Le chagrin et la pitié (1969)

Director:

Marcel Ophüls

Writers:

André Harris (writer)
Marcel Ophüls (writer)

Release Date:

25 March 1972 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary | History | War

Plot:

From 1940 to 1944, France's Vichy government collaborated with Nazi Germany. Marcel Ophüls mixes archival...

Plot Keywords:

Interview | France | Clermont Ferrand | Collaboration | 1940s

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 5 wins

Cast

Georges Bidault	...	Himself
Matthäus Bleibinger
Charles Braun
Maurice Buckmaster
Emile Coulaudon
Emmanuel d'Astier de la Vigerie
René de Chambrun		(as Comte René de Chambrun)
Christian de la Mazière
Jacques Duclos
R. Du Jonchay		(as Colonel R. du Jonchay)
Anthony Eden	...	(also archive footage) (as Lord Avon)
Sgt. Evans
Marcel Fouche-Degliame
Raphael Geminiani
Alexis Grave
Louis Grave
Marius Klein
Georges Lamirand
Pierre Le Calvez
Mr. Leiris
Claude Levy		(as Dr. Claude Levy)
Pierre Mendès-France	...	Himself
Cmdt. Menut
Elmar Michel
Mr. Mioche
Marcel Ophüls	...	Interviewer
Denis Rake
Henri Rochat	...	Himself
Paul Schmidt
Mme. Solange
Edward Spears	...	Himself
Helmut Tausend
Roger Tounze
Marcel Verdier
Walter Warlimont

Also Known As:

Das Haus nebenan - Chronik einer französischen Stadt im Kriege (West Germany)
Le chagrin et la pitié - Chronique d'une ville Français sous l'occupation (France)
The Sorrow and the Pity (USA)
Zorn und Mitleid (West Germany)

Runtime:

251 min

Country:

France | Switzerland | West Germany

Language:

French | German | English

Colour:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Mono

Certification:

Australia:M | France:U | UK:12A | USA:PG

Company:

Télévision Rencontre

Trivia:

Originally intended for French television but broadcasters refused to show it.

Quotes:

Dr. Claude Levy: France is the only government in all Europe whose government collaborated. Others signed an armistice or surrendered, but France was the only country to have collaborated and voted laws which were even more racist than the Nuremberg laws, as the French racist criteria were even more demanding than the German racist criteria. It's not something to be proud of.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Ugly Betty: Zero Worship (#2.11)" (2008)

Profound sadness.

How truly compelling is "The Sorrow and the Pity," a monumental 4 ½-hour documentary about one of the saddest realities of World War II: the almost placid collaboration of the French with their occupying German conquerors. The movie was created by Marcel Ophüls (son of the great Max Ophüls) and portrays a devastating picture of the collective compromise of morality under duress. We are brought into intimate contact with the times by way of newsreel footage and interviews with present-day survivors of all persuasions as they recall the events of the past, corroborate or contradict others or even themselves. We see the danger that comes with historical amnesia and the refusal to see that there is a potential for great evil as well as great good in all of us. This is a profound movie, and a profoundly disquieting one. It does not substitute facile attitudinizing for intelligence and integrity. It demands that we push the limits of our vision beyond the borders of the screen masking in the theatre. It would be a sorrow and a pity not to see it…and think about its implications for all of us.