The Battle of the Rails: Difference between revisions

The Battle of the Rails
The Battle of the Rails
Directed by	René Clément
Written by	René Clément ; Colette Audry
Produced by	Pierre Lévy-Corti
Starring	Marcel Barnault; Jacques Desagneaux ; Jean Clarieux
Cinematography	Henri Alekan
Edited by	Jacques Desagneaux
Music by	Yves Baudrier
Production; company	Coopérative Générale du Cinéma Français
Distributed by	Union Française de Production Cinématographique
Release date	27 February 1946;
Running time	85 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

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The Battle of the Rails (French: La Bataille du rail) is a 1946 French war film directed by René Clément. It depicts the efforts by railway workers in the French Resistance to sabotage German military transport trains during the Second World War, particularly during the Invasion of Normandy by Allies.^[1] Many of the cast were genuine railway workers.^[2] While critics have often historically treated it as similar to Italian neorealism, it is closer to the traditional documentaries on which the director had worked.^[3]

The film was shown at the 1946 Cannes Film Festival where it won the Prix international du jury and Clément won the Best Director Award. The film also won the inaugural Prix Méliès. In 1949 the film was distributed in America by Arthur Mayer and Joseph Burstyn.

Cast

Charles Boyer as Narrator
Jean Clarieux as Lampin
Jean Daurand as Cheminot
Jacques Desagneaux as Athos
François Joux as Cheminot
Pierre Latour as Cheminot
Tony Laurent as Camargue
Robert Le Ray as Chef de gare
Pierre Lozach as Cheminot
Pierre Mindaist as Cheminot
Léon Pauléon as Chef de gare St-André
Fernand Rauzéna as Cheminot
Redon as Mecanicien
Michel Salina as Allemand

References

^ Zaretsky, Robert (4 April 2018). "Macron's Been Working on the Railroad". Foreign Policy. René Clément's classic 1946 film The Battle of the Rails suggests wartime life expectancy of cheminots was even lower – at least among those who sought to sabotage the Nazi war machine in France.
^ Williams p.303
^ Williams p.303

Bibliography

Williams, Alan. Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking. Harvard University Press, 1992.

External links

This article about a film on World War II is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

This article related to a French film of the 1940s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

[1] Zaretsky, Robert (4 April 2018). "Macron's Been Working on the Railroad". Foreign Policy. René Clément's classic 1946 film The Battle of the Rails suggests wartime life expectancy of cheminots was even lower – at least among those who sought to sabotage the Nazi war machine in France.

[2] Williams p.303

[3] Williams p.303

[1]

[2]

[3]

