Search - La Bataille du Rail on DVD

An epic of resistance!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 08/20/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
"La bataille du rail" is (who doubts?) one of the most emotive and realistic war films ever made but focused from a totally new perspective. It deals with the different procedures tactics and strategies employed by these brave and anonymous railroad men, who risked their lives under the service of a free France.

The film is narrated in a semi- documental style, with a voice in off until the first third part of the movie, and explores all the set of trickeries, acts of sabotage in all the possible fronts; altering with a sophisticated web of communication by then, all the plans of the enemy in question.

Fascinating, mesmerizing and unforgettable film that fairly deserved the historical first Award in Cannes in 1946 as Best Film.

A classic and one of my preferred cult movies.
"

Poor history, poor plot, poor video.

From Elder | 10/21/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"1) What's shown here is a distortion of history. The real French resistance, the one to which the French point with pride, didn't begin until late 1943. Yes, the movie does depict the events of the D-Day invasion - June '44 - but the implications are that this behavior was continual throughout the war. For an accurate account, I highly recommend "The Sorrow and the Pity".
2) The plot rambles back and forth, with much of the movie documentary footage. It isn't woven into the acted scenes very smoothly, and the progression of events therefore jumps around.
3) Video quality spans the gradient between poor and atrocious. There's been no attempt at restoration, much needed on a 60+ year-old film.
4) There are no extras on the DVD."