Matialth Good concept, poorly executed.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Candida It is neither dumb nor smart enough to be fun, and spends way too much time with its boring human characters.

Jamie Ward A truly underrated gem if ever there was one, J'Accuse, which comes from now renowned film-maker Abel Gance, is a striking, powerful and deeply moving wartime drama that packs punches, dances with the roses and howls at the moon all in the course of 160 minutes. Now known for works that came in the decade following the first World War, Gance establishes himself here in 1919 as a director willing to learn from his peers and do one better. Indeed, audiences at the time were more than firmly on his side. "Your name in England is, at present, more famous than Griffith's", an anecdote that rings true after watching J'Accuse in its most readily complete form available today thanks to the brilliant work in collaboration by Flicker Alley, Turner Classic Movies and Lobster Films in doing a terrific job restoring the film to its rightful, stylised beauty on DVD and Blu-Ray.Set, produced and featuring actual footage shot on battlefields of World War I, Gance's seminal work here strives to do many things at once and while there are plenty who will argue he tries too much (or at least doesn't leave enough on the cutting room floor), I argue that with a few minor exceptions, J'Accuse is successful in its quest to marry poetry with war and terror with beauty, with a horizon that never seems to show itself. Sure, it's certainly guilty of being a bit overly-lofty at times. And yes, cutting back and forth between the film's two heavily-contrasted plots can be jarring, but I hardly think this was out of step with Gance's intentions. The film's theme essentially boils down to the blind getting in the way of each other and those lucky enough to have eyes thinking it best to ignore said unfortunates in order to get on with their own problems or indulgences in peace. By applying the juxtaposition of a serene, idyllic French countryside love-triangle against the harsh, cold grasp of war and death, the director sets up his idea, carries it forward and succeeds in bringing it to a very affecting close.I would be amiss in failing to mention two other key players in J'Accuse's success however, and those are cinematographer Léonce-Henri Burel and the Robert Israel Orchestra who were commissioned for the restoration's soundtrack. Burel takes Gance's direction and runs with it. The battlefields are gloomy and frightening, the French countryside bright and warm to the eyes. Furthermore, whether it was under Burel's direction or not is unclear but, the film's various intertitle designs and abstract live-action imagery (the most striking perhaps occurring early on when family members prepare to leave their loved ones) make a profound emotional impact and showcase tonal photography techniques and styles not even Griffith had dreamed up yet, much of which is still utilised today in movies favouring mood and atmosphere. Lastly, the Robert Israel Orchestra punctuate Burel's photography with melancholic sweeping piano keys and piercing, wounded strings to round out one of the finest and most striking examples of silent-era cinema at its best.

Ron in LA The 2006 restoration of this amazing 1919 film presents one of the very best opportunities to learn about the period from watching a contemporaneous film. Aesthetically, it stands on its own merit as a completely engaging and emotional piece, which on the whole deserves a much wider audience. The restoration drops whatever there was of a phony happy ending in the 1922 re-release, and adds an excellent score by Robert Israel. Israel scores are a quick tip that a silent film has been given a sensitive and elegant restoration that will be very palatable to modern tastes.The story is a complex family/romantic melodrama built around a poet in love with a woman trapped in a bad marriage to a violent man. With the war, the two men become comrades in arms, and complications ensue. (I really dislike reviews that go on and on telling the film's story. If someone is going to watch the movie, it is up to the director to tell the story in his own style and at his own pace.) I believe the film is mischaracterized as an anti-war film. No one is really for war, so a realistic film like this by a veteran and using real footage will include a lot of pathos that will serve the purpose of an anti-war message. But everyone is anti-war, the difference between a pro-war and and an anti-war film is that a pro-war film blames the war on the enemy and creates situations for nobility based on service of the just cause. An anti-war film turns the proponents of war into greedy liars, emphasizes the humanity of the enemy, and creates situations for nobility based on refusal to participate in the war. So defined, this piece (like The Four Horseman of the Apocalypse - 1921) is a pro-war film.

writers_reign With this movie full of stunning imagery and stylish technique Abel Gance proved that he need take a back seat to no one when it came to mastery of the medium, in other words he forms a triumvirate with Sergei Eisenstein and David Wark Griffith, a triumvirate in which all are equal. The First World War was barely cold in its grave when Gance shot J'Accuse - a motif that recurs throughout from the visually stunning message spelled out by infantry at the outset to the child being taught to write it on a blackboard - yet remarkably what should now seem 'dated' is still potent - seventeen years later Irwin Shaw (who may or may not have seen or been aware of J'Accuse) utilised the concept of the dead protesting at the way in which their lives were squandered in his powerful One-Act play 'Bury The Dead' - and aspects of it were re-worked by others. Like most fine social documents it employs a 'normal' story - in this case our old friend the Eternal Triangle - as a way in to the exploration of political inadequacies and its message still resonates some 87 years later. A Masterpiece.