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+{{short description|1946 film}}
-{{Infobox Film | name = La Bataille du rail
+{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2021}}
-<!--  Commented out because image was deleted: | image =La bataille du rail DVD cover.jpg -->
+{{Infobox film
-  | caption =La Bataille du rail DVD cover
+| name = The Battle of the Rails
-  | director = [[René Clément]]
+| image = File:The Battle of the Rails.jpg
-  | producer =
+| caption =
-  | writer = René Clément
+| director = [[René Clément]]
-  | starring =[[Marcel Barnault]]<br>[[Jean Clarieux]]
+| producer =[[Pierre Lévy-Corti]]
-  | music =
+| writer = René Clément <br> [[Colette Audry]]
-  | cinematography =
+| starring = [[Marcel Barnault]]<br>[[Jacques Desagneaux]] <br> [[Jean Clarieux]]
-  | editing =
+| music =[[Yves Baudrier]]
-  | distributor =
+| cinematography = [[Henri Alekan]]
-  | released = [[February 27]], [[1946 in film|1946]] (France release)
+| editing =[[Jacques Desagneaux]]
-  | runtime = 85 min
+| studio = Coopérative Générale du Cinéma Français
-  | language = French
+| distributor = Union Française de Production Cinématographique
-  | budget =
+| released = {{Film date|1946|02|27|df=yes}}
-  | imdb_id = 0038334
+| runtime = 85 minutes
+| country = France
+| language = French
+| budget =
 }}
+'''''The Battle of the Rails''''' (French: '''''La Bataille du rail''''') is a 1946 French [[war film]] directed by [[René Clément]]. It depicts the efforts by [[Résistance-Fer|railway workers in the French Resistance]] to sabotage German military transport trains during the [[Second World War]], particularly during the [[Invasion of Normandy]] by [[Allies of World War II|Allies]].<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/04/04/macrons-been-working-on-the-railroad/ |magazine=[[Foreign Policy]] |title=Macron's Been Working on the Railroad |first=Robert |last=Zaretsky |date=4 April 2018 |quote=René Clément’s classic 1946 film The Battle of the Rails suggests wartime life expectancy of cheminots was even lower – at least among those who sought to sabotage the Nazi war machine in France.}}</ref> Many of the cast were genuine railway workers.<ref>Williams p.303</ref> While critics have often historically treated it as similar to [[Italian neorealism]], it is closer to the traditional [[documentaries]] on which the director had worked.<ref>Williams p.303</ref>
-'''''La Bataille du rail''''' (''The Battle of the Rails'') is a [[1946]] [[war movie]] which tells the courageous efforts by [[France|French]] railway workers to sabotage [[Nazism|Nazi]] reinforcement-troop trains.
-It was directed by [[René Clément]], and in 1946 won the Prix international du jury at the [[Cannes Film Festival]]. Cinematographer was [[Henri Alekan]]
+The film was shown at the [[1946 Cannes Film Festival]] where it won the ''Prix international du jury'' and Clément won the [[Best Director Award (Cannes Film Festival)|Best Director Award]]. The film also won the inaugural [[French Syndicate of Cinema Critics|Prix Méliès]]. In 1949 the film was distributed in America by [[Arthur Mayer]] and [[Joseph Burstyn]].
+==Cast==
+* [[Charles Boyer]] as Narrator
+* [[Jean Clarieux]] as Lampin
+* [[Jean Daurand]] as Cheminot
+* [[Jacques Desagneaux]] as Athos
+* [[François Joux]] as Cheminot
+* [[Pierre Latour (actor)|Pierre Latour]] as Cheminot
+* [[Tony Laurent]] as Camargue
+* [[Robert Le Ray]] as Chef de gare
+* [[Pierre Lozach]] as Cheminot
+* [[Pierre Mindaist]] as Cheminot
+* [[Léon Pauléon]] as Chef de gare St-André
+* [[Fernand Rauzéna]] as Cheminot
+* Redon as Mecanicien
+* [[Michel Salina]] as Allemand
 ==See also==
+* [[Battle for the railways]]
-*[[French Resistance]]
-*[[Battle of Normandy]]
+==References==
+{{Reflist}}
+==Bibliography==
+* Williams, Alan. ''Republic of Images: A History of French Filmmaking''. [[Harvard University Press]], 1992.
 == External links ==
-*[http://www.sensesofcinema.com/contents/03/27/cteq/la_bataille_du_rail.html Border Crossings: Placing René Clément’s La Bataille du rail]
+* [http://sensesofcinema.com/2003/cteq/la_bataille_du_rail/ Border Crossings: Placing René Clément’s La Bataille du rail]
+* {{IMDb title|0038334|La Bataille du rail}}
+{{René Clément}}
+{{Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize}}
-{{DEFAULTSORT:Bataille du rail, La}}
+{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle of the Rails, The}}
 [[Category:1946 films]]
-[[Category:World War II films]]
+[[Category:1946 war films]]
-[[Category:French films]]
+[[Category:French war films]]
-[[Category:French Resistance]]
+[[Category:Films about the French Resistance]]
-[[Category:Rail transport in fiction]]
+[[Category:Rail transport films]]
 [[Category:History of rail transport in France]]
+[[Category:Films directed by René Clément]]
+[[Category:French black-and-white films]]
+[[Category:French World War II films]]
+[[Category:1940s French-language films]]
+[[Category:1940s French films]]
+[[Category:Films scored by Yves Baudrier]]
+[[Category:French-language war films]]
-{{war-film-stub}}
+{{WWII-film-stub}}
-[[fr:La Bataille du rail]]
+{{1940s-France-film-stub}}

v t e Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize
1946–1973	The Battle of the Rails (1946) All About Eve (1951) We Are All Murderers (1952) Knave of Hearts (1954) Lost Continent (1955) The Mystery of Picasso (1956) Kanał / The Seventh Seal (1957) Mon Oncle (1958) Stars (1959) L'Avventura / Odd Obsession (1960) Mother Joan of the Angels (1961) The Trial of Joan of Arc / L'Eclisse (1962) Harakiri / The Cassandra Cat (1963) Woman in the Dunes (1964) Kwaidan (1965) Alfie (1966) Z (1969) The Falcons / The Strawberry Statement (1970) Love / Joe Hill (1971) Slaughterhouse-Five (1972) The Hourglass Sanatorium / The Invitation (1973)
1980–2000	The Constant Factor (1980) Kharij (1983) Colonel Redl (1985) Thérèse (1986) Yeelen / Shinran: Path to Purity (1987) A Short Film About Killing (1988) Jesus of Montreal (1989) Hidden Agenda (1990) Europa / Out of Life (1991) Dream of Light / An Independent Life (1992) The Puppetmaster / Raining Stones (1993) La Reine Margot (1994) Don't Forget You're Going to Die / Carrington (1995) Crash (1996) Western (1997) Class Trip / Festen (1998) The Letter (1999) Blackboards / Songs from the Second Floor (2000)
2002–present	Divine Intervention (2002) At Five in the Afternoon (2003) Tropical Malady (2004) Shanghai Dreams (2005) Red Road (2006) Persepolis / Silent Light (2007) Il Divo (2008) Thirst / Fish Tank (2009) A Screaming Man (2010) Polisse (2011) The Angels' Share (2012) Like Father, Like Son (2013) Mommy / Goodbye to Language (2014) The Lobster (2015) American Honey (2016) Loveless (2017) Capernaum (2018) Bacurau / Les Misérables (2019) Ahed's Knee / Memoria (2021) EO / The Eight Mountains (2022) Fallen Leaves (2023) Emilia Pérez (2024)