Army of Shadows (L'Armée des ombres) (1969)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: Originally made in 1969, this recently reissued classic is a masterful examination of the inner workings of the World War II resistance efforts.
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Cast
as Gerbier
as Luc
as Jean-Francois
as Mathilde
as Barber

as Le Masque

as Le Bison
as Felix

as Legrain

as Aubert

as Dounat
as Gendarm

as Commander of the camp
as Octave Bonnafous

as Baron de Ferte-Talloire

as Col. Jarret
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Critic Reviews for Army of Shadows (L'Armée des ombres)
All Critics (73) | Top Critics (24) | Fresh (71) | Rotten (2) | DVD (7)
As close to a masterpiece as any film you're likely to see this year.

A film to be seen and savored for its moral magnitude.
The glacial pacing can be an irritant as the film unfolds -- I repeatedly wanted to speed things up -- but Army of Shadows won't leave you alone after you've seen it.
From the first sight of German soldiers goose-stepping past the Arc de Triomphe to a postscript that spells out the fate of characters whose moral confusion is all too real, Army of Shadows is a movie of its time -- and ours.
For anyone interested in the impact of war on ordinary men, Army of Shadows proves a sobering and invaluable experience.
This memorable movie movingly pays tribute to those who chose not to remain silent, to those ordinary men and women who chose to do extraordinary things... from the shadows.
Audience Reviews for Army of Shadows (L'Armée des ombres)
The French Resistance is where this examination begins but there's not a single scene showing a train being blown up or lines being furtively cut in the dead of night ... rather it's a look at the interior damage wrought when choosing to resist tyranny at all, the isolation, the loneliness, the agonizing fear of trusting yourself. Must see.
Super Reviewer
Unembellished and matter-of-fact. Melville masterfully spotlights the French Resistance without martyring the Nazi regime that spawned it.

Super Reviewer
a great depiction of french resistance, melville blends substance with his usual stylistic approach. the film falters at many points with a lack of clarity and direction to the shifty plot, and the film is almost entirely without emotion, but it has striking images and flawless direction in its portrayal of horrific events. overall very good film.

Super Reviewer
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