J'accuse

Not strictly a remake of Abel Gance's silent classic because that comprised only the first half of this version which is plainly the work of a sadder, wiser man and continues well past the Armistice to deal with the trauma of those who survived.

Gance shows a command of sound and dialogue well beyond his more celebrated silents, and if like all Gances it goes on too long, it makes up in visual punch what it lacks in brevity.

Abel Gance, undoubtedly one of the greatest film-makers ever, made this extraordinary film as he saw Europe rushing toward World War 2. It is a remake of a film he made when he was in the trenches of World War 1. At its core is the magnificent performance of Victor Francen as the only survivor of a World War 1 patrol who is determined to prevent war ever happening again. With photography and amazing mis en scene, Gance evokes the waste of war and the terrible effect it has on its survivors. The climax involves Francen conjuring the dead of World War 1 to stop World War 2. This is stunningly shot and extremely powerful.

The only faults this film has is the over reliance on stock footage (I assume because of budgetary problems), and a romantic sub-plot that doesn't quite work. But this is a true work of art - highly political and visionary, and fascinating historically. What a shame humanity didn't listen in 1938!

A plea from beyond the graves of 53,000.000 who died in WWI, this movie eloquently watches 12 men as they prepare for what they know will the last patrol of their life. 120 men have already gone to their deaths in their 3 years at Verdun, on the same patrol. As two men argue over their love for one's wife, the husband is suddenly bound to forgive the other and makes him pledge to mail letters to the other's wife should he die, at 2 week intervals to keep her thinking of him alive.

A few subplots involving a chanteuse who has all the men singing while the bombs explode around them in a town that is wiped out by the barrage. The scene in which the dead answer the call of the scientist who has worked for 20 years to bring back his friends and others has been often copied in far lesser films since.

The dialogue in this movie is of great impact, made more so by the fact that my son has just returned from the slaughter in Iraq. A eye for an eye makes everyone blind, and no movie makes the point as well as this one. The death scene may deliberately be set up to make you think of Jean D'Arc, but it just reminded me of how mindless the masses are, no matter of what nationality. The brainwashed American public is a case in point. Oh, for a decent educational system. Maybe we should give up and just show movies like this one, 'Paths of Glory', 'Attack' and 'Deerhunter' all day. Whoever puts up statues to military, writes military marches and glorifies marching off to war should have to tell all the widows their loved one has died for nothing, only repeats of death---be it through war or 9/11s.

This film is an anti-war film about a man who served in WWI and sees that further wars are approaching because we never learned the lesson. Despite his rants, people seem to think war is a GOOD option, so the film ends with his unleashing an object lesson everyone won't soon forget.

Wow, did this film attempt something different! It was a remake of an earlier silent version by the same director. However, despite its STRONG IMPACT and imaginative script and cinematography at the end, the film was far from perfect. My first complaint is the quality of the camera work. While, as I said above, the end is spectacular, a lot of very grainy old vintage WWI film is inter-spliced into the film. It just doesn't look very seamless, as the quality is dramatically worse than the movie itself. It could really use a remastering--using computer technology to clean up and restore the old footage. My second complaint is the length of the film. For once, I actually think the film would have been better if it would have been shortened. The plot in the middle of the film greatly detracted from the emotional impact of the beginning and the end. Third, while the director was very sincere and was right that WWI was a pointless and stupid waste of life where no one person was truly to blame, his message of moral relativism probably contributed to the French ethos that led to their quick capitulation to the Nazis in WWII. World War II was NOT morally equivalent, as Hitler was indeed evil and the cost in human life to stop him EARLY in the war would have been well-worth it in the end (i.e., taking a pacifist stand allowed Hitler to do FAR more damage to mankind than standing up against him in 1939-40). I admire the effort, but wonder what would have been the result if this film had NOT come out just before WWII.

Do not assume I am gung-ho about war. Most wars are pointless and WWI is the greatest example of the stupidity and waste of war. For an even better film about this, try watching the original ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930). Another excellent anti-war film is THE EAGLE AND THE HAWK, also set in WWI.

4/28/08--By the way, I just saw the "original" version of this film by the same writer/director. Despite BOTH having the same name, the films are very different. While J'ACCUSE (1919) is more of a spectacle and was more innovative for the time, J'ACCUSE (1938) is much more watchable today and has a much clearer anti-war message. Also, there is a movie by the same name from 2003 and a mini-series from the 1990s--but both have nothing to do with the French films.

J'Accuse surely ranks as one of the most stunningly effective anti-war films ever made. Its early scenes involve a group of French soldiers who are compelled to go out on a hopeless and utterly pointless patrol. The men are instantly slaughtered by the Germans. The next morning, an armistice is declared. The men on patrol were the last to die. Think of the great anti-war films you've seen--like "Paths of Glory" or "All Quiet on the Western Front." In my opinion, Abel Gance's "J'Accuse" ranks with these masterpieces and, in its final scenes, even surpasses them.

Jean Diaz is the sole survivor of the doomed patrol. Before the men leave the trenches, Diaz swore to his colleagues that their sacrifice would not be in vain--there would be no more wars. Diaz devotes his life to achieving this goal for which he sacrifices everything. Of course, he fails miserably, as the European powers prepare for a new and even more catastrophic war. In the final scenes, Diaz plays his last and best card in scenes that will not be soon forgotten by those who are fortunate enough to see this great film.