J'Accuse

December 15, 2008J'Accuse - France, 1919It's a somber fact that many of those who have perished in war throughout history have greeted the start of armed conflict with thunderous applause and overwhelming enthusiasm. Perhaps every generation of men longs for its opportunity to make a difference, to prove its mettle on the battlefield. On Sunday, August 2, 1914, many of the young men in France became instantaneously overjoyed when news of France's declaration of war became known. This moment is perfectly captured in Abel Gance's impressive 1919 film J'Accuse. As word of the start of the First World War spreads, crowds form and make their way toward local government offices. As the crowd moves, children hear adults spreading the news and wonder aloud, "What's war?" Reaching its destination, the crowd feasts its collective eyes on an official notice, an order of general mobilization. Young men cheer and begin singing the national anthem, the elderly are mostly shocked, and tears fall from women's eyes, as their minds most likely turn to the fates of their sons, husbands, and brothers. These are sentiments lost on a drunkard named Francois Laurin (M. Severin-Mars). "At last!" he proclaims. Meanwhile a young poet named Jean Diaz (Romuald Joube) has a different reaction. Stunned, he stumbles back a little, shaken by the magnitude of the announcement and its potential ramifications.By this point in the film, these divergent reactions come as no surprise to viewers. After all, we have seen ample evidence of Francois' belligerence. This is a man who sees nothing wrong with physically striking his wife Edith (Marise Dauvray), trying to force his dog to lick blood dripping from a dead deer, and firing warning shots in Jean's direction when he thinks he is getting too close to Edith. We have also seen that Jean views the world very differently that Francois. A pacifist who writes poems about nature and a utopian world, Jean is the kind of person who mourns the death of a bird and empathizes with those who suffer in their daily lives. Edith Lauren is one of these people. And because of that, it would be easy for viewers to initially confuse J'Accuse with other cinematic love stories involving a love triangle.Yet J'Accuse is not your average love story, for at its heart, J'Accuse is about the horrors of war. In one of the most interesting and affective scenes that I can recall, Gance shows us a series of interlocked hands on the eve of deployment to the frontlines, a husband and a wife, a mother and a son, a father and his child, a man and his girlfriend. The effect is quite powerful, for in each of these tender moments there is a story that we will never know, one that has a high probability of ending in heartbreak and sorrow. Later in the film a character disobeys a direct order and undertakes a potentially deadly mission not because he believes he is the better soldier for the job but because he has learned that the person he was supposed to send loves Edith as much as he does. This discovery leads one of them to seek the other's forgiveness for loving Edith, and the two of them promise to talk about her often. This is all the more amazing given the fact that at this point in the film neither of them knows Edith's whereabouts, for Edith was captured by the Germans after Francois forced her to go to his parents' house so that she would be far away from Jean.J'Accuse has one of the most interesting structures of any film I've ever seen, for what would normally be the climactic moment of the film is in reality just the end of the second act. The third act is as unexpected as it is stunning, as confusing as it is revealing. In it, the reasons for war itself are questioned, the actions of those whom soldiers leave behind are exposed, and war takes its tragic toll on optimism and sanity. In an amazing reversal of fortune, four years of sacrifice have turned a brute into a man and a man of conscience into a man of conspiracy and rage. In the end, war's toll is completely devastating, robbing the deceased of second chances, families of desired moments with loved ones, and little girls of potential fathers. The movie forces us to ask if these sacrifices are worth it. (on DVD)4 stars*J'Accuse is in French with English subtitles. While the subtitles are boxed, they are white. Because of that, there are a few moments in which they are difficult to read.From [...]

J'Accuse was the only "peace film" to be made in Europe during World War I. Gance, who had served briefly in that conflict, returned to active service in 1918 to film battle scenes of soldiers actually under fire. Parts of the film were shot during the battle of St. Mihiel, one of the most significant of the war. Also, for the famous "March of the Dead" sequence at film's end, Gance used real soldiers home on leave from the front - most of whom were killed within the following weeks. Some titles are taken from real letters written by soldiers to their families. These scenes are surely the best and most spectacular of the whole movie.The film stars Maryse Dauvray as Edith, a young Frenchwoman who is in love with a poet (Romuald Joubé) but is forced by her father (Maxime Desjardins) into a marriage with a much older man (Séverin-Mars). Edith is captured by the Germans and endures multiple rapes that result in her becoming pregnant. Edith's husband initially thinks that the poet is the father of her child, and the story ends in tragedy with both men seeing action in the trenches.J'Accuse introduced techniques developed by Gance including rapid-cut editing and expressionistic camerawork and lighting. The film is a must-see for all silent movie fans. Overall, a spectacular and seminal work, although with nearly 3 hours it is very long for current standards and for the time. It contains some unnecessary reiterations, especially with its title J'accuse", where the meaning is not always clear. But, it is much better and more watchable than most films coming out in Europe and America of the time.

