12 Incredible Slow Burn Movie Scenes With Killer Pay Offs
11. Army Of Shadows - Escape
Jean-Pierre Melville's classic 1969 tale of espionage in occupied France is something of a forgotten masterpiece. A film adaptation of Joseph Kessel's novel of the same name, Army of Shadows (or L'armée des ombres) is partially based on Kessel's own experiences as a member of the French Resistance.
The film presents us with a small band of Resistance members as they chase down informants, work with Allied groups and attempt to gather information while evading capture by German soldiers. It's a harrowing piece, and certainly more bleak about its content than it is celebratory.
Towards the end of the film, our main protagonist, Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), is captured by the Vichy police and handed over to the Germans. He and his fellow cellmates are taken to be executed, and in a sadistic effort to make things more interesting, the SS officer's offer them a chance of survival, provided they can make it to the other end of a long hall without being sawn in half by German machine gunners. It's an incredibly sombre scene - Gerbier is marched towards his fate, as shots of his actions as a member of the Resistance are interposed continually, showing the brutal nature of this war.
Finally, the men are lined up and told of their chances before being told to run, but Gerbier initially refuses to move, hoping to keep some dignity. The scene has built up to this moment over a few minutes and finally Gerbier runs, and out of nowhere, a smoke bomb explodes in front of him, and soon after a rope is lowered through the roof, rescuing him.