La Grande Vadrouille is a classic, and this release is a chance for people to either watch the film again and own it on Blu-ray, and for others to finally discover it. While it doesn’t go too heavy on the “resistance” movement, we see two normal people doing extraordinary things just because they are good people. What La Grande Vadrouille really is, is a celebration of France even when it was going through the hardship of being occupied by another country.
The setting of World War 2 and the fact that comedy can come out of events that are so dark, is a shining light when we live in worrying times. If you are a fan of classic comedies and need something to take your mind off the recent events in the world, La Grande Vadrouille is well worth watching. For fans of Terry Thomas, it is nice to see that he gets the share so much screen time with them. Their charismatic performance, and the way they are constantly bickering over what to do next is what makes the film so enjoyable to watch. The comic duo of Bourvril and Louis de Funès is just perfect, they work so well together. La Grande Vadrouille is one of the most popular French films of all time, and it is easy to understand why. The real stars of La Grande Vadrouille are the two French men who bumble their way through the movie often finding themselves in danger for their incompetence but gladly making it through each problem they find themselves in. Instead of taking the lead role he is in the film as the almost stereotypical English chap, as are Claudio Brook and Mike Marshall. This doesn’t detract from the film though, and many times the Germans find themselves having to talk in French to Lefort and Augustin.Įven though Terry Thomas is in the film, for the most part his performance is slightly understated. The way the languages are presented is done in a way that many times we don’t understand what the Germans are saying (with the English subtitles at least) but we get French and English subtitles.
While this is a French film, it is interesting when watching La Grande Vadrouille, that three languages are used (French, English, and German). When one lands on the scaffold of painter and decorator Augustin (Bouvril) and another land on the concert hall where conductor Stanislas Lefort (Louis de Funès) is practising with his orchestra, the two French men find they have to help the men escape to the safety of the neutral zone. When three English airmen (including Terry Thomas) are shot down over Paris they parachute into the Nazi occupied city. La Grande Vadrouilleis a film that proves this, and with its 50 th anniversary restoration, is ready to be discovered by new audiences.
Even if we can’t talk the language, humour is not hard to translate. Comedy is a genre that can cross language barriers, especially with styles such as slapstick.
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