. As Jean-Pierre Melville himself, its director, noted: “In this film, for the first time, I showed what I saw, what I experienced. However, my truth is of course subjective and certainly not the actual truth. From an uplifting story, a wonderful documentary about resistance, I had a retrospective feeling; A nostalgic pilgrimage to an era that had a profound impact on my generation“.
Army of Shadows is considered by many to be the best resistance film ever made.
Source: Allocine
Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.
