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In Search of La Grande Illusion
A Critical Appreciation of Jean Renoir's Elusive Masterpiece
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Book Presentation:
This is an extended analysis of the film, from different perspectives. The first half is largely a discussion of the cinematic technique, with key sequences analyzed shot by shot. The second half approaches the film from many other angles, including its history, the critical reception, Renoir's life and career, and film theory, e.g., film in relation to music. A case is made that Renoir's career was inconsistent, especially after La Regle du jeu but also during the 1930s. And rather than emphasizing the humanist, anti-war thrust of La Grande Illusion, the film is approached as a work of art that is deeply expressive cinematically.
About the Author:
Nicholas Macdonald, as an independent filmmaker, made a series of low-budget 16mm political films in the early 1970s. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.
Press Reviews:
"This is a rare and valuable work…I urge you to read Macdonald’s book"—David Thomson, The New Republic; "Macdonald gives us an admirably documented and extensively illustrated treatment of the film…. His scholarship is thorough, with a meticulous break-down of shots and detailed notes on all the major figures involved with the film, in front of or behind the camera…recommend"—Oxford University Press Journals French Studies; "a well-documented and extensively-illustrated treatment of the film…recommend it"—French Studies; "Macdonald tracks the issues of the film very closely, adds several surprises, and makes us wish the film was more available"—ProtoView.
See the publisher website: McFarland & Co
See Grand Illusion (1937) on IMDB ...
> On a related topic:
Cracking Gilles Deleuze's Crystal (2018)
Narrative Space-time in the Films of Jean Renoir
by Barry Nevin
Subject: Director > Jean Renoir
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