Army of Shadows: Out of the Shadows
By May 14, 2007
Beware, major spoilers ahead. Elegant, brutal, anxiety-provoking, and overwhelmingly sad, Jean-Pierre Melville’s 1969 Army of Shadows was released theatrically for the first time in Read more »
- France
- 1969
- 145 minutes
- Color
- 1.85:1
- French
- Spine #385
SYNOPSIS: This masterpiece by Jean-Pierre Melville about the French Resistance went unreleased in the United States for thirty-seven years, until its triumphant theatrical debut in 2006. Atmospheric and gripping, Army of Shadows is Melville’s most personal film, featuring Lino Ventura, Paul Meurisse, Jean-Pierre Cassel, and the incomparable Simone Signoret as intrepid underground fighters who must grapple with their conception of honor in their battle against Hitler’s regime.
Cast & CreditsOpen
Cast
| Philippe Gerbier | Lino Ventura |
| Luc Jardie | Paul Meurisse |
| Mathilde | Simone Signoret |
| Jean-François | Jean-Pierre Cassel |
| Le masque | Claude Mann |
| Félix | Paul Crauchet |
| Le bison | Christian Barbier |
Credits
| Director | Jean-Pierre Melville |
| Screenplay | Jean-Pierre Melville and Joseph Kessel |
| Producer | Jacques Dorfmann |
| Cinematography | Pierre Lhomme |
| Based on the novel by | Joseph Kessel |
| Art direction | Theobald Meurisse |
| Sound | Jacques Carrere, Alex Pront and Jean Neni |
| Editing | Françoise Bonnot |
| Sound editing | Robert Pouret |
Disc Features
SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES:
- High-definition digital transfer of the 2004 restoration, supervised by director of photography Pierre Lhomme (with uncompressed monaural soundtrack on the Blu-ray edition)
- Optional DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
- Audio commentary featuring film historian Ginette Vincendeau
- Interviews with Lhomme and editor Françoise Bonnot
- On-set footage and excerpts from archival interviews with director Jean-Pierre Melville, cast members, writer Joseph Kessel, and real-life Resistance fighters
- Jean-Pierre Melville et “L’armée des ombres” (2002), a short program on the director and his film
- Le journal de la Résistance (1944), a rare short documentary shot on the front lines during the final days of German-occupied France
- Film restoration demonstration by Lhomme
- Theatrical trailers
- PLUS: A booklet featuring essays by critic Amy Taubin and historian Robert O. Paxton, as well as excerpts from Rui Nogueira’s Melville on Melville
From the CurrentView the Current »
Film Essays
Melville’s French Resistance
By May 14, 2007
Jean-Pierre Melville’s film Army of Shadows (1969) gives a dramatic account of the extreme dangers faced by the French who resisted the German occupation of 1940–1944. The time of the story Read more »
Photo Galleries
Clippings
Lino Item
January 26, 2011
In a new article for Moving Image Source, critic and Cineaste editor Richard Porton peeks behind the stony facade of the most unlikely of French movie stars, Lino Ventura. Before he came to acting (responding Read more »
Press Notes
Press Notes: Celebrating Rialto Pictures
November 20, 2008
Criterion’s release of 10 Years of Rialto Pictures has critics giving thanks to the esteemed distribution company this holiday-time. Introducing his interview with Rialto cofounder Read more »
