Léon Poirier's 1928 silent epic, made to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the end of World War I and dedicated to “all the martyrs of the ugliest passion that is war,” offers a sweeping portrait of the Battle of Verdun, a 10-month siege in which the French held the line against an offensive of overwhelming German forces at the cost of 300,000 soldiers on both sides. Combining human drama and history lesson (complete with detailed statistics and animated maps of troop movements), Poirier grounds the movie in the “everyman” experience by identifying real-life historical figures by name but fictional characters by titles and types: the German Soldier, the Farmer, the Daughter, and so on. Gimmick aside, these are full-blooded, vivid characters. Poirier favors the French experience but refuses to vilify the Germans, who are, like the French Soldier (our central point-of-view figure, played by the great Albert Préjean), simply doing their duty in a terrible ordeal. Although not well-known today, Verdun was acclaimed upon its release for its powerful storytelling and amazing re-creations of battle scenes (which Poirier intercut with actual footage from newsreels), but it was quickly eclipsed by the arrival of sound. This DVD is mastered from a restoration by the Cinémathèque de Toulouse and is presented with French intertitles with English subtitles and a fine piano score. Extras include two French-language featurettes (also with English subtitles) and an archival documentary on the battle. A landmark of silent film, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)
Verdun: Looking at History
Kino Lorber, 151 min., not rated, DVD: $29.95 Volume 30, Issue 1
Verdun: Looking at History
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