The Sorrow and the Pity
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DVD Cover Information
Actor: Anthony Eden, Georges Bidault, Marcel Fouche-Degliame, Maurice Chevalier, R. Du JonchayBrand: Image Entertainment
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); German (Original Language); French (Original Language)
Format: Black & White, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 251 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2001-04-24
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Image Entertainment
Movie Reviews of The Sorrow and the Pity
Movie Review: Absolutely essential
Summary: 5 Stars
At first, I thought I wouldn't feel really involved with this documentary because it largely consisted of a bunch of talking heads, but before long I found myself really drawn into it. While there did seem to be more footage of the interviews than the wraparound segments of vintage newsreels and other historical coverage, it struck a pretty good balance between the two. A lot of times I find documentaries that have so much focus on just interviews to be kind of boring, but the way the interviews were presented, and the subjects covered, made all of the difference in the world. It also helped that this wasn't just the same story we've heard many times before, a criticism a lot of people like to level at films about the WWII and Nazi era. And when the film came out in 1969, people hadn't been bombarded with all of the films and documentaries about that era the way they have now, so one shouldn't feel jaded or unimpressed just because some of the documentary does cover what is now familiar territory.
Divided into two parts, "The Collapse" and "The Choice," the film focuses on the city of Clermont-Ferrand, which was host to quite a variety of people. Director Marcel Ophüls interviews people from numerous walks of life, not just people who were, e.g., in the Resistance, against Marshall Pétain, or supporters of the Vichy government. These people, ranging from top-ranking government officials, former collaborators and Nazi soldiers, farmers, Resistance fighters, hairdressers, spies, writers, and ordinary people, all did (or didn't do) different things during the war, held different beliefs, and made different decisions. Some have changed their opinions since the war, some still are convinced they were right to support the Vichy government or fight alongside Germans to defeat Russia. It's so wonderful to see such a wealth of experiences represented, since it really paints a fascinating picture of a multi-faceted France under both Vichy and Nazi occupation. Some of the interviewees also contradict one another (sometimes even historical facts, such as the man who unbelievably claims that only 5% of French Jewry were killed), which is also an asset, since how one person experienced or remembered something isn't going to be exactly the same as another person did so. Very rarely is history so black and white, simplistic, and clear-cut. Yet another thing going for the film is that it was made in 1969, when the survivors of the occupation were still relatively young, instead of very elderly as they are today, members of an ever-shrinking generation. It's good to be able to capture their memories and opinions from a time when WWII was still in rather recent memory instead of regarded as an ever-distant historical event.
This is a fascinating and incredible documentary, and one shouldn't be put off by the fact that it's four hours long (it's broken into two convenient sections, and they don't drag in spite of their length) or in black and white. Initially, even though I normally love black and white films, I was a bit skeptical about watching something from the modern era in black and white, but it soon came to seem very effective, giving it more of a classic, timeless, undated feel, far more so than had it been made with the type of color film that was the norm then. The only drawback is the pricetag; it seems like a rather inflated price, even for a four-hour documentary, when there aren't even any extras, and with a print that could have used a bit more digital restoration. Other than that, it's top-notch and should be viewed by anyone with an interest in not only WWII but also in how the lessons and experiences of those years are still chillingly pertinent today.
Summary of The Sorrow and the Pity
SORROW AND THE PITY - DVD MovieOften hailed as one of the greatest documentaries of all time, The Sorrow and the Pity is still astonishing long after its original release in Paris. The lengthy film (anyone who has heard it prominently referred to in Woody Allen's Annie Hall knows it's four hours long) tells the story of France under Nazi occupation by weaving together a number of interviews as well as newsreel clips and propaganda films shot by the Nazis. Director Marcel Ophüls skillfully utilizes interviews with people who often contradict each other, so the story of France not only occupied but divided against itself emerges fully. Filmed in the late 1960s, when bitter memories still resonated, the interviews conducted by Ophüls have great depth and are often amazing. Ordinary Frenchmen who found themselves performing heroic acts for the Resistance recall the dangers they faced while those who collaborated with the Nazis make excuses. A former Nazi officer interviewed at a wedding party in Germany pompously puts a benign face on what occurred where he was stationed; interviews with French residents utterly refute his sanitized version of the past. Beyond the interviews, the arresting archival footage chosen by Ophüls is remarkable, such as an unsettling clip of a stand-up comedian performing before a laughing audience whose collar insignias identify them as members of the fanatical Nazi SS. The Sorrow and the Pity lives up to its reputation as being a magnificent documentary. --Robert J. McNamara
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