La Grande Illusion

One of the classics of world cinema, Jean Renoir's 1937 drama is ostensibly a prison camp escape adventure, but it's really about class, race, and cultural identity among a quartet of officers: a working-class soldier, Lt. Maréchal (Jean Gabin); a cultured aristocrat, Capt. de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay); a nouveau riche Jew, Lt. Rosenthal (Marcel Dalio); and their German jailer, Prussian blueblood Capt. von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim). Although set during World War I, this elegant, lovingly detailed film was made on the eve of World War II, and its prescient understanding of the implications of the impending conflict in Europe still reverberates. Renoir and co-writer Charles Spaak wear their hearts on their tattered sleeves—the script far too often voices the obvious—but director Renoir brings his points home in moving moments, displaying great empathy for the prisoners and their efforts to preserve their humanity under trying conditions (the final scene between von Rauffenstein and de Boldieu, who share a certain common cultural sense, is one of the most poignant in Renoir's body of work). Previously released on DVD from Criterion (now out of print), this Blu-ray debut from Lionsgate features StudioCanal's beautiful recent restoration of the original camera negative. Extras include a video introduction and featurettes on the history, legacy, and restoration of the film. Highly recommended. Editor's Choice. (S. Axmaker)