Download La Grande Vadrouille - French Institute Alliance Française

Young Audience Program at FIAF
La Grande Vadrouille
Dear Teachers,
Welcome to the Florence Gould Hall at the French Institute
Alliance Française! We are happy to present La Grande
Vadrouille a film by as our December Young Audience Program
at FIAF.
We made this study guide to help you introduce your students to
the film they are about to watch. From the cultural as well as from
the social point of view, it is our goal to make this moment unique
and enjoyable for all.
BASIC RULES
OF THE GOOD AUDIENCE MEMBER
We expect the students to behave correctly. We kindly ask you to
ask them:
Thursday December 7Th, 2005 at 10:30am
Florence Gould Hall at FIAF
55 East 59th Street, New York, NY
(212)355.6100
(646)388.6688
-NOT TO talk or whisper during the film
-NOT TO move from their seat
-NOT TO chew gum, eat or drink in the theater
-NOT TO wear headphones
Please let us know about your comments after the event. We will be
happy to improve thanks to your feedback, and of course, proud to
hear your praise! (At [email protected])
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SYNOPSIS
THE CAST
During World War II… When their combat aircraft is shot down
by the Germans, three English airmen parachute to the
comparative safety of Nazi occupied France. One of them lands
on the scaffold of an amiable painter and decorator, Augustin.
Another lands on top of a concert hall and is rescued by the
irascible but patriotic conductor Stanislas Lefort. The third one
ends up in the otter enclosure in a Parisian zoo. When they try
to help the airmen keep a rendez-vous at the Turkish baths in
Paris, Augustin and Stanislas quickly find that they themselves
have become targets for the German soldiers. Assisted by the
daughter of a puppeteer and an anti-German nun, the two
unwilling heroes accompany the three airman on a reckless trek
across France towards the neutral zone and safety.
La Grande Vadrouille was directed by Gérard Oury; Written by
Marcel Jullian, Gérard Oury, and Danièle Thompson;
Cinematography by André Domage and Alain Douarinou; Editing
by Albert Jurgenson. Color. 1966, 132 minutes.
Augustin BOUVET
Stanislas LEFORT
Sir REGINALD
Peter CUNNINGHAM
Alan MAC INTOSH
Juliette
Mme Germaine
Sœur Marie-Odile
Major Achbach
BOURVIL
LOUIS DE FUNES
TERRY THOMAS
CLAUDIO BROOK
MIKE MARSHALL
MARIE DUBOIS
COLETTE BROSSET
ANDREA PARISY
BENNO STERZENBACH
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FRANCE DURING WORLD WAR II
French resistance could claim
its origin externally in Charles
de Gaulle's Appeal of June 18
(1940) on the BBC where he
proclaimed that the war was
not over. Maréchal Philippe
Pétain had already signed the
armistice treaty and the
formation of “Vichy France”
government had begun.
World War II (1939- 1945) was the largest and deadliest war in
human history. The conflict began on September 1, 1939 with the
German invasion of Poland and lasted until the summer of 1945,
involving many of the world's countries. The principal
belligerents were the Axis powers: Germany, Italy, and Japan and
the Allies: France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet
Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many
respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the
disputes left unsettled by World War I. World War II resulted in
the direct or indirect death of anywhere from 50 to 60 million
people, over 3% of the world population at that time.
Jean Moulin
Occupation and demarcation line:
In France, the war ended officially in June 1940, when Maréchal
Pétain signed an armistice with Hitler and accepted the
occupation of a part of the French territory by the German army.
The demarcation line was the border of occupied France, which
divided North and South France. The country was therefore
reorganized:
-the North was occupied by the German,
-the South was the free zone lead by Pétain's Government. This
line went from the Spanish border to the Swiss border and was
1,200 miles long.
During the occupation and in spite of the official end of the
conflict, many people in France continued the combats by
enrolling in the Resistance. Indeed, Resistance during World War
II occurred in every occupied country by a variety of means like
guerrilla warfare, sabotage, propaganda, disinformation, hiding
refugees and aiding the allies (like helping stranded pilots).
De Gaulle also became a de
facto leader of Free France.
Internally the Resistance began
in the Alpilles and Vaucluse areas in Provence. But Resistance was
not necessarily organized; many civilians shocked by the atrocity of
War became real heroes, like the characters in the film. Jean
Moulin (June 20, 1899–July 8, 1943) was a high-profile member of
the French Resistance during World War II. He is remembered
today as an emblem of the Resistance.
D-Day and liberation of Paris:
On "D-Day" (June 6 1944) the western Allies invaded Normandy
in an assault spearheaded by American, British and Canadian
paratroops, opening the "second front" against Germany. The most
powerful German force in France, the Seventh Army, was almost
completely destroyed. Allied forces stationed in Italy invaded the
south of France on August and linked up with forces from
Normandy. The clandestine French Resistance in Paris rose against
the Germans on August 19, and a French division under General
Jacques Leclerc, pressing forward from Normandy, received the
surrender of the German forces there and liberated Paris on August
25.
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BOURVIL AND DE FUNES.
A major factor in the film’s success in France was the top billing
of Bourvil and Louis de Funès, at the time the two most popular
comic actors in France. The two comedians had previously
appeared two years earlier in another film, Le Corniaud, which was
also a staggering box office success in France. The combination
of two quite different comic styles works so brilliantly that you
wonder why film producers took so long to get round to pairing
the two actors.
Despite its strong comic slant,
La Grande vadrouille is actually a
creditable war film which
gallops along at a fair pace,
bolstered by some breathtaking action scenes.
few disaster victims whose houses were destroyed during
bombings. At this occasion, settling of scores are going to show the
real personality of a people.
Papy fait de la résistance, by Jean-Marie Poiré.
In 1943, the Bourdelle family is delocated by Germans, and has to
relocate in the basement of their own house. The son, Guy Hubert,
hide behind the apparence of a feminine hairdresser, is actually a
« Super Resistent ». As the well-known Zorro, he plots against the
nazis.
Trivia: Louis de Funès was intended to play a role in this movie
but he died before filming commenced. A dedication was given to
him at the beginning of the movie: "To Louis de Funès...".
Louis De Funès and his acting technique
Louis de Funès is known by his proper style of acting. He is
impossible to imitate, because he is his own caricature. His style is
based on an exaggerated rapid delivery, fast changes of the
expression of his face, and quick but very precise body’s
movements. He was even compared with Donald Duck! The
speed of Louis de Funès can be higher than a toon!
OTHERS COMEDIES BASED ON THE
THEME OF WORLD WAR II
Uranus, by Claude Berry.
In 1945, in France, a few months after the end of the war, peace
is coming back in a little city of the countryside. A family hosts a
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