| Description |
1 online resource (1 video file, approximately 166 min.) : digital, .flv file, sound |
|
digital |
|
video file MPEG-4 Flash |
| Note |
Title from title frames. |
| Event |
Originally produced by Flicker Alley in 1919. |
| Summary |
J'Accuse, Gance's extraordinary breakthrough work, is a World War I drama considered to be one of the most technically advanced films of the era and the first major pacifist film. It was referred to by Gance as "A human cry against the bellicose din of armies." This seminal cinematic achievement stars Marise Dauvray as Edith, a young woman who is unhappily married to an older man, François (Séverin-Mars), but is actually in love with a young poet, Jean Diaz (Romuald Joubé). Both Jean and François end up on the front lines of World War I while Edith is captured by German forces and suffers atrocities at the hands of the soldiers. Gance contrasts individual human suffering with the larger horrors of war, depicted with stark realism. J'Accuse introduced such technical advances as rapid-cut editing and highly expressive camerawork and lighting. Gance, who had served briefly in the military, returned to active service in order to film real battle scenes to include in the project. The film became a huge international hit, prompting one journalist to write that if the film had been shown in every town in the world in 1913, war might have been averted. In the early 1920s, Gance revised the plot, titles, and editing for "peacetime" presentation. That had been the only version of the film available until now. Directed by Abel Gance. |
| System Details |
Mode of access: World Wide Web. |
| Subject |
World War, 1939-1945 -- Motion pictures and the war.
|
|
Silent films.
|
| Genre |
Feature films.
|
|
Silent films.
|
|
Short films.
|
| Added Author |
Dauvray, Marise, actor.
|
|
Mars, Séverin, 1873-1921, actor.
|
|
Joubé, Romauld, actor.
|
|
Gance, Abel, film director.
|
|
Kanopy (Firm)
|
| Music No. |
1111543 Kanopy |
|
More Resources