La Grande Illusion (also known as
Grand Illusion) is a 1937 French
war film directed by
Jean Renoir, who co-wrote the screenplay with
Charles Spaak. The story concerns class relationships among a small group of French officers who are prisoners of war during
World War I and are plotting an escape. The title of the film comes from the book
The Great Illusion by British economist
Norman Angell, which argued that war is futile because of the common economic interests of all European nations. The perspective of the film is generously humanistic to its characters of various nationalities. It is regarded by critics and film historians as one of the masterpieces of
French cinema and among the
greatest films ever made.
Orson Welles named
La Grande Illusion as one of the movies he would take with him "on the ark."
Empire magazine ranked it #35 in "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.