HorseRacer I saw a clip of this movie in a documentary about horror films and it prompted me to obtain it. I am so glad I have seen this movie. As a history buff who is interested in the First World War (the Great War) it appealed to me on that level. Jean-Diaz lost most of his friends on the last patrol on the final day, and that sums up the futility and waste of WWI. Some have criticized the use of stock footage, but in this case I think it works. This is a movie about war after all, and you don't get any more powerful than the real thing. Also, given the technology of the time it would have been difficult for the crew to recreate the war.I agree with other reviewers, there are problems in the middle. The romantic subplot with Flo just doesn't work at all. I also wish they would have given us a closer look at what Jean-Diaz was doing in his workshop.The final scene at the Verdun cemetery is among the most powerful I have ever seen. When he calls out to the dead in French, English and German that is moving. He calls them his friends -- he is one of them because in a sense he died in the war. At the opening a credit is given to the group, "Mutiliated Veterans of the Last World War". Those were real WWI vets playing the part of the ghosts who rise from the graves. Their scars are real. Haunting! See this movie if you have a chance.

dbborroughs (There are spoilers ahead) I saw a short American cut (75 minutes or so) of Abel Gance's anti war film. Made on the eve of the second world war this tells the story of an inventor who survives the trenches and vows never to let war engulf the world again. Twenty years on as the world marches toward war he is horrified to discover that the same people who fought in the last war and also vowed never again are marching us toward another war.Abbreviated or not this is a kick in the head. Not so much a plea for peace as a long scream this is a film that some how transcends it's sometimes silliness to become a something that will rattle your soul. Gance pulls no punches and tells it like it is. War sucks and the thought of ever waging it is insanity.The end of the film, where the war dead rise up is chilling. These are not people made up, these are the battle scared marching towards us in a disturbing in your face manner. I really liked the film both intellectually and emotionally. Its not perfect but it is a kick in the head and the heart. (Gance's full version runs over two hours. I haven't seen that version of the film, I've read that it includes a several characters who counterpoint the main story. I haven't seen it so I can't compare but this short version really made me say Wow.)

alicecbr A plea from beyond the graves of 53,000.000 who died in WWI, this movie eloquently watches 12 men as they prepare for what they know will the last patrol of their life. 120 men have already gone to their deaths in their 3 years at Verdun, on the same patrol. As two men argue over their love for one's wife, the husband is suddenly bound to forgive the other and makes him pledge to mail letters to the other's wife should he die, at 2 week intervals to keep her thinking of him alive.A few subplots involving a chanteuse who has all the men singing while the bombs explode around them in a town that is wiped out by the barrage. The scene in which the dead answer the call of the scientist who has worked for 20 years to bring back his friends and others has been often copied in far lesser films since. The dialogue in this movie is of great impact, made more so by the fact that my son has just returned from the slaughter in Iraq. A eye for an eye makes everyone blind, and no movie makes the point as well as this one. The death scene may deliberately be set up to make you think of Jean D'Arc, but it just reminded me of how mindless the masses are, no matter of what nationality. The brainwashed American public is a case in point. Oh, for a decent educational system. Maybe we should give up and just show movies like this one, 'Paths of Glory', 'Attack' and 'Deerhunter' all day. Whoever puts up statues to military, writes military marches and glorifies marching off to war should have to tell all the widows their loved one has died for nothing, only repeats of death---be it through war or 9/11s.

delbruk J' Accuse! is one of those imperfect films that have so many captivating and remarkable scenes as to burn them into memory forever. From the first 45 minutes concentrating on the battleground of the first World War that rivals All Quiet On The Western Front to the final half hour of surrealist horror/fantasy that evokes the groundwork for such films as Night of the Living Dead there is much to love about this work.The editing and use of actual stock war footage actually brings the viewer a historical grounding for the social and moral stance the film takes. The special effects are in grand display for a film of the 1930s and eerily successful during the climax which is one of the truly great accomplishments in cinematic history.The only drawbacks for the film is depending on your version/copy you may have re-edited scenes which create an odd linear flow to the film and which are also quite obviously placed. Also, the middle of the film does get bogged down in a romantic sub plot that does not seriously work and all too often finds the actors suffering from melodrama.However, the historical significance of this film's anti-war message should not be detracted from the horrific circumstances surrounding WW II. The film's message actually centers on the scientific advances of the well played lead, Victor Francen, who allows his country (in this case France) the perception of a military advantage to consider war as beneficial. You can easily see this film speaking to the scientific community in any country of the time - especially Germany. Politics aside, the message is clear and as haunting as any you may find in the annals of cinema.