NEW YORK, NY - OCTOBER 20, 2014 - Carlotta Films US, in association with the Cinematheque de Toulouse, and Kino Lorber are proud to announce the DVD release of Verdun, Looking at History, Léon Poirier's pacifist war epic that presents a vivid and harrowing portrait of the Battle of Verdun, fought between the French and German armies from February to December 1916, and resulting in a catastrophic loss of lives on both sides. Verdun, Looking at History honors the memory of the soldiers and commemorates the events of the battle, serving as an important historical document of the first World War.

Long unavailable, this groundbreaking silent film epic will be released on DVD by Carlotta Films and Kino Lorber on November 4, with a SRP of $29.95 in a restored edition from the Cinematheque de Toulouse. Supplements include a short featurette on the restoration of the film directed by Gilles Corre, an analysis of the film featuring interviews with specialists and historians speaking about the use of archival materials in the film, and archival footage providing an account of the French counter-offensive at Verdun in spring 1916.

Produced in 1928 for the 10th anniversary of the end of the Great War, Verdun: Looking at History depicts the Battle of Verdun on an epic scale using both documentary footage and historical re-enactments (with a cast including Albert Préjean, Maurice Schutz and Antonin Artaud, among others). 

Painstakingly restored by the Cinematheque de Toulouse, Verdun: Looking at History had a checkered history due to its political content. For a long time, the film only survived in a small number of shortened prints, but a complete print was finally located and served as the basis of this restoration. Given its great cinematic and cultural importance, the restoration now allows the film to be seen by new audiences in a version that does justice to its power and innovation. It is presented here with a music score performed by Hakim Bentchoula-Golobitch.

Filmmaker Léon Poirier had fought at Verdun, and directs the film with a great sense of realism and documentary-like authenticity. He tells the story from the soldiers' perspective, based on the veterans' own experiences and even using the veterans as actors. The historical re-creations, shot largely on location, bring viewers close to the action and into the events of war as no film had done before.

Coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the beginning of World War I, Carlotta Films' release of this powerful, groundbreaking historical epic -- made by people who had experienced the war first-hand -- brings this important film to a new generation of viewers.

VERDUN, LOOKING AT HISTORY

A Film by Léon Poirier

DVD Street Date: November 4, 2014

DVD SRP: $29.95

SYNOPSIS: 

The German troops are entering the Meuse. The alert has been given. The French soldier calmly awaits the shock. All the villages have been evacuated; wives have been torn apart from their husbands, who stay to defend the land the old farmer won't abandon. The German offensive takes place on February 21st, 1916. Following intense bombing from 7:15 am to 5pm, flocks of German soldiers dash through the bois des Caures.

In order to celebrate the tenth anniversary of the end of World War I, Léon Poirier recreated the battle of Verdun and inscribed the lives of symbolic characters from both sides of the front. Verdun, Looking at History was edited in three distinct parts (Might, Hell and Fate) and is an epic film of great emotional strength dedicated to "all the martyrs of the ugliest human passion that is war". Léon Poirier's realistic masterpiece undoubtedly compared with King Vidor's The Big Parade and Lewis Milestone's All Quiet on the Western Front.

Supplements:

Restoring "Verdun" (13 minutes)

From La Cinématheque de Toulouse and La Cineteca di Bologna, never before seen interviews look into the research and restoration process of Léon Poirier's film.

Visions of "Verdun" (18 minutes)

Analyzing Verdun, Looking at History, several specialists share their personal take on Léon Poirier's work: historical, technical, musicological or anecdotal.

The French take their revenge in Verdun (28 minutes)

An account of the French counteroffensive in the spring of 1916 through archive footage edited by the French Section cinématographique de l'Armée, now archived at the ECPAD.

Musical Score 2.0 Dolby Digital / English, German, Spanish and Japanese subtitles / 1.33:1 Original Aspect Ratio / Fullscreen 4:3 / Black & White / 

Running time: 151 minutes

Restored by the Cinematheque de Toulouse 

with the support of La Fondation Gan Pour Le Cinéma