One man too many

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Movie
German title One man too many
Original title Un homme de trop
Italian. Title: Il 13º uomo
Country of production France , Italy
original language French
Publishing year 1967
length 115 minutes
Age rating FSK 16
Rod
Director Constantin Costa-Gavras
script Costa-Gavras, Jean-Pierre Chabrol , Daniel Boulanger
production Costa-Gavras, Louis Daquin
music Michel Magne
camera Jean Tournier
cut Christian Gaudin
occupation

One man too many (Original title: Un homme de trop ) is a French - Italian film drama by Costa-Gavras from 1967 with Jean-Claude Brialy and Bruno Cremer as well as Jacques Perrin , Gérard Blain , Claude Brasseur and Michel Piccoli , the "man too much "embodied in the main roles. The screenplay for the film is based on the 1958 novel of the same name by Jean-Pierre Chabrol.

action

During the Second World War -rescue operation flash are twelve death row French resistance fighter from a German prison camp with a Resistance rescued. After the successful operation, which was led by Cazal, it turns out that there is still a thirteenth man among those who fled. Since he wears German boots and his identity has not been established, he is taken away as a prisoner. Although he expresses himself negatively about fighters and soldiers of all nations, he helps the group in their actions and leaves no escape opportunities. Nevertheless, his execution was decided when Cazal received a message from the Resistance headquarters that he was a criminal. Cazal appoints Thomas to be his executioner, who leads the stranger to the nearby river. The man tells him his story and admits that as a pacifist he became a deserter. Thomas believes his words and lets him escape.

Cazal and his fighters arrive too late to be able to help another resistance group against the German superiority. Eventually some of them are overwhelmed by the German soldiers themselves. When Cazal escapes, the others are to be hanged on a railway bridge; the stranger is also among them. Cazal and his remaining men can shake off their pursuers by blowing up the street. When Thomas is hanged, the stranger manages to escape over the steel structure of the bridge.

annotation

After his successful debut with Murder Included in the Fare , director Costa-Gavras turned to the topic that would dominate his career: political film. In contrast to classic breakout films, he is less concerned with the liberation action itself than with the moral conflict that the men have with the unknown. With Jacques Perrin , who had already played the leading role in Costa-Gavras' first film, he was to make other films. The young Marc Porel , who was discovered by his partner Jean-Claude Brialy , made his film debut in the supporting role of Octave.

Production and publication

The film was produced by Les Productions Artistes Associés, Terra Film and in co-production by Sol Produzione. United Artists was responsible for the distribution .

The film opened in France on April 5, 1967, and was shown at the Moscow Film Festival in July 1967 . It was released in cinemas in the Federal Republic of Germany on November 24, 1967. It was performed in the United States in September 1968 under its international title Shock Troops . It was shown in Denmark on August 20, 2005 at the Copenhagen International Film Festival . In Italy it ran under the title Il 13º uomo .

It was also marketed in the following countries: Finland, Sweden, Spain, Turkey, Greece, Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Poland.

criticism

"Exciting and brilliantly staged."

- Lexicon of international film

Howard Thompson of the New York Times said the film had a “brilliant director” in Costa-Gavras and a “great”, mostly male cast who fought passionately for their country, including Jean-Claude Brialy, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Perrin, Gerard Blain, François Perrier and Charles Vanel . Thompson praised how Costa-Gavras had implemented the rebels' actions against the Nazis in changing locations quickly and well-photographed. In the first half of the film there is hardly any respite given, but the scenes, which are sometimes difficult to decipher, are also confusing. Too much time is also spent on the suspicious pacifist played by Michel Piccoli.

The USCCB found the film to be similar to other films about the Resistance, although the action scenes were downright documentary and therefore very effective. The catchwords of the film are: "War, violence and brutality". The Protestant film observer came to the conclusion that the strip was an "adventure film with depth" and "exciting entertainment".

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ One man too many. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed August 28, 2016 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used 
  2. ^ Howard Thompson: Screen: Action Twin-Bill . In: The New York Times . February 22, 1969, ISSN  0362-4331 ( nytimes.com [accessed April 14, 2020]).
  3. ↑ Shock Troops in archive.usccb.org
  4. ↑ Evangelischer Presseverband München, Review No. 538/1967.