Army of Shadows

aka: L'Armée des Ombres, aka Army in the Shadows
France 1969, 145 minutes
Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville
In French with English subtitles
Genres: Foreign Cinema, Classics / War

Topics: Period 1940s.

Feat. Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, Simone Signoret

Aroview: Melville’s heavyweight masterpiece – by turns sombre, exhilarating, and tension-filled – tackles the clandestine rearguard action of the French resistance during Nazi occupation in WWII.

With impeccable Gallic strength, this is a bleaker, more austere evaluation of heroism and sacrifice, guided ceaselessly by the strong, silent presence of Lino Ventura – an unmovable rock amidst the most precarious of wartime scenarios.

NZ International Film Festival 2006

Member Reviews

Average rating (Very Good). Showing 1-2 of 2 member reviews.

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4 stars (Very Good) 8.2 ~wellor
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3 stars (Good Enough) Even though the screenplay is not always convincing you feel you are always part of the world of men in the greatcoats and hats. ~Tubbs

DVD Features

Criterion Edition (for rental) features an audio commentary, interviews, archival footage and interviews + "Le journal de la R�sistance" (1944), a rare short documentary shot on the front lines of the final days of German-occupied France.

extra stuff
aspect ratio: 1.85:1