Maps of Movies
La Grande Illusion (1937)
Where La Grande Illusion says it takes place, and where it was really shot.
Every prison in this German war film is French: the fortress was a castle in Alsace, and the snowy border was Chamonix
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Scenes and places
The lunch the enemy ace gives his prisoners
Two French airmen are shot down and brought to the German pilot who downed them. Instead of a cell, they get a table and a fruit punch. Rauffenstein and the aristocrat Boëldieu find common ground in rank and shared acquaintances, while the working-class Maréchal sits apart.
Set in German airfield mess — The German squadron's quarters, where the two shot-down Frenchmen are fed as guests.
A German airfield; no source names where this scene was filmed.
The camp where the Marseillaise breaks out
Boëldieu and Maréchal arrive among a lively group of French prisoners and help put on a vaudeville show. When news comes that the French have retaken Fort Douaumont, Maréchal stops the show and the men burst into the Marseillaise. He is thrown into solitary confinement, and the fort changes hands again while he is locked up.
Set in Prisoner-of-war camp (first camp) — The officers' camp where the French prisoners share parcels, stage a show and begin a tunnel.
Colmar's artillery barracks, built under Wilhelm II, which the production used for exteriors.
Filmed at Colmar (artillery barracks) (Alsace, Colmar, France) — The film's exteriors were shot at the artillery barracks at Colmar. Which camp scenes were filmed there is not stated, and the barracks' own coordinates are not given, so the pin is the town. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The failed escapes and the transfers
Just before their tunnel is done, Boëldieu and Maréchal are sent away from the camp. They are moved between several camps and try to escape more than once, each time without success.
Set in Other camps — The camps the two are moved through after several failed escape attempts.
Neuf-Brisach is a planned fortress town on the Upper Rhine.
Filmed at Neuf-Brisach (Alsace, Neuf-Brisach, France) — A fortified town on the Upper Rhine where exteriors were shot. The sources do not say which scenes, so the pin is the town centre. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The mountain fortress no one can escape
The two Frenchmen reach Wintersborn, a mountain fortress run by Rauffenstein, now badly wounded and sidelined from the front. They meet Rosenthal again, who still shares his food parcels. Boëldieu studies the guards and works out a plan in which he would distract them so the others can escape.
Set in Burg Wintersborn — The mountain fortress commanded by Rauffenstein, thought impossible to escape from.
A medieval castle in Alsace that was extensively rebuilt in the early twentieth century.
Filmed at Château du Haut-Kœnigsbourg, Alsace (Alsace, Orschwiller, France) — The exteriors of the fortress Wintersborn were filmed at this castle. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Elsa's farmhouse at Christmas
After the escape, Maréchal and Rosenthal cross the German countryside and, with Rosenthal's injured foot, are forced to take shelter with Elsa. She and Maréchal fall in love despite their language barrier, and they celebrate Christmas together with her young daughter, Lotte. After a few weeks the two men go on.
Set in Elsa's farmhouse — A modest German farm where the fugitives rest, and where Maréchal and Elsa fall in love without a common language.
A hill farm in the Vosges foothills of Alsace.
Filmed at Fréland, hills near Ribeauvillé (Alsace, Fréland, France) — The farm scenes were shot on the heights above Fréland, in a Fréland farm. The exact farm is not named, so the pin is the village. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
The snow-covered valley at the border
Maréchal and Rosenthal press on towards neutral Switzerland across open snow. A German patrol sights them in the valley.
Set in Snow-covered valley on the Swiss border — The last stretch of the journey, in a snow-covered valley near the Swiss frontier.
A mountain valley in the Alps, home of the first Winter Olympics in 1924.
Filmed at Chamonix (Haute-Savoie, Chamonix, France) — The last sequence was shot at Chamonix. Jean Gabin was not there, having left for another film. The exact spot is not named, so the pin is the town. Google Maps · Apple Maps
How to get there:
Filmed at Billancourt and Épinay studios (Hauts-de-Seine, Boulogne-Billancourt, France) — Interiors of the fortress Google Maps · Apple Maps
Characters
- Lieutenant Maréchal — A French airman of modest background, shot down and taken prisoner.
- Captain de Boëldieu — An aristocratic French staff officer who shares a world with his captor.
- Rittmeister von Rauffenstein — A German flying ace and aristocrat who later commands the fortress.
- Lieutenant Rosenthal — A wealthy French officer who generously shares his food parcels.
- Elsa — A German farm woman who lost her husband at Verdun.
Questions answered on the map
- Where is the mountain fortress from La Grande Illusion?
- Where were the farm and the snowy border of La Grande Illusion filmed?