There were plenty of anti-war films before Gance released J'ACCUSE in 1919. Numerous short films were made circa 1911-1915 commemorating the 50th anniversary of the American Civil War (DRUMMER OF THE 8th from the CIVIL WAR FILMS OF THE SILENT ERA is a prime example) culminating in D.W. Griffith's continually controversial THE BIRTH OF A NATION. There is also a wonderful Thomas Ince produced feature from 1916 called CIVILIZATION but it has yet to make it to DVD. Being a master of the film medium, I'm sure that Gance must have been familiar with these movies especially BIRTH for technique and CIVILIZATION for content. He took what came before him and made the first great anti-war epic that still resonates today.J'ACCUSE was conceived on a mammoth scale but like most great anti-war movies, the film is primarily intimate as it deals with the personal relationships of a handful of characters that forge a direct bond with the audience. It is this that gives J'ACCUSE its impact and keep it just as relevant to the audiences of today as it was back then. The performances of Roumalde Joube, Marise Dauvray and especially Severin-Mars (the train engineer of LA ROUE) linger long after the film is over. The film is far from perfect and definitely not for everyone. It's too long and the storytelling becomes too episodic at times but the overall message enhanced by Gance's inimitable silent film style make it hard to forget. As usual the restoration and presentation by Flicker Alley rates 5 stars. Great music from Robert Israel as well.

This silent movie features superb film transfers of this silent film classic. The technology advances with lighting and scene composition are common in today's films. The graphic nature of the consequences of war to those who actively participate and those who are innocent but forced into participating are well developed. The physical living conditions of men in combat is well demonstrated. The question "what has my death contributed to benefit my loved ones" is broached and an answer is suggested.

It didn’t have the intended anti-war effect at the time, and now looks rather superficial. A good idea buried in two hours of stodgy polemic. Passionate, but rather too artificial in style. The grim final parade sequence is interesting, but falters with too much use of intercut stock footage. The end result is a choppy film that lacks the necessary vision to push cinematic boundaries of that time. Good for history students, but lacking mass appeal. Well worth seeing, but perhaps only once is enough. It drives the main message home beyond endurance.

This is a review for the 1938 BFI Dual Format Edition.If you have already seen the earlier 1919 film of J'Accuse this is not exactly what I would refer to as a remake.Probably what would now be termed a 're-imagining' as it takes a few elements of the earlier film, but mostly navigates it's own route.This is not a film without flaws, the overall picture quality is fairly good - but this has not received the full BFI film restoration treatment, possibly due to it's original source via Gaumont.For a film even of the late 1930's I would have expected slightly better editing than is present here, there is always going to be some noticeable differences when cutting from original WW1 footage to later film sources, however one particular scene in a French tavern that cuts back and forwards is particularly jarring. Also several sections of 'speeded up' footage are included which again seem a little unwarranted. Finally along with the above are cuts where the soundtrack editing has not been considered, so music will suddenly drop or appear with little or no fading. This along with the later inserted end credit, appears to confirm that this is a shorter cut, and that the film was subsequently edited down (badly) outside of the director's control. Also again possibly due to the editing, it can be difficult to read the subtitles in some of the more fast flowing exchanges between characters.However having said all this the film remains a very powerful indictment of war and the spiral of conflicts.As Abel Gance instructs us "This is not a War film", and that is true as by turns - this is also in some respects a science-fiction film, and more so a horror film - and when it commits itself to the horror, Victor Francen is every bit as effective as Bela Lugosi or Boris Karloff. There also are some similarities here with H.G. Wells - Things to Come, as J'accuse seems to be coming from a similar 'forecasting' perspective, which positioned it for a lot of criticism at the time of its release, and later allowed the film to drift slightly less remembered behind other more conventional and perhaps more 'focussed' standard war film offerings.In terms of the overall package from BFI, there is a decent 30+ page booklet, & the discs also have a commentary track, the only other extra is a stills gallery which reproduces the original press program. At the current time this is being offered at £6.99 - which is very good value. "Je vous appelle !"

I think this film is a must to have for those who are interested in WW1 and classic films. Abel Gance was one of the very best in the silent movie era, with masterpieces like Napoleon.In J'accuse, he shows the traumas of the soldier (PTSD). The absolute master sequence is when the fallen soldiers rise again.

not well put together clips from an older film

Superb. Outstanding quality transfer of a classic film. Five stars across the board.