I know a lot of people will disagree,but "le Vieux Fusil" is far from being Enrico's best .The "Dictionnaire des Films " gives no star to it,which is going a bit too far ,but is not thoroughly unjustified.
Let's put it straight;Enrico's best are his early efforts :his masterful "Au coeur de la vie" ,the intense beauty of which no review will reveal,"La Belle Vie" ,a courageous plea against the Algerian war,and "les Aventuriers" a much more accessible work with Hustonian accents.
"Le Vieux Fusil" is admittedly a good movie;nevertheless a 7.9 rating -at my time of writing-is much more than it deserves.First part -although a fiction based on real facts dealing with the martyrs of the end of the Occupation - is the best:Romy Schneider's presence (the fact she was actually a German actress is not a problem) and the harrowing scene of her death are strong assets.
But the second part could be described as "Rambo meets Louis Feuillade" .The hero singlehandedly does away with a whole German patrol who's housed in his castle full of two way mirrors,secret passages,oubliettes,etc.It looks like an old Feuillade serial circa 1915 .
Let's put it straight;Enrico's best are his early efforts :his masterful "Au coeur de la vie" ,the intense beauty of which no review will reveal,"La Belle Vie" ,a courageous plea against the Algerian war,and "les Aventuriers" a much more accessible work with Hustonian accents.
"Le Vieux Fusil" is admittedly a good movie;nevertheless a 7.9 rating -at my time of writing-is much more than it deserves.First part -although a fiction based on real facts dealing with the martyrs of the end of the Occupation - is the best:Romy Schneider's presence (the fact she was actually a German actress is not a problem) and the harrowing scene of her death are strong assets.
But the second part could be described as "Rambo meets Louis Feuillade" .The hero singlehandedly does away with a whole German patrol who's housed in his castle full of two way mirrors,secret passages,oubliettes,etc.It looks like an old Feuillade serial circa 1915 .