What it’s about
Jean Diaz (Francen) survives the trenches in the Great War, but loses all his comrades on the day before the armistice of 1918. He returns home damaged, but determined to invent technology to prevent another world war. His mental health deteriorates over the years, and on the eve of WWII, he sadly realizes that humanity has learned nothing from history and is destined to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Why we love it
Reimagining his own 1919 silent epic, Gance’s powerful anti-war howl is a masterpiece of ingenious filmmaking and prescient sentiment. Intercutting actual First World War footage seamlessly with his production, the avant-garde filmmaker infuses act one of his drama with poignant realism. The finale gives way to nightmarish surrealism, using film of maimed WWI vets to emphasize his desperate message about the futility of war. Don’t miss this anti-war classic from the legendary director who brought us 1927’s “Napoleon”!