Cineanalyst The print I saw required my full engagement; it was in poor shape, and the intertitles were in their original French (not my native language). I couldn't even clearly see the words of one. Fortunately, Abel Gance was a very visual filmmaker. And, I understood the gist of what was said. Originally, "J'accuse!" was some three hours, but the video I saw was about 107 minutes. I don't know if there's more footage out there, but I hope this film will be restored (and translated) someday and made more accessible. Its cinematic merits are clear, and the anti-war message is worthy of a larger audience.The Great War ended the expansion of French cinema, ceasing the international market dominance of Pathé Frères. Now, avant-garde filmmakers like Abel Gance rose to prominence, which he did with this film. The narrative of "J'accuse!", in the way of Impressionism, is dictated by the characters' emotions and thoughts, and the juxtaposition of images becomes what has been called "psychological editing". The montages become rapid at times. One of my favorite shots, however, is a tracking long take of Jean on his homecoming. The camera follows him and turns back when he stops to see what he is looking at. There are also many symbolic images of death and religious iconography. The fantastic dénouement of the dead soldiers of war arising to accuse climactically binds the film's message and its impressionistic aesthetic.The story involves a simple love triangle, but which is analogous to the war: the peaceful friendship the two men attain makes the point well. "J'accuse!" is the earliest of powerful anti-war films. It's images and message are not encumbered by too much Christian allegory or over-reaching sentimental appeals, such as with Griffith's "Hearts of the World" (1918) or Ince's "Civilization" (1916). Neither is it overly artistically obscure, and as the popular appreciation of Gance's "Napoléon" (1927) attests to, a large audience of film enthusiasts is out there who would treasure this forgotten monument.(EDIT: Comments below added 4 November 2012)My above comments from over seven years ago were based an abbreviated version that was available on VHS from the distributor Facets during the 1990s. Another IMDb member questioned the validity of these and others' reviews that were written before this film was restored and made available on Turner Classic Movies and the Flicker Alley DVDs. I'll take the opportunity to assure everyone that despite some of my reviews being on obscure films, I watched all of them shortly before writing my comments. Just ask me, and I'll inform of the exact source (usually DVD or VHS). Additionally, this IMDb member was incorrect in stating, "J'accuse" was "assumed lost until quite recently". There've always been incomplete prints available. What we have now is the most complete and crisp version since its initial release, which, as I expressed in my original comments, was what I longed for.Having now seen "J'accuse" in excellent condition, I find the film ever more remarkable—a masterpiece of its time. Its cinematic Impressionism and pacifist message are clearer. There is some outstanding cinematography and editing here for 1919, including chiaroscuro effects, moving camera shots, nighttime scenes, picturesque scenery aside brutal depictions of war and its consequences and ominous images of dancing skeletons. There are iris frames and transitions, good use of fades, split screen and matte shots. In addition to Jean's homecoming, which I mentioned in my earlier comments, other outstanding scenes include those of life in the trenches and a fast-paced montage of the marching on a village. Yet, "J'accuse" isn't about featuring great battle scenes. The greatest scenes take place on the homefront and show the effects of war, including the darkly-lit deathbed sequence of the mother and the finale where the dead soldiers accuse the living, as well as the narrative of the allegorical love triangle that is sacrificed by war.Enhanced by a good-quality print is the film's impressionistic emphasis on light. Beams of light symbolically shine into dark rooms. Scenes of sunrises and sunsets represent Jean's "Ode to the Sun". Superimposed images of Edith walk through Impressionist paintings. Poetry is also essential to Gance's message. The protagonist is a poet turned shell-shocked soldier, but the images and narrative are also poetically told. As Gance once said, "To get the public enthusiastic, you have to get the same feeling into your camera-work—poetry, exaltation… but above all, poetry."