''Verdun: Visions of History'' () is a 1928 French

docudrama Docudrama (or documentary drama) is a genre of television and film, which features dramatized re-enactments of actual events. It is described as a hybrid of documentary and drama and "a fact-based representation of real event". Docudramas typic ...

film directed by Léon Poirier. It portrays the battle of Verdun, primarily by recreating the battle on its location, but also with the use of newsreel footage and dramatic scenes. Most of the people in the film are actual French and German World War I veterans, including Marshal Philippe Pétain who portrays himself. The film has a

pacifist Pacifism is the opposition or resistance to war, militarism (including conscription and mandatory military service) or violence. Pacifists generally reject theories of Just War. The word ''pacifism'' was coined by the French peace campaign ...

message.

Cast

Albert Préjean Albert Préjean (27 October 1894 in Paris – 1 November 1979 in Paris) was a French actor, primarily in film. He served in World War I, and was decorated with the Croix de Guerre and the Legion d'honneur. With Lysiane Rey, he was the ...

as the French soldier *

Jeanne Marie-Laurent Jeanne Marie-Laurent (1 September 1877 – 7 April 1964) was a French film actress. She appeared in more than ninety films during her career, including the 1932 thriller ''Narcotics''.Youngkin p.465 Selected filmography * ''Les Vampires'' (1916) ...

as the mother * Suzanne Bianchetti as the wife * Hans Brausewetter as the German soldier * Thomy Bourdelle as the German officer * Pierre Nay as the boy * Maurice Schutz as the Marshal of the empire *

Antonin Artaud Antoine Marie Joseph Paul Artaud, better known as Antonin Artaud (; 4 September 1896 – 4 March 1948), was a French writer, poet, dramatist, visual artist, essayist, actor and theatre director. He is widely recognized as a major figure of the E ...

as the intellectual * Daniel Mendaille as the husband * Philippe Pétain as Philippe Pétain Other than Pétain, the film pays tribute to the officers Robert Nivelle, Charles Mangin, Ferdinand Foch and Georges Guynemer.

Release

The film premiered on 8 November 1928 with a screening at the

Palais Garnier The Palais Garnier (, Garnier Palace), also known as Opéra Garnier (, Garnier Opera), is a 1,979-seatBeauvert 1996, p. 102. opera house at the Place de l'Opéra in the 9th arrondissement of Paris, France. It was built for the Paris Opera from ...

, in the presence of the French president and the German ambassador, with an original orchestra score by André Petiot. It was released in regular cinemas on 23 November 1928. In 1931, Poirier re-edited the film and added an audio track to create a sound film, which was released under the title ''Verdun, souvenirs d'histoire'' ("memories of history"). The sound version runs at 115 minutes, while the original silent version is 151 minutes long. Most prints of the film were destroyed during World War II. A good print was discovered in Moscow 50 years later and was restored by the Cinémathèque de Toulouse in 2006.

References

External links

* 1920s war drama films 1928 films Anti-war films about World War I Battle of Verdun French docudrama films Films directed by Léon Poirier Films set in 1916 French silent feature films French war drama films 1920s French-language films Western Front (World War I) films World War I films based on actual events Cultural depictions of Philippe Pétain 1928 drama films French World War I films Silent drama films Silent war films 1920s French films {{WWI-film-stub