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La Bataille Du Rail (1945)

La Bataille Du Rail (1945)
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La Bataille du Rail (Battle of the Rails) is regarded by many cineastes as the one truly great French "resistance" film. Based on fact, the episodic plotline details the courageous efforts by French railray workers to sabotage Nazi reinforcement-troop trains. The film's thesis is that this underground activity was largely responsible for the allied victory on D-Day. Writer-director Rene Clement enhanced the reality of the story by filming on actual locations and using genuine railway employees and resistance fighters in the cast. Admittedly slow going at times, La Bataille du Rail is more successful as a morale-booster than as pure entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Starring:
Jean Daurand, Tony Laurent, (more)
Director(s):
René Clément
Format(s):
DVD
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Synopsis of La Bataille Du Rail

La Bataille du Rail (Battle of the Rails) is regarded by many cineastes as the one truly great French "resistance" film. Based on fact, the episodic plotline details the courageous efforts by French railray workers to sabotage Nazi reinforcement-troop trains. The film's thesis is that this underground activity was largely responsible for the allied victory on D-Day. Writer-director Rene Clement enhanced the reality of the story by filming on actual locations and using genuine railway employees and resistance fighters in the cast. Admittedly slow going at times, La Bataille du Rail is more successful as a morale-booster than as pure entertainment. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Theatrical Feature Running Time:
85 mins

Complete Cast of La Bataille Du Rail


Director(s):
René Clément
Writer(s):
Colette Audry, René Clément
Producer(s):
René Clément
Categories:
War
La Bataille Du Rail Awards:
  • 1946 - Cannes Film Festival - International Grand Prix For Best Director
  • 1946 - Cannes Film Festival - International Jury Prize
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    James V.

    As a big fan of French writer/director Rene Clement (Forbidden Games," "Purple Noon," "Joy House"), I was quite looking forward to LE BATAILLE DU RAIL. Well, that's over. This 1946 film, which uses many actual railroad workers and has a highly documentary flavor, seems so intent on proving its point that the French rail workers helped immensely in paving the way for the Normandy invasion that things like German ingenuity and force, not to mention French collaborators, get little mention. There is one strong scene of German reprisal and one mention of a co-worker having "big"--or maybe it was "long"--ears, but that's it. There's little characterization here but some suspense when things appear to go awry (and quite a nifty train crash late in the film). Yet the whole operation appears to be too much of a breeze to take very seriously. That said, the movie probably still commands the power to induce the French of a certain age to clasp their bosom and burst forth with "La Marseilleise."

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    Sandra P.

    I agree that the best part of the movie was the train derailment. I also thought it was a good example of the bravery of the underground fighters in France. It was done in b/w sometimes you couldn't read the subtitles.

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    J'ADORE LE CINEMA O.

    The actual derailment of a convoy train carrying tanks, troup carriers and artillery is the climactic scene in this film. This classic was made within the first year of V-E day, and uses a lot of captured hardware. Shot in documentary style, in B/W this has the flavor of a newsreel of the day. Yes, the French emphasize their railway worker's role in sabatoge and delay of the German transport system after D-Day, but without this pov, we would never have heard of the brave men who gave their lives in these fights behind the lines. The special effects are limited to actors playing dead. Everything else actually happens to be caught on film. Have you ever seen 20 train cars, carrying heavy weapons derail? It will never be done again, and worth watching just for that scene alone. I rate this for high historical value, and great early film technique.

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