It may not be perfect, which is to say that the film does have its longeurs, but the way the disparate threads come together at the end is downright breathtaking. Believe the hype: Army of Shadows is, indeed, a masterpiece.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 26, 2024

Jean-Pierre Melville’s most ambitious works.

| Sep 19, 2023

Gaving fought in the Resistance, Melville understands such a state of mind more than any other filmmaker, which is why Army of Shadows emerges as a meditation more than a historical account.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Mar 21, 2022

Bleak and uncompromising.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Apr 9, 2020

Watch it a hundred times and the dread, bad-dream opening sequence of Nazi troops swarming through the Arc de Triomphe might still leave you reeling...

| Original Score: 5/5 | Apr 1, 2020

The greatness of Army of Shadows comes from the way it is able to convey many of the cruel paradoxes of war. What is an intimate and messy affair for some ends up being a remote and tactical exercise for others.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 14, 2019

"Jean-Pierre Melville cherishes paradox and free thinking," and both elements are on beautiful display in his masterpiece.

| Jan 12, 2011

one of those blessed pictures in which all elements, from its writing through to its editing, coalesce into a work of profound philosophical and emotional unity

| Original Score: 4/4 | Apr 22, 2010

As bleak as it is compelling, it will leave you wondering if these freedom fighters haven't done more damage to each other than they have to the Nazi aggressors.

| Original Score: A | Aug 22, 2007

As close to a masterpiece as any film you're likely to see this year.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Aug 17, 2007

a stunning, globetrotting spy masterpiece

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | May 15, 2007

A film to be seen and savored for its moral magnitude.

| Apr 25, 2007

Rich in the elegance, assurance and quasi-formality that often define Melville's style.

| Mar 1, 2007

The fascination comes in minute observation of the Resistance soldiers' mannerisms, demeanor and interaction.

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 15, 2007

It's hard to believe that Melville's 1969 masterpiece--one of the most accurate chronicles of the French Resistance--never got released in the US until 2006; Splendidly acted, this film draws on the helmer's own experience.

| Original Score: A | Feb 2, 2007

Although it has several suspenseful sequences, "Shadows" is not a spy thriller, precisely. It's much more along the lines of a melancholy mood piece...

| Original Score: 3.5/4 | Feb 2, 2007

A superb contribution from an A-class film-maker.

| Original Score: A- | Jan 19, 2007

One of the masterpieces of its era and its genre.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 18, 2007

From the first sight of German soldiers goose-stepping past the Arc de Triomphe to a postscript that spells out the fate of characters whose moral confusion is all too real, Army of Shadows is a movie of its time -- and ours.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/4 | Jan 18, 2007

ARMY OF SHADOWS is a remarkable and superb film, and American audiences should be rejoicing that is finally (if belatedly) has reached theaters.

| Original Score: A- | Jan 11, 2007