Studiocanal has announced the release of a brand-new 4K restoration of Jean-Pierre Melville’s WW2 set masterpiece, Army of Shadows (L'armée des ombres, 1969), which will be available to own on Blu-Ray, DVD and Digital in June. The release follows the film’s inclusion in this year’s ‘Cannes Classic’ strand at the Cannes Film Festival.

Having himself participated in the French Resistance, Army of Shadows is both Melville’s most personal film and, though initially underappreciated in France, is today widely recognized as being one of his finest.

In 1942, French engineer and Resistant cell leader, Philippe Gerbier (Lino Ventura), is arrested and sent to a Nazi concentration camp. Managing to escape we follow Gerbier and his Resistance allies through operations, camaraderie and espionage, and witness the constant threat of capture, danger and the tough decisions that need to be taken to stay alive.

Based on a novel by Joseph Kessel and featuring a stella cast that includes Lino Ventura (Les Misérables, Lift to The Scaffold), Paul Meurisse (Les Diaboliques, The Eleven O’clock Woman), Jean-Pierre Cassel (The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The Three Musketeers) and Simone Signoret (Room at The Top, Les Diaboliques), Army of Shadows is a real-life story channelled through the minimalism of Melville’s gangster films. The result is an unmissable tale of defiance in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

The new 4K restoration of Army of Shadows comes complete with brand-new extras and is the newest addition to the ever-expanding Vintage World Cinema collection from Studiocanal.

Army of Shadows will be released on Blu-ray, DVD and Digital by Studiocanal on 3 June 2024. Amazomn has the discs currently priced at a surprisingly reasonable £15 for the Blu-ray and £10 for the DVD.

BLU-RAY ONLY SPECIAL FEATURES:

• Army of Shadows... the hidden side of the story
• Jean Pierre Grumbach aka Cartier, aka Melville – Resistance Fighter and Filmmaker