(aka "France is Free" )
directed by René-Jean Bouyer
France 2000
It almost sounds like a fantasy scenario:
An invading American force is greeted as liberators. But it actually
happened once upon a time in a land called France where the conquering
American heroes were warmly received after driving out the evil Huns.
Koch Vision has released several interesting collections of war-time footage
in the past few months. First was “Embedded ’45: Shooting War in Germany,”
black and white film by embedded war photographers during the Allied
invasion of Germany. Now come two compilations under the umbrella title of
“They Filmed the War in Color”; “France is Free” and “The Pacific
War.” The color in the films of “France is Free” isn’t exactly
vivid or striking, but considering the earliest footage begins in 1939, it
is pretty damned rare. When you consider that filming in occupied France was
considered an act of treason, some of the material assumes an even greater
historical significance. It also explains why much of the footage was shot
by German soldiers or officials.
“France is Free” focuses as much on domestic life under German
occupations, as it does on the military. But the most memorable moments
involve the great German war machine. The sight of the Place de la Concorde
being used as a landing strip for the Luftwaffe will make most French
viewers prickle. Other highlights include footage shot by Darryl Zanuck and
George Stevens, Hollywood directors brought in to make propaganda films to
bolster morale and instruct the troops. Hitler makes a few appearances as
well, looking suspiciously non-Aryan.
The footage is stitched together with a narration (English narration by
Geoffrey Bateman for this Region 1 release) that provides context and
transforms the disparate material into a historical lesson. I enjoy these
discs quite a bit, though the primary appeal is simply the ability to see WW
2-era footage I’ve never seen before. The fact that it’s in color this time
around isn’t necessarily a big deal, but who’s complaining?
Theatrical Release: French Television - June 2000
DVD Review: Koch Vision - Region 1 - NTSC
Big thanks to Christopher Long for the Review!
DVD Box Cover |
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CLICK to order from: |
Distribution |
Koch Vision Region 1 - NTSC |
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Runtime | 95 min. | |
Video |
1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio |
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NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes. |
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Bitrate |
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Audio | Dolby Digital | |
Subtitles | none | |
Features |
Release Information: Studio: Koch Vision Aspect Ratio:
Edition Details: Chapters 12 |
Comments | The footage is compiled from multiple sources, and is in various states of preservation, so the quality varies wildly from scene to scene. In general, the colors are faded and the films rather scratchy - exactly as you'd expect. The transfer is not progressive, and their are multiple examples of combing throughout. Image quality in general is fairly good though, as good as you can expect from this source material. |
DVD Menus
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Screen Captures
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Example of 'combing'
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