Army of Shadows has long and deservedly been a legendary film among movie buffs. A film masterpiece, immaculately restored more than three decades after its French release, it remains a brilliant, coolly accurate portrait of a group of resistance fighters in Occupied France during World War II. Avoiding acts of spectacular heroism, Melville presents a twilight world, where the clandestine freedom-fighters seek to avoid capture and are forced to eliminate informants from their own ranks. Shot in 1959, "this doom-laden movie of tragic grandeur" (The Guardian) celebrates the stoic heroism of this "army of shadows." The suspenseful set-pieces are handled by Melville with consummate cinematic mastery. "Not just one of the great films of the '60s but one of the great films, period—and the chance to discover it at the beginning of the 21st century, in an era when we think we've seen it all, is an unquantifiable privilege." (Salon.com) More at rialtopictures.com 35mm
1969, color, 2 hours 25 minutes, France/Italy