The Marseillaise

(La Marseillaise)

Feature Film, Black & White 1938, 2h06

Drama, History

Director Jean Renoir

Starring Pierre Renoir, Lise Delamare, Léon Larive, William Aguet, Elisa Ruis, Germaine Lefebure, Louis Jouvet, Georges Spanelli, Aimé Clariond, Jaque-Catelain, Irene Joachim, Andrex, Edmond Ardisson, Jean-Louis Allibert

This long-forgotten gem in Renoir's canon is the director's only truly epic film. Made towards the end of France's left wing "Popular Front" government when Europe was on the brink of war, 'LA MARSEILLAISE' is a markedly political film about a country in flux. With an innovative new-reel style, the film follows a cross-section of people - from the citizens of Marseilles to Louis XVI - who are affected by the shifting political and social forces in the early days of the French revolution.