Die Marseillaise (1938)

Die Marseillaise: Directed by Jean Renoir. With Pierre Renoir, Lise Delamare, Léon Larive, William Aguet. A news-reel like movie about early part of the French Revolution, shown from the eyes of individual people, citizens of Marseille, counts in German exile and, of course the king Louis XVI, showing their own small problems.

“Aside from being a brilliant film, at different times humorous and moving, LA MARSEILLAISE is hands down the most accurate film out there when it comes to the French Revolution.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eSome have noted itu0026#39;s u0026quot;one-sidedu0026quot; aspect, but allow me to make an observation: when royalists want to make a one-sided film on the French Revolution, they… make stuff up! Usually utter bilge, such as THE SCARLET PIMPERNEL or A TALE OF TWO CITIES, films (and original books) whose only basis in historical fact can be summed up as, yes, there was a revolution in France in 1789, and yes indeed, Britain and France are on opposite sides of the Channel. Those who support the republic, on the other hand, have typically had the scruples to actually *do their research* before setting out to mold the publicu0026#39;s impressions of so momentous an historical event. Such is the case with LA MARSEILLAISE, where a large percentage of the dialog is taken from historical records. (In fact, the only real complaint one could have as far as historical accuracy goes is costuming, but Iu0026#39;ve yet to see any film from that era–1938, in this case–that had accurate costumes.) u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eAll this is not to suggest that LA MARSEILLAISE is dull. Far from it! As mentioned before, LA MARSEILLAISE is witty and often poignant. In showing the Revolution from the point of view of ordinary citizens instead of aristocrats or well-known revolutionary leaders, the film shows to what point common citizens were dedicated to the ideals of the Revolution, as well as showing a human side to the u0026quot;mobu0026quot; so frequently portrayed.”