Film Details

Though something of a running joke in Woody Allen’s Annie Hall, Marcel Ophüls’ 4+ hour historical documentary remains one of the greatest nonfiction films ever made—and has relevance for Americans today. Ophüls employs archival footage and interviews with eyewitnesses to explode the myth of the vaunted French Resistance to Germany’s occupation of their country during WWII. Focusing on the town of Clermont-Ferrand, the movie demonstrates that there was perhaps more French collaboration with the enemy than people would like to admit—for reasons ranging from apathy and anti-Semitism to fear of Bolshevism and lust for power. Fifty years ago, The Sorrow and the Pity created a furor in France, with French TV refusing to air it. It is now in the pantheon of immortal documentaries. “Four-and-a-half hours long, and unfolds at the breathless pace of a great thriller.” –Elliot Wilhelm, VideoHound’s World Cinema. Cleveland revival premiere. Subtitles. DCP. 251 min. plus intermission.