Army of Shadows
Army of Shadows Image
Metascore
99 out of 100

Universal acclaim - based on 24 Critics What's this?

User Score
7.9 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 70 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
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  • Summary: Making its U.S. debut, Jean-Pierre Melville's 1969 Army of Shadows is an intimate epic of the French Resistance in WWII.

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 24 out of 24
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 24
  3. Negative: 0 out of 24
  1. Chicago Tribune
    Reviewed by: Michael Wilmington
    100
    A film masterpiece, restored more than three decades after its French release, "Army" remains a superb, coolly accurate portrait of a living hell recalled by two men who knew it well and record it truly, Melville and novelist Joseph Kessel.
  2. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    100
    This restored 35mm print, now in art theaters around the country, may be 37 years old, but it is the best foreign film of the year.
  3. New York Daily News
    Reviewed by: Jami Bernard
    100
    It's a white-knuckler all the way, with most of that tension coming from the smallest facial expressions exchanged in uneasy silence between compatriots who knew what they were getting into, but were nevertheless unprepared for the moral and emotional fallout of their patriotic actions.
  4. New York Post
    Reviewed by: V.A. Musetto
    75
    Lino Ventura is grand as a solemn resistance leader. He's backed by a knockout cast that includes Simone Signoret.

See all 24 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 27 out of 37
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 37
  3. Negative: 1 out of 37
  1. ClayC
    10
    A truly great film. Your users that have given ARMY OF SHADOWS poor reviews seem not just ignorant of cinema, but, especially, ignorant of history. (They actually seem to be just plain ignorant, and very full of themselves.)… Expand
  2. JoseS.
    8
    This is a very good film, and quite well filmed, but its a little slow and perhaps too long. The 99 avg from critics is way too high, but its still very good for its time and marks Melville as a major director; I want to see more of his.… Expand
  3. JayC
    6
    As a movie this film did not give much emotion to the lives of these heros. If felt so devoid of human emotions (as if they were already dead) that it felt like one long dreary story. Maybe it was the way it was, but I expected some brief moments of the love of life for which they were giving everything.… Expand
  4. AlyoshaM.
    3
    I almost fell asleep watching this film. It has caused me to distrust the Metacritic ratings.

See all 37 User Reviews

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