The battle scenes in this film are shot as though we are hugging the ground to avoid incoming fire or following close behind troops moving forward to retake a position. Panning shots of parachute drops and bombing missions give the viewpoint of the besieged. The photography smacks of footage from combat cameramen. And that's the thing, the director Pierre Schoendoerffer was a combat cameraman at the battle of "Diên Biên Phu".
There was only about a one in four chance of survival for French soldiers during the battle and captivity that followed, but Schoendoerffer survived. He returned to make this remarkable film in Vietnam with the help of his former enemies. Interestingly Schoendoerffer had already made a film about the French Indochina War in Cambodia in 1965, the gritty, "The 317 Platoon".
Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" and Stone's "Platoon" were made in the Philippines, and Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" was made in Britain. "Diên Biên Phu" was made where it happened. The sense of locale is heightened with scenes of civilian life shot in Hanoi.
Outside the besieged fortress, life continues more or less as usual. Diên Biên Phu becomes almost like a sports arena as the Vietnamese bet on how many days it will take for each hilltop position to fall. We are also aware of the sang-froid of the French soldiers and Foreign Legionnaires who are about to parachute into Diên Biên Phu.
Donald Pleasance role as Simpson the British/American journalist allows background information to be delivered; it puts us in the picture.
Schoendoerffer shows that French paratroopers played a prominent part and that the parachute battalions were actually composed of French and Vietnamese soldiers. The use of paratroopers in Indo China was amazing. While the Americans later used thousands of helicopters, the French used parachute drops. In fact I think I read somewhere that the French only had about 100 choppers in the whole war.
The imprint of French culture is seen in the classical violinist Béatrice Vergnes (Ludmila Mikaël) who arrives for a concert where she performs Georges Delerue's "Concert se l'Adieu", the full flowering of his score for the film.
Schoendoerffer keeps the Viet Minh enemy at a distance until the very end when they triumphantly surge forward.
It's hard to beat a film where the filmmaker had so much skin in the game.
There was only about a one in four chance of survival for French soldiers during the battle and captivity that followed, but Schoendoerffer survived. He returned to make this remarkable film in Vietnam with the help of his former enemies. Interestingly Schoendoerffer had already made a film about the French Indochina War in Cambodia in 1965, the gritty, "The 317 Platoon".
Coppola's "Apocalypse Now" and Stone's "Platoon" were made in the Philippines, and Kubrick's "Full Metal Jacket" was made in Britain. "Diên Biên Phu" was made where it happened. The sense of locale is heightened with scenes of civilian life shot in Hanoi.
Outside the besieged fortress, life continues more or less as usual. Diên Biên Phu becomes almost like a sports arena as the Vietnamese bet on how many days it will take for each hilltop position to fall. We are also aware of the sang-froid of the French soldiers and Foreign Legionnaires who are about to parachute into Diên Biên Phu.
Donald Pleasance role as Simpson the British/American journalist allows background information to be delivered; it puts us in the picture.
Schoendoerffer shows that French paratroopers played a prominent part and that the parachute battalions were actually composed of French and Vietnamese soldiers. The use of paratroopers in Indo China was amazing. While the Americans later used thousands of helicopters, the French used parachute drops. In fact I think I read somewhere that the French only had about 100 choppers in the whole war.
The imprint of French culture is seen in the classical violinist Béatrice Vergnes (Ludmila Mikaël) who arrives for a concert where she performs Georges Delerue's "Concert se l'Adieu", the full flowering of his score for the film.
Schoendoerffer keeps the Viet Minh enemy at a distance until the very end when they triumphantly surge forward.
It's hard to beat a film where the filmmaker had so much skin in the game.