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Simply A Masterpiece

Purely Joyful Movie!

Entertaining from beginning to end, it maintains the spirit of the franchise while establishing it's own seal with a fun cast

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Story of how The Resistance survives under Nazi Regime in Vichy France through the lens of Philippe Gerbier (Resistance Leader), it is bleak, moody and taut.The Craftsmanship is top- notch. Cinematography and Sound Design create a desolate atmosphere, quiet and haunting. A lingering uncertainty envelops the story and ushers in the dreadful anticipation of the future of the Men/Women involved. The script is on another level. The flawlessly written scenes are prolonged to develop and sustain the tension that provides clarity as to what Extreme Measures the Resistance/Germans deem achievable. **spoiler** Gerbier's Escape(Twice), Paul Dounat(One Who betrays Gerbier)'s Execution,Jean-François delivery of transmitter to Mathilde, Lepercq capture and attempted Rescue, Mathilde's putting up a brave front in domineering German presence, the dialogue at the farmhouse after Mathilde's arrest and what follows keeps you at the edge of you seat.**spoiler** Motivations and Morality are brought to the fore and questioned. Even though the Consequences of Loyalties and Betrayals at the hands of either the Gestapo or the Resistance are brutal and detailed, the film remains grounded through a human lens which makes it all the more affecting.

Exciting chronicle about freedom fighters with extraordinary plethora of famous French actors , being set during WWII when occupied France was divided in two zones : Nazi and Vichy region under command of General Petain . The film concerns about the resistance people , their remarkable acts of courage , fights , treason and many other things . French Resistance groups confront to regain their country from the Nazis , who rule tyrannically the nation and detailing the years before the liberation . It is starred by Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) , a civil engineer, is one of the French Resistance's chiefs , he is interned in a concentration camp , being doublé-crossed and given away by a traitor . He manages to getaway , and joins other leaders and freedom fighters (Paul Meurisse , Jean-Pierre Cassel , Paul Crauchet ,Simone Signoret) at Marseilles , where he gets the traitor to be executed by his colleagues .This is an interesting and thought-provoking account of underground resistance fighters in Nazi-occupied France , 1942, during the occupation . This bears remarkable resemblance to ¨Is Paris burning ?¨ the latter is a spectacular pseudo-documentary style developing the liberation of Paris with the Resistance factions and tryings to burn the city by Nazy hierarchy ; however , ¨Army of shadows¨ results to be a non-spectacular movie and has a slow-moving developing . For the shot depicting German soldiers marching down the Champs Elysees, Jean-Pierre Melville thought that it would be impossible to get regular Frenchmen to provide the proper marching movements , as he ended up casting dancers to correctly provide the march steps he wanted from the soldiers . The short details-roles about freedom fighters leaders only for a minutes are based on the stories of real-life people . It shows us slowly but deeply the everyday of the French Resistants , their fears , their betrays , their solitude , their turbulent relationships , attacks against Nazis , the detentions , killings , the forwarding of hard orders and their carrying out . It's a nice production French with a plethora of international French actors, all of them give over-the-top performances such as Lino Ventura , Paul Meurisse , Jean-Pierre Cassel , Simone Signoret and Serge Reggniani . However , during the shooting of this film , Lino Ventura and the director Jean-Pierre Melville did not speak to each other , as they only communicated through assistants . The motion picture displays a brooding script by writers who lived those days , they give you a much better perspective about role each Resistance . Both writer Joseph Kessel and co-writer and director Jean-Pierre Melville belonged to this "Army in the Shadows". Evocative as well as atmospheric photography by cinematographer Pierre Lhomme ; however , the print of the film had turned completely pink with age and later on , he supervised the digital restoration . The picture was well directed by Jean Pierre Melville, being rigorously and austerely shot in a memorable work and following his particular style . Later beginnings as a post-war forerunner of the 'Nouvelle vague' left his style in several different ways as a purveyor of a certain kind of noir movie, creating his own company and a tiny studio . Although retaining its essential French touch and developing a style closer to the world of the American film noir of the 1940s than any of their other such forays . Studio-character about personages damned to inevitable tragedies, powerful finale, stylized set pieces heightens the suspense and tension have place in all Melville's film-making . His movies and singular talent are very copied and much-admired by contemporary directors, specially the 'Polar' or noir French cinema, such as, 'Le samurai', 'Second breath', 'The red circle', 'Dirty money' and 'Army of the shadows' resulted to be one of the best films . Rating : Better than average . Wortwhile watching .

In 1942, in France, the engineer and chief of a cell of resistance Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura) is arrested and sent to a prisoner camp. He succeeds to escape and together with Felix Lepercq (Paul Crauchet) and the resistance killer Claude "The Mask" Ullmann (Claude Mann), they kidnap the traitor that gave him away to the Germans and execute him. Gerbier travels to London to discuss external support to the resistance and meanwhile Felix is captured by the Germans and tortured. The resistance members Mathilde (Simone Signoret), Guillaume "Bison" Vermersch (Christian Barbier) and the Mask unsuccessfully try to rescue him. But the brother of the resistance chief Luc Jardie (Paul Meurisse), Jean François Jardie (Jean-Pierre Cassel), sacrifices himself to have the chance to give a cyanide pill to Felix. Along the months the group operates until the day one member is captured by the Germans and becomes a threat to the others and shall be executed."L'armée des ombres" is another long movie directed by Jean-Pierre Melville about members of the French Resistance in the World War II. The movie has great performances, locations, set decoration, costumes and cinematography. However, the original plot does not show any French Resistance operation against Germans the way we used to see in other movies. The movie gives the sensation that the members fight only for their self-preservation during the war. Gerbier flees easily from the Germans and in situations not believable. Mathilde's mistake is silly and also unbelievable for a woman with her profile. But the worst situation is when Mathilde and the two killers go to the Gestapo's headquarter without any explanation how they have gotten the documents and with two guys that do not speak German. My vote is seven.Title (Brazil): "O Exército das Sombras" ("The Army of the Shadows")

Probably the best movie of all time about french resistance, and also maybe the best picture ever. At least best Melville's picture, even if not a crime film. Melville gives here his very best. Ventura also at his peak. So were Simone Signoret, Paul Meurisse and so on...I won't add much more to what have already done the other users. Just remember the long sequence where Signoret and her pals try to escape Felix character from jail, in a fake ambulance truck. When they enter into the prison, listen to the rattling sound of the prison gates. The rattling sound of those damn gates, when the audience Wonder : will the brave men and woman succeed in their attempt? Will they get back from the prison. This rattling sound means the gates, the rat hole. Will they get back...Few critics, when analysing this masterpiece focused on this detail. But on many others, and they were right. Beware the rattling sound, of the prison gates. Each time I Watch this movie, again and again, I listen to this sound. The rattling sound.