The Sorrow and the Pity

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1 General Information
2 Cover
3 Information
- 3.1 Collapse
- 3.2 Choice
4 Screenshots
5 Technical Specs
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[edit] General Information

History, War Documentary hosted by Marcel Ophuls, published by Others in 1969 - French, German Multilanguage narration

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Divided into two parts - The Collapse and The Choice - Marcel Ophuls's monumental documentary is not just an investigation into what occurred in France during the Nazi Occupation, but how the nation has elected to remember it. Probing the selective memory of his occasionally evasive witnesses (who range from heroes and survivors to traitors and oppressors), he uncovers contradictions among the half-truths, as well as provoking outbursts of bitter fury and expressions of genuine remorse, as topics such as collaboration and co-operation, resistance and indifference are painfully explored. The archive material may be manipulative, but it retains the power to chill and cast doubt (Radio Times 5-star review). French and German soundtrack with merged English subtitles; original widescreen presentation (4:3 letterbox format).

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Focuses on the period after the fall of France in 1940 and the activities of the collaborationist Petain regime. Includes an extended interview with Pierre Mendès-France, who was jailed by the Vichy government on charges of desertion, but escaped from jail to join Charles de Gaulle's Free French forces in England. He later served as Prime Minister of post-war France.

[edit] Choice

Experiences and reminiscence of active particpants in the Maquis. Extended interview with Christian de la Mazière, who provides a counterpoint to Mendès-France. Whereas Mendès-France was a French Jewish political figure who joined the Resistance, de la Mazière, an aristocrat who embraced Fascism, was one of 7,000 French volunteers who fought with the Wehrmacht and Waffen-SS on the Eastern Front.